Valentine’s Day on a Budget
February 10, 2010, 10:43 am
Valentine's Day can be celebrated on a budget and still be romantic without the need to increase your debt to pay for it.
This Valentine’s Day, make the holiday more special for you and your significant other by keeping the celebration as frugal as it is romantic.
That may seem like a contradiction to many people; doesn’t keeping Valentine’s Day on a budget kill all the romance? Not necessarily. Caring about your financial future means being able to better provide for your loved ones in the long term. What could be more romantic than that?
Indeed, an inexpensive Valentine’s Day date usually means something you have to plan yourself; something that requires more thought than just making a purchase at the jewelry store. Keeping your romantic celebration on a budget forces you to be more thoughtful, more creative, and indeed more romantic.
With all that in mind, here are some ideas for thoughtful Valentine’s Day celebration that shouldn’t force you to break out the credit card:
• A home-cooked meal. This holiday is a good excuse to try something completely new. Instead of dessert from a box, look up a recipe and try to make sweets for your sweetie entirely from scratch. You can even work on this together if food and cooking are things your loved one enjoys. Part of the fun can be trying a new recipe together. The internet is full of recipes, tips, and techniques. Take advantage of a special occasion to expand your boundaries.
• Movie night. Again, use the holiday as an opportunity to expand your boundaries. Cozy up with your loved one and watch a foreign film, or an old classic you’ve never seen. Make the night different from every other night you watch television together, and it will be special, whether you spent a lot of money or not. There are lots of great movies to rent from the Library for free.
• Get out together. If you live in a part of the country where Valentine’s Day isn’t too cold and snowy, spend the day outside. Go for a hike somewhere beautiful, or head to the beach together. Get outside of your normal surroundings for a few hours, just you and the one you love. This will make the holiday special without busting your budget. If you do live in a cold and snowy region, go sledding for a while and then find someplace warm to share a mug of hot chocolate with your sweetie.
• Set a goal. Talk with your loved one about what you want to achieve and what you want to have. Instead of running up debt, set a long-term goal to save together to get something you both want. Valentine’s Day is the time to talk about the future of your relationship and that includes your joint finances. Talk about starting a savings account together, decide how much you will each contribute over time, and eventually you will be able to share the fruits of that diligent planning. Imagine, in a few years you and your significant other might be able to take a romantic vacation without going into debt to pay for it. All you have to do is commit to spending a few years saving and keeping Valentine’s Day romantic and firmly under budget.
Remember, you can start right here in the FIT Academy if you need help getting started on setting a budget or learning more about your credit. Also, check out our “Couples and Money” seminar booklet, available on our Materials page.
