valentine's day Archives - Lazy Man and Money

Save Money on Valentine’s Day

February 5, 2021 by Lazy Man 23 Comments

The Super Bowl is this weekend and that means… time to plan for Valentine’s Day. Sorry if I’m being a Debbie Downer to all the football fans out there. I’m a big football fan and, as a New Englander, a huge Tom Brady fan. Still, it’s a good idea to connect the two events, because there’s little more than a week before Valentine’s Day. With coronavirus, shipping times can be undependable.

One reason to act now is that prices are as low as they are going to get. Trying to get flowers at the last minute? Good luck with that. Also, the earlier you act, the more options you’ll have to pick something that will save you money.*

I’m fortunate in that my wife doesn’t seem to care too much about spending money on Valentine’s Day. It could be nearly 15 years of marriage and a focus in raising kids and getting her retired early. Still, she does like nice things. Due to COVID, we’ve saved a lot of money by not traveling and eating out (as much), so this is a good time for us personally to spend a little more than we normally would.

With that in mind, here are a bunch of tips to save money on Valentine’s Day.

Save Money on Valentine’s Day

Write a Love Note – This was suggested in the past by a couple of people. I did that several years ago. I was reading a book on writing that mentioned the 10 most beautiful adjectives in the English language. I found a way to work them all in. I think it came out a little forced, but still worked. It’s the thought that counts, right?
Create a Treasure Hunt – You can create a treasure hunt around the neighborhood. This can work well in COVID as long as it doesn’t depend on people.
Celebrate a Different Day – You can always agree to celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 15th. It makes sense because the date itself doesn’t seem to represent anything special. Back when we could out, we would often go out the weekend before. We can get into the premium places without paying a special markup. It’s also a lot less crowded. For Valentine’s Day itself, we do something small like takeout.
Give a Coupon Book – Make a book of coupons of favors that you’ll do. This could range from chores to massages. (Bonus Tip) You might want to start with doing a few chores right away. Studies show that women like men who do housework.
Did we really need to commission a study to know this? Personally, I’ve known this for some time. The smell of bleach equals “cleaning” to my wife… and “cleaning” equals sexy. You may think I’m crazy, but when I invent bleach-scented cologne and make millions, I’ll be the one laughing to the bank.
Go For a Picnic – It’s too cold for us in Rhode Island to go on a picnic, but in warmer climates, it may be possible. Sandwiches, good scenery, and a bottle of wine (which may or may not be legal in your area) all add up to a good time.
Fixed Price Activities – Museums and other admission-based venues are typically the same price any time of year.
Tour the Romantic Places of the Past – Relive a first date, first kiss, or other milestone.
Exchange Small Practical Gifts – My wife and I usually keep our Amazon wishlists current. We usually exchange one or two things that extremely unromantic, but practical. One year my wife had dish soap that was a scent she really enjoyed. Another year, I had new dish towels on my list. Nothing says romance like clean dishes?
Have an unValentine’s Day – There are a lot single folk out there. Put on a bad, unromantic movie and eat fast food.

Valentine’s Day Savings at Home

This year, more than any other, it’s best to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home. This can be difficult because you have to make it special. In general, your home is boring, ordinary, and doesn’t scream “This is a special event!” This approach has big risk and big rewards… you are already that much closer to the bedroom…

Breakfast in Bed – …or in this case, in the bedroom. Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year. It’s the perfect opportunity to get up a little early and make breakfast in bed for your significant other.
Cook a Special Dinner – Cooking a special dinner at home is an easy win. At this point in the pandemic, we’re all 5-star Michelin chefs, right? I suggest a great steak or shrimp scampi. I’ve recently started to spend more on a great steak than I have in the past. I can usually find a good deal at my local grocery store for around $6 a pound. Steak and wine are a lot cheaper at home.
As for the scampi, you can find heart-shaped pasta online or at most grocery stores. For the past few years, my wife has been working from home on Valentine’s Day, so I’ve used this to make lunch break a special Valentine’s Day treat.
Cue up a Movie – This is a refreshed article from a several years ago. Back then you’d have to plan to rent a DVD in advance. Now, with Netflix and Chill, you can cut a couple of corners. The downside is that, without putting the effort into planning it in advance, movie night doesn’t seem very special.
Cue up the Music and Cut a Rug – I’m not big into dancing, but maybe you are? Maybe you can learn some ballroom moves on YouTube. Finding the right music nowadays is easy… every music should have a romantic playlist you call up on demand.
Massage Oils – Looking for something after dinner? Just don’t get scammed into buying super expensive DoTerra essential oils.

