The traditional wining-and-dining rigmarole could use a little pick-me-up. Although dinner is a good time to chat, an activity-centered date provides more ice breakers and opportunities for developing inside jokes. Worry less about splattering spaghetti sauce and more about whether your date can form a coherent sentence (not always a plus). Avoid awkward silences by doing something fun.

It’s not often that you find someone worth taking on a second date, so most people are disinclined to spend big money on date number one. She might be boring, he might be a jackass; either way, you want to learn a little before you invest. It might not be romantic, but your broke self knows it’s true. The optimistic in me says it could go well so you don’t want to look like an unimaginative cheapskate just yet. Here are a few suggestions (aimed mostly at guys to rile feminists everywhere) to keep it under a zillion dollars:

What could be better than finding yourself in the possession of free flowers? Nothing! That’s what I say, at least. Imagine my surprise when I come to find my car inexplicably decorated one morning with what looked like the floral fallout from one crazy quinceañera.  No one knows where they came from, but this broke bum is not going to look a gift arrangement in the mouth. And neither should you.

Do you have something to offer the world? Something stellar that they just don’t seem to appreciate or even realize they need yet? Fear not, dear reader! Have I got an idea for you: SELL YOURSELF! And no, I don’t mean in the creepy crackwhore-y corner of Hollywood and Vine kind of sell yourself way. I mean sell your goods and services! But do so by trade.

I’ve been wearing the same t-shirts and pants since high school, but now they’re starting to fall apart. What’s a poor boy to do? Luckily, there are a number of places in LA to find some über-cheap threads.

So I was going through my mail recently and came across an interesting little envelope that very nearly went in the trash, but I’m glad it didn’t and now you can be too!

Turns out that in these distressed times, the government is offering all sorts of programs to save us money, and this particular offer was to save 20% on your gas utility bill.