1. Indulge your spouse. Date night does not have to mean taking your spouse to an expensive restaurant or going out to the movies. You can make date night special by indulging your spouse. Consider preparing a relaxing, hot, bubble bath that you both can enjoy. You can even ramp it up a notch by lighting some candles, pouring some wine, playing some great music, and just enjoying a relaxing time in the tub.

2. A dance party for two. How about putting on some dance music that you both like and dance your hearts out. You can turn down the lights, get some soft lighting or candle light to illuminate the room, prepare some cocktails and some finger food, push the couch to the side and dance away.

3. Create a delicious dinner together. You and your spouse can go to the market and get all the ingredients that you will need to make a wonderful dinner for two. You can help each other out in the kitchen and cook together. Then sit down and enjoy your masterpiece together.

4. Theme park date. You can go out to the theme park or fair and ride those exciting rides together. Share cotton candy, popcorn, buy a balloon or two and just have some fun. Be little kids again and enjoy yourselves.

5. Go on a picnic. Pack your picnic basket with some food and go to the park, a picnic spot, or just your backyard. Spread a blanket out, get the food out and just enjoy being in the outdoors. Or, if it is a rainy day and you can’t go out, move the couch aside and have the picnic in your living room.

6. Get a massage. You can go to the nearest spa and get a couple’s massage. This will help both of you relax, too.

7. Movies at home. You can make going to the movies more intimate than being in a theater full of strangers. Rent a DVD, download a movie, or just watch one on cable. Make some popcorn beforehand. Make a pizza if you want to indulge. Make the living room comfortable by moving all the furniture and spreading some blankets on the floor and piling up some pillows. Enjoy the movie together and snuggle to your heart’s content.

8. Sex. Make date night steamy by going all out. Wear sexy lingerie, play some sexy music and make love all night long like you did during your honeymoon.

9. Indulge your sweet tooth. Share a large ice cream sundae, a slice or two of chocolate cake, some of your favorite pie, or just get yourselves the biggest milk shakes you can find.

10. Meals in bed. Nothing can be more special that having a meal in bed. Make your spouse some breakfast or dinner and serve it while he or she is in bed. You can even feed each other and enjoy the meal – and much more – together.

Kids, work and other responsibilities can completely consume your life – if you’re not careful. Time together gives you a chance to reconnect from the business of life. Lack of time together can contribute to relationship problems. Without reconnection, you become distant and irritable with each other.

To help you nurture your relationship by spending romantic time together without busting into your bill money, we have compiled some of the best romantic date ideas on a budget. Even if they don’t sound like fun at first, give them a try. You might be surprised at just how connected you feel once the night is over.

Break Out the Board Games

A lot of couples feel like board games are ‘childish’ but board games are a great way to open up lines of communication. While playing, you can talk. Some games may require you to work together – like Jenga – helping you build your relationship communication skills. Board games also open the door to a little competitive fun. Still sound too boring? Consider some hot and sexy alterations to the rules of the game.

Eating In

Cooking food actually releases endorphins – feel good chemicals in the brain. Some foods are also considered aphrodisiacs, like oysters. Consider buying everything you need for a fun dinner night in. Cook the meal together, set up the dining area with some ambient candles and soft music. Feed each other tasty appetizers and dessert. You may even want to consider buying a bottle of cheap wine to help lighten the mood.

Making Your Own Music

This romantic date idea on a budget is great for guys! Take your lady out for a walk. Go window shopping in a busy downtown area, go walking around a scenic lake or go out on the top of an apartment building. Make sure you take your iPod and headphones. When you find that perfect spot and moment, take your lady’s hand and ask her dance. Place one earphone in her ear and one in yours and enjoy the moment. You’ll take her breath away and have her swooning in just moments.

Romantic Picnic

Do you know of a secluded place where the two of you can be alone? It could be by a lake, in your backyard or even on your roof. Take a picnic there. Include foods in your basket that the two of you can feed each other like strawberries, grapes or food wrapped in cheeses and gourmet crackers. You can even complement this romantic idea with the ‘making your own music’ idea for an extra touch of romance.

Go Fake Shopping

Test drive a car, go window shopping, go to an open house – you don’t have to buy anything, just have fun. Studies have shown that couples that dream together and make future plans are happier and last longer. These activities can get the two of you dreaming and talking about your future plans as a couple and bring the two of you closer together.

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Understanding Your Sexless Marriage

Think about it for a moment – when you feel connected, you usually want to have sex. After you have sex, you usually feel more connected. You don’t have sex because you are angry, bitter, don’t have the time or are overstressed from the day. Because you’re not having sex, you become disconnected. Because you feel disconnected, you are less likely to want sex when you have the time. Because you’re not having sex and are more disconnected, you argue more, worsening the state of your connection, lessening your desire for sex.

So, a sexless marriage really does seem like a vicious cycle doesn’t it? But how do you make it stop? How can you rebuild that connection after it is already broken? Most importantly, how do you start experiencing more ‘bumps in the night?’

There are a lot of different tips out there for increasing the amount of sex you have in your marriage and for restoring your connection. Some are free. Others are for purchase. Many of them are wonderful ideas. We recommend that you give The Connection Starved Marriage a look. You can also try out a few of the tips that we came up with here at Mr. Marriage Saver:

Call Off Work and Spend the Day in Bed

Don’t risk your job for this one, obviously, but if you have some sick time or even some vacation time that you can schedule off on a day your partner is off, use it now. Take the day and spend it in bed, preferably only sleeping when you’re completely worn out. It may be difficult at first to feel that connection but by the end of the day, you might be surprised at how close you feel to each other.

Schedule Regular Nights Together

Make time for your relationship! Make it a priority. Schedule a date night, and keep it, every week. Set aside time each day that is just for the two of you – no phones, no computers, you may even want to skip the television. Find other things to do together that involve communication. Can’t think of something to talk about? Try playing a crossword or board game together. Cook something together. These are activities that can spark conversation and connection.

Make Pillow Talk ‘Okay’

Many couples, particularly the women, have a hard time communicating how something feels during sex. So, to avoid embarrassment or harming their lover’s feelings, they are left unsatisfied. Some women may even pretend, just to avoid the conflict or pain their comments could cause.

Open your relationship up to pillow talk. Make it okay to say, “That’s not working for me.” Talk about what does work. This might be really difficult to implement during sex so you might try talking about it before or after sex for a while. Once you become more comfortable with making sex a tool for communication, you can start to talk about it while engaged in intercourse. Just remember, your partner’s feelings are involved here so, while you want to communicate, you don’t want to put down or attack. Be mindful of the other person’s heart and ego.
These tips should give you something to start on in your sexless marriage but, don’t forget, there are many other wonderful resources that can help you restore connection and improve your marital sex life.

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