7 Ways to Spend More Quality Time With Your Partner

Follow these easy and affordable ideas to spend more kid-free time alone with your significant other.

Just the Two of Us

This article originally appeared on LearnVest.com.

When you’re a parent, the luxury of “couple time” tends to disappear in the delivery room. Post-kids, it can become hard to remember what it felt like to be “the two of you.”

“The transition from two to three is one of the most profound challenges a couple will ever face,” writes couples therapist Esther Perel in “Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic.” “For a while, there seems to be less for the couple: Less time, less communication, less sleep, less money, less privacy.”

We’ve already told you why it’s important to splurge on yourself, but spending quality alone time with your significant other matters equally as much—especially now that there’s more of you.

Getting enough couple time builds intimacy, opens communication and strengthens your bond, which in turn strengthens your marriage. Plus, it provides your kids with a good example for their own future relationships.

Of course, the obvious answer to spending more time together is to hire a babysitter and head out for date night. But even though that’s a great option, sitters and expensive dinners can bust any budget.

Here are some cheap and easy ways to build more couple time into your busy schedule: