Happy Valentine’s Day: Save Your Money Edition

Valentine's DayFor Valentine’s Day this year, my husband gave me a card and a post in one. He knew how hard I’ve been working between this blog and the new one I’ve been working on, and he wanted to give me an extra day off. He also knew that I’ve been trying to go paperless and thought he’d give me something I could save forever. So, here’s my Valentine’s Day present from my honey:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Once again it is the day of love. Every year I try to make a card for my wife. Over the years I have come up with some pretty amazing cards (at least I think so anyway). One of them is even hanging on the wall in our apartmentt. It is a giant heart, about 2ft by 2 ½ ft, made out of cardboard and painted red. I’ve made others that have been rather large also. The problem with making my own cards is, always trying to come up with new and exciting things, and always trying to make something bigger and better. So once again, I’ve been looking around trying to find something really cool to make a card out of. And then it hit me. How many people get to read their Valentine’s Day card on the Internet and show it off to everyone? How cool would that be!

 

So, to my wonderful wife,

I love you so much.  It’s ridiculous how happy you have made me since I met you. You complete me in every way imaginable. People always refer to their spouse as their better half, but in our case this is totally true. You always have our best interest at heart, even though I may not see it at the time. I’m so proud of you for all you have done, and I thank you for always encouraging me in things that I do, and things I should do, even if I don’t see it at the time.

You are my best friend and always will be. You are my greatest joy and my greatest love.  Everything I know is better because you are part of my life.  I love you so much. Thank you for being my wife. Thank you for being there for me and letting me be there for you no matter what. I love you HoneyBaby, happy Valentine’s Day =)

Your friend, your husband forever – HONEY :-)

Now, to bring this back to personal finance for a sec. Guys, you don’t need to spend money for Valentine’s Day. I know it’s a lot easier when you can just go out and buy: a card, flowers, and some chocolate. Or… you can make a card, pick some wild flowers or make some treats or dinner or something. Whatever you do, it’s not what you get her—it’s the effort you put into it that really counts. You don’t need money, you can save money and get better results. You need effort and love. If you really love your wife or girlfriend, it will show, with what you are willing to do for her, not what you are willing to buy her. So don’t worry about spending a bunch of money, just take a little time and show your girl she really is a princess, the love and the joy you have always wanted in your life. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and are as lucky as me, to have someone so wonderful to spend it with.

-Honey :-)

Jen’s notes: I totally agree with Honey, I would much rather have somebody do something special to show me they care. Anybody can go out and buy the generic Valentine’s Day gifts (he left out stuffed critters and jewelry), but going above and beyond the standard is what stands out. Putting the time, effort and planning into something can really make somebody else feel special, important, loved and appreciated. Honestly, not every chick would prefer this over the traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, but if you know her well, you should be able to make a good guess.

When I think of Valentine’s Day, I think of love and romance. It’s mostly a chick holiday and most times, the poor men have to make everything perfect or else. As a fellow chick, I don’t go out and buy my husband gifts, but I do give him a card every year. Sometimes I will make him a homemade card, other times I’ll just go out and buy one. In all honesty, it really doesn’t matter to him. He enjoys reading the sweet stuff I write in the card, but after that…it just gets shoved in a box or bucket, never to be read again.

As a guy, my husband gives me a card. I don’t actually care about the card itself, just all those wonderful things that he writes about me inside. Who doesn’t love to hear how great they are? He doesn’t buy me flowers, stuffed critters, gifts or chocolates. Those things just aren’t important to me. Some years we’ll go out to dinner (at a modest restaurant), or see a movie or go out and do something else fun. Other times, we’ll just have a nice quiet evening at home spending time with each other. As long as we are together, that’s what matters. It’s more about creating lasting memories for us than about gifts.

“Showering someone with gifts doesn’t show love, it shows you’re willing to spend your money on them.” -Jen

 I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, or Anti-Valentine’s Day depending on your situation. :-)

 

How do you usually celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Girls- would you rather get traditional Valentine’s Day stuff or have your guys put some effort into it?

About Jen Perkins

Likes: saving money, being debt free (aside from our house), zombies, travel, getting money, blogging and dogs. Dislikes: debt, being broke, bunnies, wasting money, not having enough money to travel the world and paying interest. Facebook  ♥  Twitter  ♥  Google+  ♥  RSS

Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day: Save Your Money Edition — 8 Comments

  1. I usually don’t do anything for Valentine’s Day. I don’t know why, but I’m just not a huge fan. I do love all the treats though!

    • You sure do! My husband (as great as he is) did absolutely nothing for our 1st V-Day after getting married. No card even. Good luck on your first married Valentine’s Day, PK. :-)

  2. I stopped at the grocery store today on the way home from work. It was a zoo…men were everywhere buying all manner of flowers, gifts, chocolate. Crazy.

    We’ve spent more on Valentiene’s day in years past, but this one was more low key, and my wife was pleased to have it that way.

    • Yep, I actually really needed to go to the grocery store today, but I skipped it because of the craziness. I’m glad your wife was happy with the low key Valentine’s Day. :-)