How to Celebrate Valentine's Day When You're Broke

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a budget breaker. This article will share with you six smart tips to keep your holiday costs down and love remaining high.

By Following the tips and living a frugal lifestlye we paid off all our credit cards, student loans, car loans, and working on our mortgage all on one income. You can read about our debt free journey here.

Before Christmas has even passed, aisles of red, white, and hearts are filling up. Of course, some of us roll our eyes at the thought, whether it’s because of the actual holiday itself or it’s out before we even got through Christmas, who knows.

I mean, I did this Tiktok video before New Year’s Eve! And we are looking at Spring already. ( If you want to follow my Frugal Farm Girl Tiktok account, please do here- It’s a lot of fun over there!)

@bjsdeals
♬ Yummy – IFA

Remember to not spend money on things we don’t need if money is tight. Making an impression by the dollar amount usually doesn’t last as long as a more thoughtful gift.

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays I tend to enjoy celebrating to get through winter. I won’t break the bank to do it, though. So instead, I have learned tips and tricks to keep our costs down and romance high over the years.

Don’t Buy the Hype

There is a reason Valentine’s day items are pushed out onto retail shelves before Christmas. Hype.

Retailers want consumers constantly snatching up new items, so they don’t feel like they are missing out. In this case, miss out. Miss out on the silly Valentine’s day decor towels, soap dispensers, heart-shaped mixing spoons, etc.

Budget

Living in upstate New York, it can be challenging not to walk down the seasonal aisle at stores when it’s 10 degrees out, and you feel stir crazy.

It puts me in a vulnerable space to think I should sprinkle my home with Valentine’s Day decor. It would not be brilliant to buy these things without having a budget.

If I don’t know how much I have to spend on Valentine’s Day, I’ll start grabbing whatever my heart says is cute. So make a budget for every holiday. You have to know how much money you have before you spend it.

Related:

Tips To Stop Spending When You’re the Spender
Use a FREE Google Sheets Budget Spreadsheet here

List of Who You Are Buying For

Don’t get carried away with who you need to buy a gift for on Valentine’s Day. My husband has always gotten the girls a small donation ( usually a stuffed animal and a little chocolate).

Sometimes we will give gifts to each other, but I’ve completely stopped buying him gifts as the years have passed. Simply because he was honest and said he doesn’t want a gift on Valentine’s Day.

When he first told me this years ago, I felt shocked and hurt. Then, I thought maybe he didn’t want a gift because he didn’t want something from me. But, that is not the case at all.

Learning your spouse/partner’s love language is a must. Some people feel loved by gifts, and others; don’t think twice about a gift from someone. If you know your loved one doesn’t need a gift, make a plan to spend some quality time together.

Related:

7 Adorable DIY Valentine’s Day Crafts

Create an At-Home Date Night

I used this fantastic website for the first couple of years when we had babies in the house and date nights seemed like years in between.

That is such a vulnerable time as a couple when you have a new baby in the house. When money is tight or just exhaustion is taking over, I highly recommend planning an at-home date night.

This was something my husband adored, and heck, I should probably do this again for us this year.

Unfortunately, the site charges for more printables now than a few years back, but they still do have freebies. Pinterest is another excellent place to find at-home date night ideas.

Even if it’s as simple as putting a movie basket together, filled with popcorn, a love note, and a sweet treat.

Here’s a date basket I did. I left the basket out in the morning, so my husband could see it before he went to work.

Anticipation is quite adequate, ladies 😉 My total cost for the basket was $2. You can view the printable and idea I got from the dating divas here.

If you need to get out of the house, think of ways to spend time with your loved one for free.

Walks, hikes, visiting a new city/town and spending the day walking around.

Dress up For Dinner

If you don’t want to eat out because it’s expensive and Covid has changed everything, dress up and eat at home. Make it a candlelight dinner. Play music you don’t usually listen to.

Have the kids take a picture of you both dressed up. Or have the kids involved too. When it comes to celebrating a holiday, try to think of things you don’t normally do that you could give a try.

If you have children, you could be the waiter/waitress. Serve whatever food you have on hand, or maybe the ones you scored on sale at your local grocery store.

Valentine's Day doesn't have to be a budget breaker. In this article, you will learn six smart tips to keep your holiday costs down and love remaining high. #ideas #giftsforhim #forkids #decorations #treats #desserts #diy #date #crafts #food

Here’s how I did my basket:

Tag 1- We are cuddled up together like birds of a feather would be. I used a blanket we already had! My husband said, is this a new blanket?!

Tag 2- The weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful- I put on an actual log burning fire on the T.V. from a YouTube video. And lit a couple of candles. This set the mood for the movie and gave him a chance to relax while I poured our drinks!

Tag 3- I don’t know if there’ll be snow but have a cup of cheer– I used two of our Christmas mugs and put Hot chocolate packets inside.

Tag 4- It doesn’t show signs of stopping, and I bought some corn for popping- I wrapped up some popcorn we already had! I also added some Werther’s, which I had from a coupon deal at Rite Aid a couple of months ago!

Tag 5- We’ll Frolic and Play the Eskimo Way- I rented two movies because I couldn’t make a decision. Home Alone and A Christmas Story. These were $1 each at Family Video.

Tag 6- Oh ho, the mistletoe hung where you can see somebody waiting for you– I used a piece of crafting stuff I had from my wreath and grabbed a pack of gum.

Celebrate the day after Valentine’s Day

If you love gifts and want to go all out, consider celebrating after Valentine’s Day. Everything is marked down the Day after, and if you wait until two days later, you’re bound to hit 70-90% off clearance.

If Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, celebrate the weekend after.

Buy After Christmas Candy

Warehouse clubs are the best for buying fancy chocolate at an affordable price. I’m a B.J.’s Wholesale club member, and I just spotted chocolate truffles for $3.98! They carry many cute chocolate packages for a holiday and mark them down immediately the Day after.

Now is the time to buy those chocolates and store them away for your loved ones. They’ll never know you got such a deal and were so thoughtful about how you spend your money. It doesn’t have to be a warehouse club; any retailer will have marked down after Christmas candy.

Related:

How to Shop Target Clearance for the Best Deal

There you have it. I hope this has inspired you in some way to save a little more cash this Valentine’s Day. Feel free to share ways you are saving for this holiday with us below.

For Gift Ideas, Check out the ones below: