love and money

Going on dates doesn't always have to mean draining your wallet at fancy restaurants. There are plenty of affordable and entertaining dates you can go on with your beloved. After all, it's really the time you spend with your sweetheart that matters and not how much you're spending on the dates. Here are 99 frugal dates for you to try:

1. Cook each other's family recipes for each other.
2. Nostalgia movie night. Watch your favorite movies from during your school years.
3. Watch a free improv show.
4. Go for a hike in a beautiful park.
5. Picnic outdoors and prep delicious foods to feed each other with.
6. Explore the farmers market together, and share some juicy fruits or tasty snacks to munch on.
7. Take a tour around a museum the both of you haven't been to (preferable on free museum day!).
8. Go to open mic night and sing your heart out.
9. Visit a board game cafe and play games to your heart's content.
10. Pal up with your partner for trivia nights in neighborhood bars.
11. Create your own city tour, and visit historic landmarks.
12. Pick a documentary, and discuss it after watching.
13. Have a book club date night. Choose a book to read together, and hold an intimate book club meeting for two when you're both done with it.
14. Volunteer together at the pound, homeless shelter, or your favorite nonprofit.
15. Go swimming together.
16. Stargaze and try to name the constellations you're staring at with the help of an app or book.

Read on for more date ideas.

Money tends to be a sensitive, conflict-sparking subject for couples, so deciding how to split expenses can be tricky. There are several different options for dividing payments, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. Here are four of the most common methods for splitting expenses, plus the potential pros and cons of each choice:

1. Divide all expenses 50/50. Splitting all costs in half is certainly a simple option, but the reactions may be a bit complicated. Sure, everyone's paying their "fair share," but the person who makes less money in the relationship may be frustrated that they're paying a higher fraction of their salary.
2. Pay in a ratio according to both salaries. If one partner makes $50,000 and the other makes $100,000, then all expenses would be paid in a one to two ratio so that the first person covers one-third of each bill. Dividing costs to correspond with salaries ensures that both partners are spending an equal percentage of their paycheck each month. The downside? Things may get messy with pay raises or pay cuts, and the person with a higher salary may grow resentful.
3. The breadwinner pays all. This is a good option if one partner stays home with the kids or has an artistic career with sporadic, unpredictable income. To prevent any bitterness, it's important for the nonbreadwinner to take care of other tasks around the home so that the responsibilities feel balanced.
4. Different bills for each partner. Another way to divide is to simply assign separate bills to each partner. Does one person watch television more often? They can be in charge of the cable bill. Does the other take long, scalding-hot showers? The water bill is theirs. It may be difficult to split things equally, but this is a great way to step back and recognize which habits are costing money.

When it comes to splitting expenses — and feeling satisfied with finances as a couple — the key is communication. Both partners should encourage each other to speak up and be honest about their opinions. It all comes down to balance, so it's important to treat money like any other responsibility and learn to compromise.

We all make mistakes — we're all human after all. LearnVest shares some of the common money mistakes that women often make so readers will learn not to make them, too.

Some of us handle our money flawlessly, perfectly, brilliantly, all of the time.

But most of us don't.

Most of us make mistakes here and there. We make some mistakes more than others, because of our personalities, or our upbringing . . . or sometimes even our gender.

It's ridiculous, but true.

We've heard it firsthand — from our readers. In fact, we went through hundreds of reader submissions and found examples of the most common stories that cross our desks every day.

Let's be clear: Not all women make these mistakes. Not all men avoid them. But in our experience, these are a few female financial problem areas that can lead to major debt and lots of stress.

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Ever bailed out an ex? Indulged in a little more retail therapy than you meant to? Or woken up one day and realized you didn't know as much as you thought you did about managing your money? You just might recognize yourself.

Of course, if you don't, good for you. We're just saying, bad money snafus happen to good people. But read on: We'll show you the top seven mistakes women make — and what to do instead.

Feeling Guilty

"When we were together, I let my ex stay with me rent-free until he found an apartment, lent him my furniture and paid for every date because I had a job and he didn't. When I lost my job, he paid for my rent for a few months and bills, etc. Now that we're broken up, he wants me to pay him back for the rent he insisted on covering. I am still on unemployment and barely getting by. I feel so guilty because we didn't end up as the forever couple and while I can't (nor would I . . . ) calculate all of my assistance getting him settled in NYC, he can quite easily."

A 2011 study from Eversave.com found that 67% of women have felt guilt about a purchase. But that's not the only opportunity for guilt: There's also staying in a job you feel guilty about abandoning, giving someone money because you feel guilty about their situation and, oh, doing the opposite of what you want when it comes to working after having children because you feel guilty about being a good mom (more on that here).

