If Your Days Really Were Numbered…

Forget the apocalypse, if we keep modelling our relationships on celebrity marriages and chasing sky-high Hollywood rom-com expectations, we’re all doomed.

How to: Support your partner when they’re stressed

It’s moving week. I told you all about it a few weeks ago – how I was expecting to be tired, at my wit’s end and neck deep in boxes by now.
Well, I’m all that.
And to add to the fun, all the expected relationship stress has peaked this week as well.
So now [...]

A Million Years Ago

If you’re anything like me, you love to look in the past – at the good times and the bad. I love going back to what feels like a million years ago to remember who has been involved in my life and who is no longer a part of it. I know they say never [...]

Supporting Your Partner Through Times of Stress

It’s moving week. I told you all about it a few weeks ago – how I was expecting to be tired, at my wit’s end and neck deep in boxes by now.
Well, I’m all that.
And to add to the fun, all the expected relationship stress has peaked this week as well.

So now [...]

Intimate Moments in the… Kitchen?

New research shows Australians’ passion for food is reigniting relationships across the country with 44% admitting to ‘intimate moments’ in the kitchen and almost one in 10 confessing it happens at least once a week.
Kind of makes you want to rethink your next invitation to a dinner party, doesn’t it?
In all seriousness, I’ve [...]

How to Impress the Parents

“How soon is too soon to meet the parents?” someone asked the other day.
My friend E would probably argue that you should at least be dating the guy before you have to make that decision.
She turned up at a – ahem – friend’s house late one night for what was, by all accounts, [...]

An Open Letter to Ms. Julia Gillard

Dear Ms Gillard,
I need you to do something for me, please. Well, it’s really not just for me, it’s for all of Australia, and indeed the world.
We need you to legalise gay marriage in Australia.
I’m not a gay woman. But that doesn’t matter.
You’re still cheating me out of something that’s very [...]

The Movie Trailer Marriage Proposal

You guys know I’m a sucker for a great marriage proposal… this one is awesome! It’s all explained in the video…

Now This is a Wedding Video!

Joya and Emre didn’t want your average wedding video – instead they turned themselves into rockstars with this MTV Video-style piece that just put a huge smile on my face! Love it!

Who Lies About Money?

The very clever team at Deals.com has come up with this cute-as-ten-buttons visual representation of Love & Money based on some recent findings… just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Money is one of those Big Things that couples argue most about. You only have to look below to see that no matter if you’re doing it [...]

Date Ideas and The Circle

It’s been quite the day! I joined the lovely crew of The Circle on Network Ten here in Australia to chat all things date night, cheap dates and more… unfortunately we were cut off just at the end by a press conference covering the Tropical Cyclone Yasi events overnight – what a news day!
Thankfully everyone [...]

Can You Define Romance?

Everyone’s got a different idea of romance…
lets take Valentine’s Day for example. It’s around the corner (only a few weeks away) and it’s pimped out as the MOST romantic day of the year.
Whether you accept it or not, that is how most of us feel.
In a perfect world what would your partner do for you [...]

Co-dependent Couples

My parents are one of those couples who have to do EVERYTHING together! There are exceptions such as shopping or running errands, but on whole they won’t spend a night apart and heaven forbid if they’re going to travel without the other person.
Most times I find this cute; it makes me feel like they’ve [...]

Revenge: A Dish Best Served Cold

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…
And it does seem to be the women that are particularly good at exacting revenge.
It’s easy to fly into a temper when your partner does something wrong by you. Something really wrong, I mean. Like cheating. Lying. Stealing.
Any damage to the ego seems to result in calls [...]

Love Language: A Jubilee Film

This little video is just gorgeous. And it holds a special place in my heart, in particular. I don’t want to ruin the video for you, so you’ll have to watch it first. And maybe I’ll explain a little more in a future post.

Iron & Candy (6th) Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas

I want candy! Do-do-do-do. I-iii want can-dee!
I’m not even at my second wedding anniversary but I’m super excited already to get to my sixth because you know what, daters? The traditional gift is CANDY! If the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory Actually existed, now would be the time to source yourself a golden ticket.
Oh, [...]

All You Need to Know About Gift-Giving

In one of our many, many differences, Den doesn’t come from a big gift giving family while I come from The Biggest gift giving family you’ve ever seen.
In fact, when Den and I met he was quick to tell me that he doesn’t “do” presents. For the first birthday I had when we were friends/sleeping [...]

Danny & Annie: A Love Story

I was lucky enough to find this video in my web travels last night (thanks to Sarah Prout for sharing it) and I just had to post it here for everyone because this is a story that should be told. It’s sad (you’ve been warned – grab a Kleenex before you hit play) but also [...]

Everything You Need to Know About Budgeting as a Couple – Part 3

So, you’ve successfully held a couples money and budgeting meeting together, as outlined in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. Now what? Guest Poster Timothy Ng fills us in on how to ensure smooth ongoing handling of finances.
Successfully Managing the Budget as a Couple
With an understanding of your partner’s attitude to money, [...]

5 Fifth (Wooden) Anniversary Gift Ideas

Wood. Solid, reliable wood. Did you know that every piece of wood is completely individual, with it’s own unique markings that act just like a fingerprint?
And think of all the things that are built using wood. Whole houses are built on wooden frames. There’s no doubt of it’s sturdiness and usefulness.
And so, wood is a [...]

Everything You Need to Know About Budgeting As a Couple – Part 2

So you’ve done your prep from Part One and you’re ready for your first Couples Money Meeting. Here’s how to tackle it. Part 2 in this series that we’ve asked guest poster Timothy Ng from Credit Card Finder to put together for us:
With your individual meeting prep done, it is time to lay the [...]

Everything You Need to Know About Budgeting as a Couple

As I told you earlier in the year, I kinda suck at saving. I’m learning how this year, and it’s going okay. Den is exceptionally good at saving. Needless to say, the discrepancy causes a few, ahem, disagreements between the two of us. With the purchase of our first house looming ahead of us, it’s [...]

Do You Make These Relationship Mistakes?

Relationships don’t come with instruction manuals. It’s a funny thing, because anytime you’re embarking on a new adventure be it a baby, a holiday, or buying a house, you tend to research everything you can on the subject.
But how many people arm themselves with instructions on how to be in a relationship?

Not many. And certainly [...]

Write Wedding Vows You Can Be Proud Of

There’s the boring. There’s the funny. There’s the soppy. And then there’s that special balance in between that is touching and sweet while also packing a little giggle.
I think your goal when writing your wedding vows should be to get your audience to shed a few sentimental tears. Everyone comes to a wedding ready to [...]

Video: Best Public Proposal Ever

While I’m still completely glad that Den proposed to me in private (before springing all our in-on-it family and friends on me!), if he absolutely had to do it in public, I would’ve wanted one just like this. I’ve watched it about 5 times already and I tear up every time!

Let us know if you’ve [...]

Get Lips Guys Will Love!

Continuing our week of beauty, the divine Stefanie from The Lip Print imparts her beauty wisdom on us with great tips for great lips!

Picture this: you’re enjoying a blissful Date Night with your partner. The mood is perfect, there’s ambient lighting and smooth background music. You close your eyes and lean in for a kiss [...]

Fuss-Free Beauty – New Fun Things

There are three new things in particular that have come to my attention this week in the fuss-free beauty arena. I’m pretty excited about them! As we discussed earlier in the week, being in a relationship makes me lazy when it comes to grooming. I know a lot of other women in the same boat. [...]

Fuss-Free Beauty – Things I Love

When it comes to my beauty routine, I’m kind of lazy. Add to that my general busy-ness and my hate of early mornings and what you get is a girl who either doesn’t have time or patience to spend hours in the bathroom every morning.
In an ideal world, one of two things would happen.
1) I would [...]

A Week of Beauty on $30 Date Night

Happy 201st Post, Daters! Just to mix things up a little bit, this week $30 Date Night is going to take a little deviation down the beauty route.
Why, you ask? What does that have to do with dating and relationships?
Plenty, it turns out.

Because if you feel good about yourself you’ll feel better [...]

Three Stages of Male Life

This made me laugh… an email sent to me by my baby sister – you should get a chuckle out of it.

Experts Confirm: Couples Need Date Night

Well, we’ve known it for awhile and every month or so we find more research and more expert opinions confirming the same: Couples need to find time in their schedules for date night, or risk ending up a divorce statistic.

This article from the Evening Tribune is a good one:
“It is not only important, it [...]

6 Fruit-and-Flower (4th) Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas

Well I am completely taken aback to learn that the fourth wedding anniversary traditional symbols are fruit and flowers! I didn’t expect that. I thought after paper, cotton and leather we were certainly starting to head towards some sort of semi-precious something…
Go figure.
Okay, well – when you think about it fruit and flowers [...]

mX Column: There Is No “Mostly Equal”

NB: This column has been altered slightly from it’s original publication as I have an infinite word count on this blog.

There are many things straight couples take for granted that gay couples have had to fight for.
And on Monday, Eliza Bern’s article in mX sparked even more conversation on the topic.
Bern suggested the [...]

Why We Love, Why We Cheat

In the midst of researching for my new ebook, I came across this great presentation given by Dr. Helen Fisher at the 2006 Ted Conference. We love Dr. Fisher’s research and I don’t know how this particular clip has eluded me for four years now.
In it, she explains the brain chemistry of the stages [...]

