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"    It&amp;#039;s hard enough to plan a perfect date when you&amp;#039;re dealing with your and your husband&amp;#039;s hectic schedules, much less your highly coveted babysitter&amp;#039;s. And yes, it can sometimes be so stressful that it feels easier to just stay home. But squeezing in some much-needed downtime as a couple doesn&amp;#039;t need to be pressure-filled or contrived. If you switch up your routine and embrace spontaneity (whenever possible, at least), you can squeeze in some fun on the cheap\u2014without spending your sacred Saturday night fighting countless other couples for a table at a restaurant or a seat at the IMAX theater. 1. Cozy up to the bar  You&amp;#039;re so excited to go to that new restaurant everyone&amp;#039;s raving about\u2026 until you try to get a reservation. And no, 5 p.m. on Wednesday doesn&amp;#039;t work well. Hence why my husband and I love sidling up to the bar, which we can do without too much planning. Sitting close to him and letting our knees touch whenever our stools swivel is way sexier than being across the table from each other. The service is usually quicker, too, so we can get home faster. Paying the babysitter less and potentially being able to tuck the kids in? That&amp;#039;s a win. 2. Make Tuesdays the new Saturdays Sure, you might be a little bit zonked from work, but if you can muster the energy, move date night to a weekday. It&amp;#039;ll give you something to look forward to during a long day of to-do&amp;#039;s, babysitters are more readily available, and restaurants won&amp;#039;t be as crowded. Still having trouble getting a table? Try calling the restaurant\u2014old-school, we know, but the timeslots available on OpenTable aren&amp;#039;t always accurate. 3. Exploit happy hour Instead of splurging on a multi-course meal, go enjoy half-price glasses of wine and $1 oysters. Better yet, do it alfresco. You&amp;#039;ll still get to experience the vibe of the restaurant without spending a fortune on food. Then go home, order in entr\u00E9es (it is a date night after all), and continue to enjoy each other&amp;#039;s company. Bonus: You&amp;#039;ll only need to pay the babysitter for an hour or two\u2014just long enough to put the kids to sleep in time for you to fire up House of Cards. 4. Hit a matinee Yes, I love going to the movies, but I find it depressing to leave a theater at 10 p.m. on a Saturday and realize my night is basically over. Not to mention having to get there at least 30 minutes early so we don&amp;#039;t get stuck in the front row. Who has time for that? Instead, my husband and I like heading to the first screening of the day. In most major markets, tickets for movies starting before noon are cheaper. (Check your local listings to make sure.) So when the kids are at an all-day soccer workshop, go enjoy an a.m. flick in a nearly empty theater and put the extra cash toward brunch after. If you&amp;#039;re more of a night owl, sign up for GoFobo, which offers free movie screenings in major cities nationwide, often followed by a Q&amp;amp;amp;A with the director. 5. Use those coupons  A major perk of being married is that you don&amp;#039;t need to feel embarrassed when you pull out a LivingSocial voucher to pay for dinner. Love the daily discount sites but hate the deluge of emails? Dealfork (free for iPhone) combines them all into one handy app. For food-focused outings, we&amp;#039;re big fans of Gilt City. My husband and I recently found a cooking class on the site, and I&amp;#039;m proud to say that we are now experts in the art of Thai cuisine. (All right, that&amp;#039;s a total lie, but we had a blast.)  Brie Schwartz is newly married to an accepting husband who encourages her to\u2014or at least lets her\u2014write about his quirky traits. They share a studio apartment in New York City, which has taught her invaluable lessons about patience and communication. Though they don&amp;#039;t have children yet, they do watch a lot of baby videos on YouTube. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/relationships/a17522/date-hacks/>