Today’s post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Cat.
I just realized Valentine’s Day is coming up. With all the preparations for our two babies underway, I barely even noticed the outrageous amounts of pink and red decorations all over every store.
Still, I think Valentine’s Day is a sweet holiday whether you’re showing your other half you love them or showering a little love on friends and other family members. If you’re into the holiday, here are some tips for being thoughtful without going overboard on your spending.
1. Fuzzy Socks
If any of you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my extensive fuzzy sock collection. I know; I am the coolest person alive. It’s a little bit of an addiction, but I just love wearing them. I already spotted a few Valentine’s Day themed ones I liked at Target, and I told my husband I was probably going to buy a few pairs as his gift to me (after the holiday was over with so I could get them on sale, obviously.) What, don’t you pick out your own gifts?! :)
2. Breakfast in Bed
Making your lovely lady breakfast in bread shouldn’t cost you too much except maybe an hour of your time. Get up early and get cooking. Come on, we know you can scramble an egg or two. Don’t be shy. A little bit of thought really goes a long way when it comes to this type of holiday. Plus, it gives the day a really nice mood to start out with.
3. Grocery Store Flowers
There’s no reason to go overboard with a $200 floral arrangement sent to her work. I mean, most women would enjoy getting a flower delivery, but they’d also probably love it if you just stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up some flowers and a bottle of wine. It’s simple, easy, and will cost you under $20. The last two years when I lived in the Caribbean, my husband bought me some tropical flowers on Valentine’s Day that a few locals were selling at school. They were only 10ECD (~$4 USD), they lasted forever, and they were so pretty! I miss those tropical flowers, and it just goes to show that beautiful gifts don’t have to be expensive.
4. Write a Love Note
I know you’re very manly, but us ladies know that you have a softer side too. A simple card with a really nice note in it would probably be better than any other gift you could possibly select for Valentine’s Day. You can even draw a really funny picture in a card that your other half can keep forever. One time, my husband and I were separated on Valentine’s Day, and he mailed me this very extensive drawing of stick figures being separated by a big body of water (since he was overseas.) The water was full of sharks, etc. which were all drawn very much not to scale and about a million times bigger than the stick figures of us. Maybe you had to be there, but it was simple and sweet, and I’ve kept it for years.
So, will you be splurging a lot on Valentine’s Day or do you like a more low key holiday? I personally will be snuggled up in my fuzzy socks at home…
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
Fuzzy socks are always welcome! Grocery store flowers are certainly a good buy too. I’ll have to forward this to my husband so he has some good ideas!
Oh yes it’s always helpful to give them some ideas lol
My husband likes to get me fuzzy socks =) I also love love notes….and they’re free!
Awe ya hear that Greg?! :)
I prefer it to be more low key. Grocery store flowers and breakfast in bed are exactly what I would love! :)
Seriously where do I sign up? :)
Good call on the fuzzy socks! My wife has a couple pairs of those and loves them, but I hadn’t thought about it as a gift idea. Thanks for the suggestion!
Ha! Hope she likes them! Seriously you can’t go wrong!
I’m wearing some HUGE slippers right now. Fuzzy socks FTW!
You are hereby dubbed awesome. :)
Truth. I LOVE fuzzy socks. Totally underestimated gift. If my valentine had $20 to spend on me, I’d want a box of almond coconut kind bars.
We should start a fuzzy sock fan club!
We’ve splurged before, but this year will def be low key. I’m thinking a movie and chocolate are definitely in the game plan :)
BudgetforMore That sounds like perfection!
Great ideas for the Valentine’s day! :) Thanks for sharing those.
moneysavingdude My pleasure!
I absolutely love fuzzy socks and have many pairs, some of which I just got for Christmas. They also have aloe infused fuzzy socks! I like all the ideas, especially handwritten notes. I still have the cards my boyfriend got for me in the past. Personalized letters are so sweet!
JourneytoSaving What! Aloe infused fuzzy socks? Off to google it… :)
My biggest splurge for Valentine’s day is for Despicable Me Valentine’s cards for my first grader. The whole tone of the holiday changes with small kids.
Eyesonthedollar Ha I can imagine that gets pretty intense!
I LOVE fuzzy socks!! And we have not splurged on V-Day since we were first dating (over 11 years ago), so we plan to make pizza and have a bed date, which consists of watching Netflix shows in bed with popcorn.
blonde_finance lol a bed date – I have never heard that term but I like it!! Sounds like my kind of date!
I love notes too. They are so precious and becoming even more rare these days since nobody writes letters any more (I still do but I am old!) I certainly enjoy flowers, wine, good food and sparkly things but a heartfelt love letter would be #1. I also can’t believe Valentine’s Day is next week because we just started February!
ShannonRyan You are far from old Shannon!! And I know time is flying!
Great ideas, especially the love note. My wife loves stuff like that. Or at least she says she does…maybe she’s just a sweetheart?
DonebyForty Aw you should write her one!!
Ha! Love these ideas. My husband isn’t a fan of Valentine’s Day but I think he knows that’s not a good enough excuse. :) I don’t need anything elaborate, just a nice sentiment so I can walk around on Cloud 9 for a day. He’s really good at making me feel special during random times so I get where he’s coming from, but still — I love a good card. PS: Do you write for every PF blog out there?! I swear this is the third article I’ve read from you this week!
HassleFreeSaver Ha yeah the boys need to at least *act* like they love V-day haha! And you’re sweet! I do write for a handful of blogs in our niche as my full time gig now. Love it so much. :)
I like the $20 or less ideas as we will not be splurging on this holiday.
Raquel@Practical Cents $20 or less is always a good price point for a gift!
I’m going with a coffee gift basket of some kind. The Mrs. digs some coffee in the morning.
Brian @ Luke1428 Ooh I love that idea!
A girl would be crazy not to love any of these! Give me some fuzzy socks and a love note any day over high priced roses that just die.
thepennychaser Preach!! I agree haha.
Love note is where I’m at with the wife. I’m more of a simple guy, just lucky she chose to stay with me.
Charles@gettingarichlife Haha aw I’m sure she’s very lucky!!
Vonnie LOVES fuzzy socks….and her heated blanket….and breakfast in bed. Tried and true, that’s for sure….men, take note! :)
DebtChronicles Sounds like my kind of gal. Can’t wait to meet yall at fincon I hope?!
BudgetBlonde Fincon14 is up in the air right now, but really hoping to make it work!
We don’t do V-day, but my favorite gift under $20 (or at any price for that matter) would be a trip to Chipotle and a bottle of La Finca Malbec ($3.99) from TJ’s. I know, I know — I’m SO high maintenance ;)
I prefer being sock-less!