Most Valentine’s Day my wife and I have a great dinner at our local military base. For $75 (including a bottle of wine), you get a meal that would be $200 elsewhere. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to continue that tradition this year.

* Don’t give me guff about how Valentine’s Day isn’t about saving money :). While that may be true, the title of “Save Money on Valentine’s Day” should have warned you what this article was about. There’s nothing wrong with maximizing the value your dollar.

Here’s a Cheap Last Minute Valentine’s Plan

February 13, 2015 by Lazy Man 2 Comments

So tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Are you ready?

I had awesome luck yesterday and I thought maybe sharing the story could spur some action. I happen to have two stores near me that had everything I needed: Aldi and a Dollar store (not sure which one).

Aldi has a half-dozen roses for $3.99. They have them at this price year-round making them perfect for a splurge without breaking the bank. They had a more elaborate dozen roses with baby’s breath for $12.99. That’s not a bad price either.

The next stop was the Dollar Store. They had so many items for a dollar. Valentine’s cards were two for a dollar. On the back, they were priced at $2.25. They aren’t the most elaborate cards, but it’s the thought that counts. I needed to get two cards anyway (one from me and one from the kids) so it was perfect. They also had balloons for a buck. I got one for the flowers.

At the end of the trip, I spent a total of $7 and got: roses ($4), cards ($1), balloon ($1), and candy ($1). I think the same stuff would cost me $20-25 at CVS.

I’m not advocating cheaping out Valentine’s Day. We’ve got a very nice dinner planned for Valentine’s Day itself. However, if you can get 95% of the value for 30% of the money, I call that a big win. The only better than saving $15-20 is being able to share that with readers. I hope you can take advantage of the deals.

Looking for more Valentine’s Tips? Check out my previous Valentine’s blog here and a similar one on Be Better Now.

Valentine’s Day Contest Results

August 1, 2011 by Lazy Man 1 Comment

The deadline for submitting entries for my Valentine’s Day Contest concluded last night. I tallied up the entries. Almost everyone gave me a tip that can be executed between now and Saturday which earned them a couple of entries. In total I had 61 entries. I ran the randomizer just a few minutes ago and it spit out the numbers 4 and 14.

Obviously those were the early birds to comment – especially the #4 entry. That winner was kosmo. The other winner (#14) was fitwallet. Both people can expect an e-mail from me shortly to claim their prize of the Amazon or Ebay gift certificate. I want to thank everyone for playing.

Win $20 on Ebay or Amazon By Giving Your Best Frugal Valentine’s Day Tip (2 Prizes)

February 5, 2009 by Lazy Man 41 Comments

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. Guys, if you are as Lazy as I am, you haven’t come up with anything for that special someone in your life. Personally, I can’t get flowers (she has allergies) or chocolate (we are trying to be more healthy this year), so that knocks out the two traditional staples of Valentine’s gift.

Let’s all do some brainstorming. Since many minds are better one (especially if that one is mine), I’m asking you to leave your best frugal valentine tip in the comments. If helping out your fellow man isn’t enough incentive, I’m going to give out a $20 gift certificate to Ebay or Amazon (winner’s choice) to two winners.

In the interest of equality, let’s not leave the women out. We want to hear the frugal ideas you have planned for your guy. Though us men love to give, we don’t mind being on the receiving end every now and again.

And everyone, please remember this is a family-friendly website, not the Newlywed Show. I recognize that whoopie is frugal, so let’s just agree, and move on to other tips.