6 out of 10 People Not Trying Hard Enough

Wow, Daters. Did you know that 6 out of 10 people are unhappy with their relationships? That’s a lot of people. 60% in fact (I should’ve done maths and stuff).
The Daily Mail reported last week that: “More than six out of ten adults in a relationship admit there is a lot they could do [...]

Man-Colds Proven to Exist!

Man-colds do exist!
I knew it! I’ve been saying it all along.

Says the Daily Mail in London:
“Half of men will upgrade a common cold to flu and describe headaches as a migraine to gain maximum sympathy.
They will also moan more than women when suffering a bug or virus.
This is despite the fact [...]

MALE WARNING: Sex and the City is out!

The long awaited sequel to the Sex and the City movie is out – and cinemas across the globe will be jam packed with D&G, Manolo and Prada – with the exception of a few poor souls that have been dragged by their women to watch the movie.
This message goes out to those women [...]

Delight Your Partner with Inexpensive Nothings

Ahh… whispering sweet nothings is lovely, but handing over a sweet littIe gift to your partner for no reason whatsoever will melt them to a puddle of goo in a second.
As you know, we’re all about relationships with intent here at $30 Date Night. Break your usual routine and make your partner’s day by buying [...]

Using the Mere Exposure Effect to Your Dating Advantage

I wrote in my column a few weeks back about the theory behind Office Romances and why they are so prevalent these days. The idea is that the Mere Exposure Effect dictates your hormones here… the more time you spend around someone, the more attracted you will become to them.
And – obviously – vice [...]

An Interview With HitchedMag.com

Hey readers, as you know we love anything to do with couples, love and marriage that is available as a resource on the interwebs. We sent a few questions off to the founder of HitchedMag.com to see what inspires him and his marriage. The site is online, magazine-style and written by a team of experts [...]

The Better Marriage Blanket

I am still giggling as I write this post from watching the commercial. In short, an American company has come up with the ‘Better Marriage Blanket’ made from the SAME CARBON FABRIC THE MILITARY USES TO PROTECT AGAINST CHEMICAL WEAPONS (I couldn’t make this stuff up, it’s that funny) to stop the odour of farts [...]

Hey Babe, Does My Car Impress You?

FULLI-6, seriously… how fully sick is your car? And does all this sickness fully impress the girls?

Over the weekend we were given a lift to a party in a Subaru WRX STI, (to better explain it to the girls – it’s a blue car – it goes fast). I giggled like a school girl [...]

Newsflash: Couple Dates Each Other, Finds It’s Good For Relationship

I just found this article in The Sun about a couple who took on a one-month date night challenge (sounds suspiciously familiar) only to find that dating each other once a week was – GASP – good for their relationship!
Okay, I’ll stop being snarky now.
Because it’s great.
It really is great that we [...]

Marriage is Good For Your Health!… Until It’s Not

Marriage: When it’s good, it’s very good. But when it’s bad, it’s… deadly?
New York Times Magazine recently published this long piece on whether marriage is good for your health or not. Very early studies into the matter, circa 1858, concluded that marriage is a healthy estate and that single people died from disease “in [...]

Sexy Christina Hendricks Has Advice for Men

A wonderful open letter to men, from the Best Looking Woman in America (So Esquire says. I might just second that after reading the following advice from Christina Hendricks to Men of the World.)
“We love your body. If we’re in love with you, we love your body. Your potbelly, everything. Even if you’re insecure about [...]

How to Save a Marriage

Laura Munson’s new book This Is Not The Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness
has just been published, containing the account of the time her husband walked in the door one night, after 20 happy years of marriage and two children, and told her it was over. “I don’t love you. [...]

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Happiness expert Sophie Keller wrote this great piece over at Huffington Post about whether you and your partner are “Incompatible, or Refreshingly Different”
“My husband loves the middle of a quiche and I love the outside. He hates exercise, I love it. He knows everything there is about music, I know very little. Does that mean [...]

10 Leather (3rd) Anniversary Gift Ideas

They say that by the 3rd wedding anniversary you should be aware of the durability of your relationship together, which is why the traditional gift symbol is leather. The material is strong, durable, warm and resilient.
There are some gorgeous leather-based anniversary gifts you can give your partner on your third anniversary that they may [...]

“Me? Oh, I’m Naturally Gorgeous…”

I had just jumped out of the shower this morning and was in the office, pre-make up when Den suddenly asked me what was on my face. “It’s all shiny” he commented. I’d just moisturised. It was nothing different to my usual daily routine, but he’s usually at the gym still when I’m getting ready [...]

Will Marriage Always Have a Place in Society?

It’s pretty much common knowledge by now that the marriage rate in the Western world has been on a steady decline since the 1950s. Even moreso in Europe than in the US, people are electing again and again not to get married.

The divorce rate is insane, and divorces are easier and cheaper than ever [...]