My husband is a teacher at a private school and we are living on just one income because we feel it is important for one of us to be home with our children. Because of this, we are tight on "spending money" to take to go out very often. What I do try to do is at least a few times a month I take turns with some other mothers and we do play dates at each other's houses. It doesn't cost a thing and the kids enjoy it. I usually go out with friends once a month and we do lunch or dinner somewhere and just talk. We don't need to spend a lot of money to get out! I am lucky to have my mom only about a mile away from my house, so in order to stay sane, I usually go over to her house a few days a week for a couple of hours. My kids are very close to her (and I know they will remember these times when they get older), and it means a lot to me to spend that time with her!