Showing Love on a Budget

by Christina Renee | Children, Marriage, Saving Money

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and this year money is tight. When special occasions come and your budget is in short supply, sometimes you feel like it’s hard to celebrate the day without having a lot of money. You don’t know if showing love on a budget is possible. And you’re not sure if you should try. Celebrate anyway. Giving to someome else comes from the heart, not the checkbook. There still are a lot of things you can do but the trade-off is that it will take more time. But you can do it.

Be Creative

I love The Dating Diva’s site for so many different printable that you can print off for free or very reasonable. One year I bought empty pill capsules and then wrote little things I loved about him and put them in the capsules with instructions for 1 a day. But you could do the same thing with a deck of cards or a letter. You could fill out a coupon book or write letters. Your imagination is the limit.

Cook or Bake Something

For Valentines day, have a pink and red food theme. We’ve had pink pancakes, and heart shaped cooked eggs for breakfast. Tomato soup with little heart shaped cut croutons. You can use heart shaped cookie cutters on just about everything. I have a heart shaped bundt pan that makes a great red velvet cake. But if there’s a favorite recipe make that. There are a lot of food that’s red and pink. Beets, tomatoes, apples, are just a few.

Going Away

It’s not true that you can’t go away on a budget. First decide if it’s an evening, a day trip or overnight. There are a lot of fun things to do on a budget. I love finding great deals for dinner or things to do on Groupon. You could find a romantic dinner or go play laser tag. There’s usually something for everyone. They also have getaways that can be more than half off. You can also get meal discounts at Restaurant.com or hotel nights on Hotwire.

Do a Project for or with Them

If they have something they’ve needed to be done, surprise them and do it. Organize a drawer, sew something, repair something that’s broke. Do a home project or cook together. Our neighborhood grocery store has cooking classes, check yours. Or you can cook their favorite meal. Maybe set up a bubble bath or a back massage. Fill your room with candles.

Showing Love To Children

Some of the above tips can be used with children. My children love pink heart pancakes and heart-shaped pizza. Beets, not as much. Of course, almost any dessert goes well. But you can buy or do little things for your children that make them feel special. The Dollar Tree has so many cute pencils, erasers, treats, play-doh and more. Have a special ice cream night or a tea party with lemonade and cookies. Give them a Valentine or write them a note. Spend time with them.

What other ideas do you have for showing love on a budget?