Valentine's Day is just two days away and well, if you are reading this you clearly need all the help you can get. You clearly didn't use the Budgets or Goals feature in MoneyCoach to prepare for this day... Anyway, how much can you afford to spend this Valentine's Day? Fifty pounds? Twenty euros? Ten dollars? Um, nothing?
Well, we got your back so here are five ways you can still save this Valentine's Day:
1 - Make a card
Don't just buy a card, write something and be done with it, don't be that person. Your significant other deserves way more effort than just buying a premade card. Find one of the best photos you have together, one with meaning behind it, one to remember. Throw that into one of the billion or so photo editing apps you already have installed on your phone. Spend some time with it, clean it up, add a few filters, maybe a nice cute sticker, a cool border and if you feeling a little adventurous, slap a love quote on it.
Then just go, print it, write the date the photo was taken along, buy a cheap envelope, stick it in and that's it. Tears, guaranteed!
Total cost = 2 or 3 of whatever your local currency is
2 - Make... something
I don't know what you are capable of or what your skills are but, you can make the gift yourself. You can bake a cake or some cookies. Or you can knit something. Or you make a custom dedicated mug or plate. Or something else creative. Look, if you have no ideas whatsoever, there are literally millions of guides on DIY stuff on Pinterest.
Total cost = I don't know how much flour or sugar costs
3 - Do a chore
What? Yeah, just do a chore or a number of them. Clean the garage or the kitchen or the entire house. Or repair that broken thing you promised to repair months ago. Or take the cat out for a walk... It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it so that your S.O doesn't have to.
Total cost = nothing
4 - A "fancy picnic"
We established that you clearly did not think this Valentine's Day through, that's why you are reading this article, hoping to find some inspiration or solace. Well, you can always prepare a "fancy picnic"... and yes, I said prepare cause going out to a nice restaurant might be way out of the budget. So what's a "fancy picnic" you might ask? Takeout, a bottle of wine, some candles and a blanket is all you need. "But head monkey, Valentine's Day is on a Thursday, we are at work" you might say but, who said anything about an actual picnic?
Have the picnic inside your home, just set it up on your living room floor and I guarantee you will have a great time and your S.O will love it.
Total cost = Depends on the takeout and wine, but cheap
5 - Make a playlist
This is the 2019's version of "burn a CD" idea. You probably already pay for Spotify or Apple Music or whatever Google has for music so go ahead and create a custom playlist for your S.O. And if you don't have any of the aforementioned music services, just make a private Youtube playlist and send him or her the link. Make sure to start with "your song" cause you probably have a "your song".
Total cost = Really cheap or just nothing
Wow, you made it to the end, congratulations, you might be able to save this Valentine's Day. You see, it doesn't really matter what gift you buy or what you do for your significant other this Valentine's Day as long as you do it with care and love. You don't need to spend crazy amounts of cash to make someone happy. Of course, if you can afford it by any means, go crazy with the gifts, but if you can't, just put some thought and love into whatever you choose to do. Humans, not places, make memories.
