Hubs & I have made this effort as well this year.  Do you have family in your area that you can use for babysitting?  One of the things we did this year was to have the kids sleep @ the grandparents and have date night at home.  We cook together, clean together, and enjoy the rest of the night "on the cheap".  In the winter months, we really just sat by the fire and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  Now, we enjoy it out on our deck.  

Make the committment, it's totally worth it!!!  Also, if money is the issue, then sign up for Groupon and Living Social.  You get daily emails to restaurants in your area offered at at least 50% off.  We got a $100 coupon to a favorite restaurant of ours for $50.  And, it's not like Restaurant.com where it's filled with restrictions (though restaurant.com is another one to check out, but be sure to check it's restrictions).  There you can get a $25 dining certificate to any restaurant on their list for $2. 

Another idea, if money/babysitting is an issue and you don't have family in the area is trading babysitting services with friends. 

Hope any of this helps!

Zin, that's great advice. There is nothing as good as an empty house. We also go to our "usual" spot, we found a quiet restaurant in our town that has amazing food and wine, and a romantic ambience, and isn't expensive. We can do it for $40 or so, and we chose Wednesdays because it's quiet at the restaurant, we can just walk in and order. Really pleasant and relaxing. Ginny, do you live in an area that has a lot of restaurants to choose from? Find a favorite and give it a go. There's a site that a fellow company in our startup incubator runs, it's called https://www.sittingaround.com/. They start babysitting co-ops everywhere, check it out. Maybe that would help?