A Little Romance Lends Itself To A Frugal Lifestyle

With soaring costs of living placing added pressure on the household budget, more couples are turning to romantic evenings at home to save on expenses. Turning off lights, and lighting candles not only sets the mood and creates an ambience for intimacy, but by opting for candlelight versus each 75 watt globe, couples will save $12 a year for each bulb. Doesn’t sound like much, yet with over a dozen bulbs in each home, the savings will add up fast.

In winter, snuggling up on the sofa under a blanket with your partner, rather than flicking on the heater will encourage a sense of closeness, love and that special internal warmth. You’ll also save over $4 a night which equates to well over $100 a month. Suddenly the thought of sharing body heat becomes desirable, and a practical alternative for a night in.

Then there is the food of love. Rather than slave over a hot stove, prepare an entrée of oysters, for example, which requires no cooking, and with their aphrodisiac properties they’ll add to the mood of the evening. For the main course, a sensual salad leaves you full yet not feeling too heavy. And for dessert, try fruit. Serving it to each other á la Mickey Rourke and Kim Bassinger style in Nine and a Half Weeks is not only filling and healthy, it sets the tone for the rest of the evening.

Next, it’s time to switch off the television, turn off the I-pod, and shut down the laptop CD, or DVD player. Conversation, the lost art of generations past, is a precursor to greater understanding between couples. By listening and communicating, couples bond. If you’d prefer to stimulate fun interaction and laughter, retrieve from your cupboards or drawers any board games or a deck of cards. Home entertainment doesn’t require the use of electronic media. Switch it off! This will lead to literally hundreds of dollars in savings each year.

As beneficial to your love life as it is to your bank balance, a quiet, romantic evening at home will do you wonders. Romance will blossom and financial pressures will feel a little lighter. Just think, with all the savings you make from romantic nights at home, you may even be able to eliminate all your living at home expenses for a week and put the new found cash toward a holiday. You can also be assured of having your partner there along for the ride.