Making a date without breaking the bank

Date night shouldnt be confined to the routine of dinner and a movie. While this may be an easy first date, it definitely isnt a cheap one.

Spending $10 a ticket to sit in a silent movie theater with a date makes it difficult to connect and communicate. To keep date night from being boring, The Oracle offers a few suggestions on how to spend a romantic outing, without spending a lot of money.

Create caf conversations
Meet up with a date on campus and get drinks at the Starbucks in The Library, bookstore or Juniper. If transportation is not a problem, try one of the many cafes close to campus, such as Felicitous on North 51st Street or Kaleisia Tea Lounge on East Fletcher Avenue.

While sipping coffee or tea, find out your dates favorite books, movies and television shows. If there is a common love of a particular show, start a conversation using only quotes from the show. Compete to see who can keep up the conversation the longest. Whoever breaks the conversation first buys the next round of drinks.

Feed ducks
Bread is the only necessary item on this date. Buy a loaf from the grocery store and take your significant other to one of the bodies of water on USF campus. Drop bread crumbs all over the grass, sit down next to the crumbs and take pictures as the ducks approach.

After the ducks have had their fill, sit on a bench near the lake and look through the photos together. Choose the best photo and upload it to Facebook.

Paint outdoors
Plan a painting date for the middle of the day. Purchase cheap painting supplies from Target, buy primary paint colors and mix them into new colors to save money.

Head for the front of the USF Library with a date and try to recreate the surrounding trees, buildings and passersby. Use a bottle of water to rinse brushes and grab paper towels from The Library bathroom to clean up any paint spills.

Watch the sunset
The beach isnt the only romantic location to watch the sun go down. Share the spectacular view of the sunset on the roof of the USF Richard A. Beard parking garage.

The parking garage is one of the highest accessible vantage points on campus and allows for a wide view of Tampa. If the sunset is particularly inspiring, sit down with your date and work together to create a poem about the experience.

Fly kites
Make a list of necessary kite construction items to find in a local dollar store and give half of the list to your date. Search the aisles of the store until all of the items are found. Whoever finds them the fastest wins and doesnt have to pay.

Spend time outside constructing a very basic kite. Use permanent markers to draw pictures onto the underside of the kite.

Once the kite is completed, try to keep it in the air while walking through USF campus. Keep track of how long the kite stays in the air and then try to beat that time.

Go thrifting
Bring a date to a thrift store and agree to shop for each other. Set a reasonable spending limit before the shopping begins. Find clothes that are mismatched, out of style, or just plain ugly and dont let your date see what you have chosen until youre at the checkout line together. Wear the new clothes for the rest of the day.

There are many great Tampa thrift stores to choose from for the location of this date, but if youre looking for one close to campus, then The Good Kids Village Thrift Store off of East Fowler Avenue is the best choice.