The Date Challenge...not for the faint at heart or wallet I should say :)

So me and Kevin have been dating for ten months now and like most college aged students money can sometimes be an unspoken topic. Why is this, one might ask? It could be embarrassment, fear of hurting the other's feelings, or just simply not knowing what to say. I know so many people buy into the "guy should pay for everything" mentality and that chivalry needs to be more prominent in today's society. But I have thoughts similar to the lovely ladies during the suffrage movement. They worked hard to make women be treated more equally. I would never say that I don't want Kevin to treat me less than a woman should be, but I also want him to treat me as an equal, partner, friend, and confidant. So I believe that when dealing with the monetary aspect of things, I must approach things delicately. I still want him to plan dates and engage in the relationship, what girl wouldn't want that. But why should I be the receiver of all that time planning in addition to the acts of love. He deserves it just as much as I do. I work, make money, want us to do things, and have great date ideas. So why not surprise him and take him out for things. Well I shall! After having a talk, which went so much better than anticipated, we agreed. It's not an act of emasculation, but an act of equality. It's a new-age form of expressing my love for my counterpart, instead of the age old house cleaning and food preparation traditional approach, which I am not passing any judgement on. I, for one, want to do other things as well. 

So while at work, when I coulda shoulda woulda been doing other things, I came up with a great idea. So we of course do the standard spontaneous cheaper activities like FroYo or late night Taco Bell runs. But what if we decided to plan and execute a higher quality date, that if done right would still be budget conscious yet fun and engaging, evoking memories that we'll remember. So I propose that we have 20 dates for 20 dollars. Now these dates can be dispersed as schedules as money allows, but they must happen. The goal is not to go over $20, unless the tip counts for more, because I've been a waitress and know that the struggle is real. I will also add, it would be nice if the person being taken on the date leave the tip to keep the date under $20 and just to be courteous as well. 

I think this is going to be an awesome experiment/experience. I already went on my first date yesterday with Kevin. The day of inception for this idea was the first date. I was really excited and when I say excited you gotta ask Kevin, he thought I was on something (that EXCITED!). So I will keep posting our dates, Kevin's and my reactions, and recommendations of places. 

1) Creve Coeur Park: Made a picnic consisting of pulled pork sandwiches, green beans, mandarin oranges, sweet corn, salads that were layered in Mason jars, and drinks. Of course blankets and a spot by the side of the lake. However, it rained on us like a LOt; so it ended up having a location change, to my apartment. But he was so surprised and loved it. And despite the rain, we had a fantastic time together. I couldn't have asked for more.

(Pics to come)

Can't wait to see what the next date has in store. Stay tuned!