My wife and I finally found some time and a babysitter so that the two of us could escape the house.  The last time we went out on a date was about a month or month and a half ago.  Apparently just long enough to forget how long ago it really was!

It was awesome.  We left our kids with the babysitter and split.  No looking back baby!  This was our little debt free celebration and we splurged a little.  We spent the afternoon and evening playing mini-golf, saw a movie and spent a good chunk of change at Outback.   We had a wonderful time and I’m looking forward to having another date with my best friend and wife.  As a side note, she is still the hottest woman walking the planet.  That and the fact that she is probably the only one who reads this blog!

Anyway, just in case you wonder if we ever spend money, here’s the rough breakout for last night:

Spending time with my beautiful bride… PRICELESS!

Some of you are probably freaking out because we spent so much money in 5 hours.  That’s about $30 per hour, and worth every freaking penny!  Look my wife and I don’t splurge often.  We maybe have one or two date nights a month and they are usually much cheaper.  Here’s the thing.  We worked and sacrificed to pay of off almost $70,000 in debt.  I think we can take a little bit of money and enjoy the victory for one night!  I want you to see that it’s possible to enjoy your money as well.  It’s not 100% eat ramen noodles and live in a cave.  The key is to live on less than you make and pay cash.  We paid for everything using our debit card and cash last night.  It’s in the budget so there is nothing to be concerned about.

Last note before I wrap it up.  Some of you are probably thinking that we overpaid the babysitter.  Listen up.  After my wife, my kids are the most precious people in the world to me.  You get what you pay for.  I would rather pay someone 10 bucks an hour to safegaurd and protect my kids than try to find some cheap babysitter who could give a rat’s butt about my kids.  We called our babysitter at the last minute and she was kind of enough to do it.  Pick top notch people to watch your kids and pay them well.   Will this ensure that nothing bad ever happens?  Of course not, but in my mind it lessens the chance.  Don’t be cheap when it comes to your child’s safety and well being. 

Money saving tip:  If money is really tight then try swapping babysitting duty with another couple who also has kids.  This will save you both money and means that you can get out of the house so you don’t kill each other.

Wrapping it up.  I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my wife last night and look forward to doing it again next month.  I suspect it will be cheaper but we’ll still have a good time.  I love hanging out with her (when the kids are gone!)   I wanted to mention one last time that you can have fun while living on a budget.  You can have fun while building wealth.  You can have some fun while getting out of debt.  Just be smart about it.  Set a budget and stick to it.