(audience clapping)
- Well, datin' can be painful on the wallet,
but you can still plan a great date
without blowin' your budget,
and this is what I'm calling Datin' on a Dime.
Please welcome Ashton and Datin' on a Dime expert,
Joel Steingold.
- Steingold.
(audience clapping)
- Now Ashton, what's been the biggest issue
that you've encountered plannin' dates on a budget?
- It's really been about being a PHD student on a budget.
I'll tell you one time I tried to take a women
to an adult arcade, right?
I figured that the tokens were gonna be cheap,
we were going to have a good time, have some drinks,
but what happened is she ended up thinkin'
I was a hardcore gamer,
which no offense to any hardcore gamers, but I wasn't that,
so that date didn't go well.
Then there was another date where I tried to take them to
a free comedy club, or I thought it was free,
but not only was it not free, they only took cash,
only K-debit cards so she had to pay for me,
and then I went in there
and the bartender was flirtin' with her all night.
So it's been tough Steve, I'm not gonna to lie to you.
- Woo, boy, alright Joel, you are a pro
at craftin' quality dates that don't cost a lot of money.
- Yes, sir.
- What's your secret to that?
- Well really it's a lot of trial and error, Steve.
Kind of like how Ashton started off,
but when I first moved to LA a long time ago
I would go out on dates
and sometimes we'd spend 85, $100 a date,
and I'd look at my monthly budget,
I'd spent 350 in that first month.
And what I realized was, I wasn't having a great time
so I realized I needed to kind of roll back on my finances,
so I got a little more creative,
I would kind of find a date that I could spend $50 on.
What I realized was with all this creativity I was using,
I was actually connecting with this woman
more than I was spending $100.
- So you've come up
with some inexpensive, creative date ideas.
Let's tell us about the first one.
- Since LA's known for its great weather,
and it's outdoor lifestyle, I figured we'd start off
with a romantic picnic on a blanket at Echo Park Lake.
- Echo Park with the boathouses and stuff, okay.
- At the boathouse they have these swan theme paddle boats
that Ashton and his date can go on for about an hour
and then after that they can cap things off
with some romantic stargazing
at the Griffith Park Observatory.
(audience clapping)
- [Steve] Okay I like that.
- [Joel] Yeah it sounds nice right?
- About how much do you think this outdoor date costs?
- So we got Echo Park and then we got the Observatory?
Smooth 100.
- Joel, is he close?
Break down the cost to me.
- No Steve, not even close.
A picnic on a blanket at Echo Park Lake, $27.
The swan paddle boat ride's $11 an hour.
And stargazing at the Griffith Observatory
through their telescopes,
completely free, one Saturday a month.
So the grand total for your outdoor date is $38.
(audience clapping)
- And I see where you're comin' from,
'cause you get to know the woman.
At the picnic, you talkin'.
On the paddle boat, you talkin'.
- You exercise, too.
- At the observatory, you're up their gazin' at the stars.
Alright, alright tell us about the next one.
- Alright date number two.
Now LA is a hub for art and culture,
so we want to tap into that
and we're going to start off date number two
at the Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles.
Now once you've been there for a while
and really soaked up some of the contemporary art,
I think it's the perfect time to sip a little drink,
have a little food, and what's great about LA is that
from the research I've done, there are tons
of restaurants and bars that offer deep discounts
with their happy hour specials.
Now what better way to end a date
than with a little comedy, am I right Steve?
- Yeah, gotta have some comedy.
- Exactly, so the UCB Improv Comedy Theatre,
it's world-class and it's a great way to end the date.
(audience clapping)
- Sound like a pretty good date,
how much you think it costs?
- Let's say around $120.
- Joel, give us the breakdown.
- The Broad Museum downtown is 100% free every day
of the week,
you just need to make advanced reserved tickets.
Happy hour, $45 and UCB Improv $5 a ticket.
(audience clapping)
So the grand total for your art
and culture themed date is $55.
(audience clapping)
I'm serious!
- So Ashton, what do you think, man?
There's some helpful ideas for you?
- Most definitely, I feel like my bank account
might actually survive 2019 now, so I appreciate it.
- [Joel] Alright
- [Steve] Yeah, that's good, thank you Ashton, man.
Good luck to you.
Special thanks to Joel Steingold everybody!
We'll be right back.