In times of recession we are coming up with more and more ways to save money. One of the biggest ways to save money is to spend less on luxuries such as candy, going out and gym memberships. There are cheaper ways to do these things and when the purse strings are tightened we find we have to take the cheaper route.

If going out is your idea of a luxury then it can be hard to sacrifice it. Especially if you have been doing it a lot. But there are ways you can recreate your evening on a budget. If you are an avid fan of the movies then why not have a movie night at home? You could make it a cosy night in with just you and a bag of popcorn or you could make it a real group affair and invite all of your friends. They can bring a movie each and some nibbles so it will cut down on costs. You could even do this weekly and have themed evenings. You could try a musicals night, or a horror night, let you mind go wild. If you prefer more of the outdoors then why not go out for a picnic. It doesn’t cost you a penny to walk through a park and all you need to do is to pop your dinner into a picnic basket. If you want to add a touch of class you could even go for a bottle of wine in a wine tote. This canvas ice bucket will keep your drinks cool while you gaze into the sunset. What a perfect night out.

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Since my kids have left home my marriage has become much stronger. Maybe it’s the fact that the kids were always a distraction or maybe it’s because we have more time for each other now but we are closer than ever.

We always go out on walks in the evening and day trips to museums and art galleries. We were never able to go to these places with our kids because they always used to either moan the whole way round or break something! Don’t get me wrong I love my children to bits but being an adult again instead of a parent is quite a nice feeling.

For our anniversary my husband decided to take me on a surprise trip. I didn’t have a clue where we were going. All he told me was to wear comfortable shoes! So off we went in the car to the mystery spot. When we got there we had to hike up this great big hill that took about half an hour but when we were at the top it was well worth it. The view over the city was breathtaking and worth the blisters. Just when I thought the evening couldn’t get any better my husband brought out our meritage wine and cheese tote for two. The wine tote was fully equipped with my favorite white wine and glasses! We had our own little picnic with our wonderful picnic tote and we drank the evening away while watching the sunset. It was by far the most romantic thing he has ever done for me. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next year!