By: Vs
Date nights can be expensive especially when you want to enjoy a night out in the city. And for those pursuing FI, expensive date nights are not ideal. Because of this, my wife and I constantly think of ways to minimize our spending on dates while still preserving the feeling of a date.
(If you don’t know what FI is, please read my previous post on FI.)
Last week, our realtor and friend, Ross Matiya, texted me and asked if I was interested in free Chicago Cubs tickets for a night game. Personally, I’m not a Cubs fan, but I love going to the games. There’s something about being in that environment that is energizing, inspiring, fresh, unifying, and captivating. My wife and I decided to make a date night out of it. Now, the question was, how could we save as much as possible on this date night.
(There are various strategies on how you can acquire fairly cheap tickets but that’s for another post.)
Here’s how we spent less than $25 bucks all night:
(1) WE FOUND FREE STREET PARKING AWAY FROM THE FIELD AND WALKED
Like with anything that involves the city, parking will always be an issue. If you happen to live in the city, then this may be less of an issue. Depending on where you live, you can take an uber, ride public transportation, bike, or walk. However, for those who live in the suburbs, most will drive (unless you get creative and incorporate a combination of driving and public transportation).
We knew that Wrigley Field was on the corner of Addison St and Clark St so we first tried finding street parking around that area (like how most people probably have done also). Unfortunately, the city prohibits street parking in the vicinity on gamedays. So, we tried driving a few blocks west of the field and searched for parking around a street called Racine. All we found were paid parking spots in various lots, garages, and restaurants which charged anywhere between $30-50 bucks. We were, however, determined to find cheaper (or free) parking.
We drove a few blocks further west and hit a street called Southport. There were metered parking available in front of various restaurants which charged about ~3 bucks an hour. So we considered this as our last option.
We then drove further west and approached a street called Ashland. On Ashland, there was plenty of free street parking! We decided to park on there and walk over. It was approximately a 0.8 mile walk. (Psh! No problem!) We considered it great exercise and made it to the field in 10-15 minutes.
NOTE- If you really hate walking, you can park on Ashland and take an uber. It’ll cost roughly ~$5-6 bucks.
(2) WE SPENT MINIMALLY ON FOOD AND DRINKS
When we used to go to baseball games in the past, we would go all out on food and drinks. My wife (back then girlfriend) would always get a hot dog and a beer. I usually got a hot dog, nachos, a few beers, candy, and whatever else tasted good.
This time around, we decided to be wiser. We both wanted hot dogs, so we decided to get a foot-long hot dog (~$9 dollars) and split it in half. We found that this was much cheaper than purchasing 2 regular hot dogs (which is about 5-6 inches long) at $6-7 dollars each. Then, instead of purchasing several small draft beers, we only purchased one large draft beer and shared it.
In total, it costed us about $18 bucks for the hot dog and beer, which is still pretty expensive, but this was a huge improvement for us though from spending $40-50 bucks previously.
(3) WE SHOPPED AT THE GOODWILL STORE
When going to a Cubs’ game, you need to have Cubs attire, right? Well, this can get pretty costly. When I searched around for cheap Cubs gear, what I realized was that “cheap” and “Cubs gear” often didn’t go together. Cubs gear is expensive as heck! I went to Wal-mart to see if they were any cheaper and, low and behold, they weren’t. Cubs hoodies were selling for $30-40 dollars each. Cubs T-shirts were selling for $20-30 dollars each.
Instead, I decided to check thrift stores around where I live to see if I could find any good deals. Eventually, I was able to find 2 Cubs T-shirts that were our size. Rudia’s shirt costed $3 and mine was $6 dollars. However, my shirt had a pink tag on it, which meant that it was half off! I got both shirts for $6 bucks total! And they were actually in pretty good condition as well! We gave it a good wash and it looked brand new!
All in all, we spent about ~$24 dollars (excluding gas, etc) to spend a beautiful night at Wrigley Field for our date night. If you are willing to find cheap tickets, walk, and spend wisely on food and drinks, you can experience a relatively cheap, yet amazing time as well!
Did you like this post? Please comment below!
Isn't Gee So Lovely 