Content details:

How to enter
- Leave a comment of your best Valentine’s Day tip – If it’s a tip that takes weeks to implement, you will get one entry. Unfortunately we don’t have weeks, but it’s good to get a head-start on next year. If it’s a tip that can be executed in the last 5 business days of Valentine’s Day, I’ll give you two entries. If I judge the idea to be of marginal help (see the “how not to enter” below), I may award no entries.
- Write about this contest – If you write about this contest on your blog and link to this page, you get three entries. Make sure you contact me for credit.
How NOT to enter – Write about your plan to take your significant other to KFC because you saw their “KFC has chicken and corn” commercial. (Random Aside: Can we agree that the jingle might be one of the worst ever. Is there anyone who doesn’t know that KFC has chicken and corn? It doesn’t cover either of KFC’s two best sides – mashed potatoes and biscuits. It’s an epic fail.)
Winners will be picked at random – This is why you’ll want to earn all the entries you can get.
Three comments per person please – I don’t want to have one person take up all the good, easy ideas, but I want to encourage people to share multiple good ideas if they have them. (And I realize this goes against the concept of “Best” frugal Valentine’s Day Tip as you can’t have two bests.)
Leave a valid email address if you want a prize – I can’t give you an award, if I don’t know how to reach you.
Contest ends Monday, February 9th (11:59PM PT) – Everyone has to have time to implement the tips.
As usual, I forget things – I almost always forget some detail. I came very close to publishing this without a date of when the contest ends. I’m new at offering contests. Please bare with me if I while I learn, so I can get better at sharing money with readers

So hit me up with some good ideas.

Photo Credit: aussiegall

How My Wife and I Celebrate Valentine’s Day – Past and Present

February 5, 2009 by Lazy Man 11 Comments

Valentine’s Day – there are few holidays like it. You either love it or hate it. Until 3 years ago, I was more of hater than a lover. Since I met the woman who would later become my wife, the tide has turned considerably.

If you are alone this year consider this: My wife is conditioned to do her taxes on February 14th every year. It’s taken me a couple of years to break her of the habit. As for me, I still remember “celebrating” the Valentine’s Day of 2004. I was at a bar in Boston with a couple of single friends when news came on that the Yankees had traded for the best player in baseball – Alex Rodriguez. The Red Sox had spent all winter courting him only to have it break down due to financial considerations. This was less than 4 months after the Red Sox lost one of the most devastating games in their tortured history. The moral: Sometime things work out for the best.

As you might imagine, Valentine’s Day isn’t one of the bigger holidays for us. We’ve found a couple of frugal ways to celebrate it that many would consider a little unique:

Time-Shift Typical Valentine’s Day Activities – Last month, I brought home flowers – probably the first time I’ve done that since we started dated. I believe spontaneous gifts mean more than giving when the calendar says you should.
Have Take-out for Dinner – As part of the previous time-shifting, we go out for nicer dinner some other time of the month, when the restaurants don’t try to take advantage of the holiday. On Valentine’s Day itself, we get some cheap take out. Last year it was pizza from Costco. The year before that it was Papa Gino’s, an Italian restaurant in New England. Both dinners were under $10 for the two of us.
Only Give Homemade Cards – I’ve never been a fan of paying Hallmark $3.00 to have someone else tell my wife how they feel about receiving my $3.00. It’s usually quite a nice poem, but I don’t get the point. My wife does like to receive cards though, so think year we are going to make our own. Since, I’m more a writer than a software engineer nowadays, I figure I best be able to put something together. Even if it’s horrible though, I know she’ll love it.
Exchange Practical Gifts – We use Valentine’s Day as a time to buy each other practical gifts. I don’t know how we started doing it, but usually Hanes or Fruit of the Loom is prominently involved. We usually have more than a few practical things that we are thinking of buying, but are procrastinating on. There is nothing we are waiting on this year, so we aren’t buying each other gifts.

However you choose to celebrate it, I wish the best Valentine’s Day. I leave you with a final frugal tip: chocolate goes on sale February 15th.