[Got a question?! Get an answer!! To be featured in Tuffy Luv’s weekly column, just shoot her a lil ol email at TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com and shiz.]

Dear Tuffy Luv,

Summer date ideas? Thanks, Tuffy!

Olivia

P.S. Cheap ones would be good because I’m still in college! Thanks!

Dear Olivia,

Do I have some ideas for you? Answer: Yes. Yes, I do.

(1) Go Swimming

Find out where the neighborhood pool is. (Even better if you can find a neighborhood beach!!) Slather each other with sunblock and head over for a guilt-free indulgence. Yeah, you’ll have to put up with all the neighborhood kids, but it’s so much cuter that way, anyway. At the end of the day, when you’re done splashing and sunbathing, take a cool nighttime walk home.

(2) Paint Each Other

Pick up some cheap supplies (don’t worry about quality here–this is just for fun) and paint pictures of each other. Laugh hysterically at what you each come up with–and compliment each other for seeing things other people would never have seen. Got a little messy? Shower’s this way…

(3) Have a Neighborhood Date

Do all the stuff you’d do if you were visiting your town. Do the local tourist attractions (no matter how lame). Look in the paper and find events. Spend the whole day like you were on vacation in your own town. Eat at the neighborhood favorite. And then go home and finish the vacation with dessert! (Winkyface.)

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[The following post is courtesy of our homegirls over at YourTango. They've been through it all and know just about everything about love, so we thought we'd bring their expertise to you. Enjoy!]

If Hollywood is to be believed, dating is a grandiose practice replete with lavish meals, fine wines, and front-row seats to the Broadway show (or opera or concert or art opening) of the season. For those of us who don’t make millions, though, such refined romance is just that: the stuff of movies.

Living on a budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice romance—just change how you envisage it. All that stuff Richard Gere and Julia Roberts do is quite nice, of course; but romance, which is simply the passionate affection that lovers feel for each other, can grow over steak au poivre in a fancy French bistro or a strawberries and sandwiches picnic in the park. What matters is not the money behind a rendezvous but the authentic desire to treat your special someone to something, well, special.

But we also recognize that you probably don’t have time to reconceptualize the world around you and uncover romance where you least expect it. Luckily, YourTango exists for just that purpose. We’ve come up with dozens of one-off ideas that will foster romance with your special someone—without burning a hole in your pocket. Read More »