Every year, not too long after Christmas, the store aisles are lined with red hearts, teddy bears and chocolates to prepare for the Day of Love on February 14th. My inbox has been inundated with emails from Tiff's Treats and Edible Arrangements making sure I don't forget the biggggg day and encouraging me to place my order now. Personally, I need to be shown how much you love me ALL YEAR ROUND, not just one day.
But, because I love all things money, I can't think about the holiday and not think about the financial aspect of it. According to the National Retail Foundation, Valentine's Day 2020 spending is expected to be $27.4 billion!!! I can think of several other things we (as consumers) can do with $27.4
B I L L I O N dollars instead of spending it on candy that will be consumed and forgotten, cards that will be trashed (not even recycled) and bears that will sit up and collect dust that we never even really wanted.
Soooooo, to help you out, here's a list of five meaningful things you can do that won't break your pocket and might even score some extra brownie points with your special someone.
1.) Write a handwritten love letter or poem. Sure sweet texts with heart emojis are what's 'hot' right now, but there's nothing like a handwritten love letter with someone saying all of the things they love about you.
2.) Cook a romantic dinner at home. This can be tough if you have little ones at home demanding your attention, but if it's not dinner, share a dessert by candlelight after you've put them to bed. Not only are you avoiding the ridiculous wait times at restaurants for the 'holiday' but you can spend quality time with your person in a much quieter environment.
3.) Organize a movie night/game night at home. This is not your regular Netflix & Chill set up either. #dobetter Pop some popcorn, make some drinks, light a candle and grab some box candy from the store and set up your 'concession stand' with all of your loved one's favorites snacks.
4.) Make a coupon book for your loved one. This one is fun! You can make a book of 5 to 10 coupons our IOU's for your love to redeem when they want to. Get creative and have fun! It can be for a massage or a foot rub, or a week of doing dishes/laundry, or something more x-rated if that's what your into. #nojudgementzone 😉
5.) Make a photo album or scrapbook with pictures of you two. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so imagine what a book of pictures could say! LOL... We have gotten so comfortable creating memories in our cell phones and online albums and never print them anymore. Apps like Google Photos makes it super easy to send your prints to Walmart and they're usually ready in a couple of hours. Grab a cute photo album and wallah...magic. If you're not into the tangible pics, make an online slideshow and throw your favorite song in the background; that works too!
This is clearly not an all inclusive list. Just a few ideas for people who don't want to break the bank for Valentine's Day. If you do spend money on gifts, maybe talk with your significant other and pre-determine a max limit that you guys are willing to spend on each other to lessen the expectation of having to 'go all out'. Do what works for you and your budget! (FYI, if you don't have a budget, we need to talk)
Happy Valentine's Day to you though! I hope that not only on today, you feel loved, appreciated and needed (because you are).
Until next time,
Monique
.png)