Times are tough, and if you have a new lady in your life, the first few dates are great to go cheap on to see what she is really about. After all, you shouldn’t feel bad at all because only 10% of daters and dates turn into anything, so you do the math. That’s a lot of money wasted just to get a feel for a girl. Thus, we suggest you try these 5 cheap ideas first to see what she is about before you go for a fancy steak dinner.

Cheap Date Idea 1: Go to a museum on a Free Friday. Most city museums will open their doors free to the public one day of the week. Usually, it’s on a Friday night, and there may even be some free drinks in it too. Plus, this way you start off on a good foot and look like a nice, cultured individual.

Cheap Date Idea 2: The local university will often open its hall for free to the public for viewing of Masters and Doctorate concerts as well as staff concerts. You may see for example a really nice piano concerto by Mozart performed by a world-class musician free of charge. This idea is romantic and cheap.

Cheap Date Idea 3: Another great idea is to go to a poetry reading/open mike/poetry slam. If you look into your local hip newspaper, these kind of events aren’t hard to find. They are really, really entertaining and totally free. And if you’ve had your hand at poetry, it could be your chance to impress her.

Cheap Date Idea 4: It’s always nice to have a picnic it a pretty outdoors place. This is always cheap because you can just pack some sandwiches and drinks, and that is all you really need. The key here is to find a perfect place and to go on a day when there is perfect whether. But if everything is as planned, no girl will ever turn down a nice, romantic picnic.

Cheap Date Idea 5: Sweat together. This could be as simple as going for a jog in a park, or a by-donation Yoga class, or even for a dip in a local spring, river or the beach. The secret here is to make a day of it.