By Natalie Bair

A majority of teenagers get caught  in that awkward phase; stuck in the middle of crushing and working up the nerve to pursue who they like and go on actual dates. But once they get past that initial “let’s go out” conversation,there is the dilemma of money. The thing is, teenagers have all these grand ideas of what they want to do, but face a significant lack of money to support those ideas.

Not only do teenagers have an absence of finances, but sufficiently short amounts of creativity. But with as little as five dollars open up a world of opportunities.

“The cheapest date I’ve ever been on was probably a guy took me to the movies with coupons that he had, and then he took me to McDonald’s and made me order off the dollar menu,” sophomore Kollyn Tucker said.

With so many dates a couple could go on other than the cliche movie and dinner, such as the flea market; a place full of knick-knacks and adventure. With as little as five dollars per person, two people could go out on a scavenger hunt, and go on a mission to find better items. Not only the little treasures scattered around to search for, but the variety of things for sale could spark  interesting conversation.

“Okay, first we would go to like, the Dollar Tree, buy some water balloons, go back home, fill them up, and then throw them at people walking by,” sophomore Eve Camerillo said.

Or, without even leaving the comforts of home, there are a range of activities. Pull out all those old board games sitting in the back of a closet, or those movies collecting dust on some shelf (or even just go straight to Netflix). Get out some video games like Just Dance or karaoke, add some snacks, and it’s the perfect date setting.

“At a stay at home date I’d definitely pop popcorn and watch a movie and snuggle with lots of blankets,” sophomore Kollyn Tucker said.

If all else fails, keep it simple. There are so many parks out there; go find one. Explore, go on trails, swing on swings or pack a lunch and have a picnic. Pizza places will even deliver straight to the park, ideal for a “wilderness picnic”. “At a park? Swings! Always the swings! And then, if there are… what are those little things? Oh! Monkey bars! If there are monkey bars, that’s a bonus,” junior Allison Woods said.