Broke? Quick Advice for Your Cheap Valentines Day Adventure

Sweating bullets over this Valentine’s day?  Do you have someone in mind who you’d like to do something special for, but aren’t sure exactly sure what that something special is? Are you also, like me and so many others, strapped for cash?

Well, let me tell you a story:

My girl and I are both Physical Anthropology students, (which means we are, and will always be broke) and she left for a field school in Belize two weeks ago. She’ll be gone until the middle of March, and we’ve only been dating for three months, so preemptive action would need to be taken this Valentines Day . There was no way I was going to let academic obligations take away our first V-Day together!

Unfortunately, I realized all this the day before she left.

My mind went immediately into overdrive: “I have no money for this!”  “How did I forget about this!?!” 

Quickly, I called her and told her that I had something special planned for the evening (I didn’t, yet), asked her if I could pick her up at 8:30, and recommended that she should dress nicely. As soon I got off the phone, I decided that an evening picnic would be both romantic, and affordable. I scrambled to the closest gourmet deli, picked up various finger-foods like macaroni salad, olives (we love em’), fancy-schmancy cheese, water crackers, gourmet cookies, and a fine prosecco (it was 12 bucks). All-in-all, it cost me around 35 dollars, which is as much as a typical restaurant dinner would be.

We drove to the location where we had first gotten to know each other, a beautiful park along an avenue of restaurants. By the time we got there, the park was empty, there were no clouds in the sky, and the moon was directly above us. We we able to snuggle on a warm blanket, and drink champagne under a moon-lit sky, and trade love letters.  She was blown that I handled the details, and most importantly, we were able to spend our first Valentine’s Day (sort of) together.

First: make it easy on her:

• You’re the guy.  Make the plans.  Be flexible.

Second: Broke? Think about the little things that make your relationship special and work with them! 

• Where did you first meet?  Planning something that involves this will bring back all the woozy feelings associated with that first encounter.  My girl was the top student, and the prettiest girl, in the class.  We first went out for ice cream after a she won a bet we made about who would get the highest grade (she won).  We ended up getting lunch instead, talked for hours, watched Inglourious Basterds (her suggestion), and the rest, as they say, is history.  Having our picnic at the same location brought back many of those intoxicatinng feelings.

• What brought you together in the first place?  School?  Work?  Chance? What activities do you both enjoy together?  Capitalize on the things you have in common and the things that brought you together!  We both love eating and stargazing.  It was a simple choice, really.

• What do they like?  Are they a “foodie”?  Stay in and make dinner.  It’s much cheaper, cooking together leaves ample time for conversation, and it means that you’ll also be in close proximity.  Bella!  Are they outdoorsy? Plan an outdoor activity like hiking, fishing, or stargazing.  These activities are usually free, and again, you’ll be close to each other.

Third: tell her how you feel: 

• I don’t know about you, but I hate cards from the store.  All the stuff inside is way too cheesy.  For my “love letter”, I bought a notebook with perforated page edges, and used that instead.

• Lay it on thick.  It’s Valentine’s day.

The important part of valentines day isn’t spending obscene amounts of money on the person, it’s letting them know that you care about them.  And as The Beatles told us, money can’t by [you] love.  Girls go crazy for well thought-out plans, and “homemade” expressions of affection, because it shows that you put time towards thinking about them.  Good luck!