This guilt effect might not be limited to finances, either. Some studies suggest that women are more inclined than men to feel any kind of guilt. And we'd argue, more likely to bail out their exes, too.

Read on for more.

For us modern women, it's hard to believe that only a few decades ago, women struggled for equality in the workplace, and it was common for women to marry young and become stay-at-home mothers. However, in today's society, women are often placing their careers first and finding it hard to find lasting relationships. If you think your career is what makes you a catch, think again! We recently spoke to April Beyer about her career as an expert relationship coach and matchmaker. She offers us this savvy relationship advice for career-oriented women, so we can avoid the many pitfalls that are keeping modern women from having successful relationships.

SavvySugar: Could you tell me some of the key mistakes savvy, business women are making in relationships? Do you consider splitting the bill or being financially independent things that are unattractive to men?

April Beyer: I think we have to look at not just splitting the bill or the term "independent." I think we have to look at the "why." Why are you splitting the bill? Are you doing it because you are fearful that there might be strings attached? Are you doing it because you want to stand toe-to-toe to assert your independence? Are you doing it so that he knows that you aren't there for free meals? None of these are a good idea to reach for the check. You should only reach for the check because you want to treat someone, and it feels good to do so. So when women call me and ask if it's OK to do this, I say, "I don't know. Why are you doing it?"

Click here to find out what makes you a catch.

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

We got to thinking, as we do, about the difference between being single and married . . . that is, in dollars.

Currently, singles make up 49 percent of the American population, and 28 percent of all households consist of one person — the highest levels of singledom in American history.

According to sociology professor and author Eric Klinenberg, singles are supporting the United States economy through discretionary spending that far exceeds both married couples and parents.

From taxes to house buying to paying for a wedding, marriage is either the best thing or the worst to ever happen to your finances, depending on whom you ask. And that’s aside from the value judgments surrounding any discussion of relationships: “But are you happy?”

There are many factors: the little things (like sharing the cost of utilities), government policy (which changes every few years), and the psychology that makes couples spend differently than singles.

But in whose favor do the chips fall? We matched up the two scenarios, head to head.

The Little Things

When it comes to little day-to-day expenses, it’s obvious that married couples have the edge because they’ve sliced their basic costs in half: only one cable bill, one rent bill, one utilities bill. There are also less obvious savings, like skills sharing. A partner who can sew a button or fix a loose doorknob saves money on paying someone to do it for you. These “discounts,” of course, also apply to unmarried, cohabiting couples. A point to the marrieds on this one.

The Taxes

According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, 51 percent of married couples paid less filing jointly than they would have filing alone as singles, saving an average of $1,300. Interestingly, the more disparate their incomes, the more they saved. Of course, the benefit decreases if you earn a very similar income to your spouse, like 40 percent of dual-income couples today. At any rate, we’ll make that one point in honor of the marrieds. (For more information on marriage and tax brackets, read this.)

Read on for more.

Money is a dicey issue, and whether you're just "withholding" information about a small purchase or lying about the amount of debt, deceiving your partner can hurt the relationship.

Insecurities about your money situation might be holding you back from the money talk, but there are smoother ways of introducing the topic. For example, couples can take advantage of tax season to bring up money questions that they were holding back. My suggestion for other times to do it is the year-end bonus period, when either one of you is checking your credit score, making a major purchase, or paying bills. Another way of casually introducing the money topic is to talk about a finance article that pertains to your question. Remember, there's nothing wrong about talking frankly about serious issues with your partner, so don't be afraid to bring it up even without these conversation starters!

You're still hearing wedding bells, but don't let the honeymoon phase distract you from reality. Money is a huge factor in relationships and if you don't tackle it from the start, it can start to shake the cornerstones of your marriage. Prep yourself with these tips from H&R Block expert, Kathy Pickering:

• Filing Status: A newly married couple has two filing status options, married filing jointly or married filing separately; however, a joint return often results in a lower federal tax. That said there are some cases where married filing separately does make sense. • For example, if you have relatively high medical bills and lower income, it may be best to file separately. Medical expenses can be included in itemized deductions, but are only deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. If you have very high medical expenses and a low adjusted gross income, filing separately means you could deduct more of these expenses. However, if you filed jointly, you may not benefit from this deduction.
• Name Change : Whether you took your husband’s last name or hyphenated your name, you must report your name change to the Social Security Administration (SSA). To avoid any delays or problems at tax time, your name and social security number on your tax return should match the records the SSA has.
• − Adjust Income Tax Withholding : If you and your husband work, your joint income may put you in a higher tax bracket and increase your total tax liability. You should make any necessary withholding adjustments for the next year by filing a new W-4 form with your employer. Use the withholding worksheet to indicate whether your spouse works and how many dependents you have, which determines the number of allowances to claim and the amount of income tax employers will withhold from your paychecks.