Have you ever considered having a "Date Afternoon" instead of a Date Night? You can get as much entertainment from lunch and an afternoon matinee as you can from dinner and a movie, and in most cases it's a lot easier on your budget. So why not give it a try?

If it's deep winter and you're stuck inside, don't succumb to cabin fever. Try to keep yourself entertained. Even if TV holds no charms, there's always your reading to catch up on; and as long as the electricity holds out, you can play computer games, write, or do puzzles.

If you're in charge of a big entertainment event, make sure you take into account your audience type as well as your budget, venue, and date. It won't do you much good if you book a borsch-belt comedian for a group of twenty-somethings, or a tractor-pull for an opera crowd.