Nothing better than chicken, but some free chicken.

Men are always complaining about how much it costs to take women on dates. They don’t have money for frivolous spending on dates and going out to eat. Ironically, they have plenty of money for video games, gadgets, beer and bar food, but that’s neither here nor there. One of the great things about the summer is that you have the ability to save money by taking your date out. By out I mean, outside. Along with today’s fresh mix from Carver The Great, I’ve jotted down one of my renowned long lists. This one is called, “Twenty Cheap or Free Summer Dates.”

Today’s Mix, fresh from Carver The Great is Summertime Fly Vol. 2:

1. Free Concerts and Festivals – The summer brings you an excellent chance to visit outdoor venues for free or inexpensive dates at a concert or local festival. It’s one of the few dates where you can’t say you didn’t do anything. Most of these are listed in your local paper.

2. Movies in the park – There will be “Movies on the Lawn” in just about every city in America. Pick up your local paper and find the one nearest you.

Why not a shameless plug?

3. Ice Cream – Instead of dinner, skip the appetizer, entrees and drinks and head straight for dessert. Visit your nearest Cold Stone, then take a stroll and save a ton of money.

4. Go for a bike ride – When we were kids, “riding bikes” was the most fun you could have on a summer day. Rent or borrow a couple of bikes and explore.

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5. Go on a hike – Most parks are free and have excellent hiking trails. If there’s one in your area, or a few miles away, I would totally recommend you take advantage of this inexpensive date.

6. Words With Friends – This doesn’t even require that you are in the same place. Set up a date to play WWF and on the side you can share some conversation in the chat section.

7. Karaoke – Bobby Brown once said, “All we need is a stage.” He couldn’t have been more right. There’s tons of karaoke bars, find one and you shall find fun.

8. Picnic – Groceries will always be cheaper than eating out. If you grab a blanket, some Tupperware and some adult beverages, you can turn your picnic game all the way up.

9. The beach or pool – It costs you nothing to spend a few hours lying out in the sun. You guys can do some reading or just spend a couple hours chatting it up.

10. Watch a movie on your iPad – There’s thousands of free material online these days. You can download a box office hit onto your iPad and you have an instant movie theater.

11. Volunteering – Why not take advantage of the weather by giving back to the community. This is a great way to spend time with your date and feel good about doing it.

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12. Stargazing – The stars are at their clearest in the summer. Check the weather forecast for a clear night, grab a blanket and stargaze for hours.

13. Pick some fruit – Find a local strawberry or cherry farm and go out and harvest some fruit for yourselves. Finish it off with a bottle of champagne and you’re winning for a little over the cost of a bottle of wine.

14. Wash your whip – This sounds like a ridiculous idea until you actually think about it. Don’t think about the work aspect; think about the fact that you’re both wet, soapy and in the mood for horseplay.

15. Crash somebody’s cookout – Cookout crashing is not as easy as it sounds. You have to find a way to show up, bring absolutely nothing and then get into the flow of things. The best way to do this is to immediately go to the Spades table and say you have next. People won’t interrupt you while you’re playing cards.

16. Window shopping – My boy didn’t have money for a date but he really liked the girl. I told him, he should take her to West Elm and decorate their imaginary apartment. He thought I was playing, I’ve done this at least six times and won.

17. Go camping – I know, I know… not everybody likes the outdoors. However, there’s no better feeling than it being just you, your significant other and the great outdoors. Now that’s quality time together.

18. Have a photo-shoot – Grab your cameras, pick a park or excellent backdrop and meet to take some pictures of each other.

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19. Pull the menu from an expensive restaurant and make the entrée yourself – Many of the premiere restaurants will turn over their menus for the summer. Pick up a new menu and spend an evening trying to duplicate the recipe with your date.

20. Reverse the date – Start off with brunch (cheaper than dinner), then catch a matinee (cheaper than regular prices) and finish off the date back in bed.

If you guys are wondering how these lists are made, I’ve always just asked people to send me their ideas on a topic. I rarely use Twitter, most times I try and ask a broad representation of people ranging from bougie to ratchet. I think today’s list had me rolling because some of these ideas when explained to me in full detail, they actually made sense. If you’re still having problems trying to date on a budget after this date, face it, you don’t like the girl.

See... the way my bank account is set up...

This is the part of the show where women hit up that guy they haven’t been able to get to do anything and tell him about himself.

What about y’all, do you have any ideas you’d like to add? Any thoughts on summer dating in general? And yes, do the ladies really buy it when a guy says he’s too broke to date? You’ve always got to make your decision if you’re the “date girl” or the “come over and chill girl,” word to NC17.

TGIF.