Valentine’s Day On A Budget

As I write this, January 2020 is almost over. February begins in a couple of days, and with February comes Valentine’s Day. I happen to like Valentine’s Day. That might surprise those of you who know me as a frugal guy. After all, doesn’t Valentine’s Day mean flowers, candy, and jewelry? Aren’t those things pretty extravagant? Maybe dollar signs dance in your dreams (or nightmares) around Valentine’s Day, but not for me. I am a frugal guy, and I won’t give that up just because this holiday is coming, but I can celebrate love (I have a wife, you know.) and still be frugal. The key is to plan ahead. I believe everyone should celebrate valentine’s day but I believe you should celebrate Valentine’s day on a budget. Meaning you should plan for it and save for it.

In most of my posts, I push budgeting. Holidays can have a place (a sinking fund) in a budget. Save for them ahead of time—and you don’t have to go crazy doing it; a whole year passes between each time they occur. I also advocate taking advantage of sales and coupons when you buy food. A romantic dinner is another popular Valentine’s Day tradition.

Valentine’s Day On A Budget

I’m not into buying jewelry. If you are, plan for it. If your plan affords that kind of expenditure, think about buying jewelry in the fall and saving it for Valentine’s Day. Some of the major jewelry chains offer their best discounts in October and November. (They’re often better than what you can get closer to Christmas.)

As for flowers, florists often have some lovely arrangements specifically for Valentine’s Day. Don’t, however, forget that many grocery stores offer bouquets that can be quite nice and less expensive. If you want to give flowers, think about purchasing them a couple of days ahead of time. That way you’ll be ahead of the rush.

Flowers might rather hard to hide, so you could present them early. If you do here’s a hack that’s good to know: Don’t buy fully opened blossoms. Many people like to watch the blooms develop and by Valentine’s Day the bouquet can be at its best.

Then there’s candy. If you buy candy, buy good candy. Godiva vs Hersey??? Personally, I don’t usually purchase any for my wife. We don’t need to be eating candy.

Now, when we get to a romantic dinner, we’re in my zone. I’m a foodie, and I do like to go out to eat on occasion. Eating out has a category in my budget. But, for Valentine’s Day we eat in. Usually, the meal is simple—steak, salad, and baked potato with the works. We keep an eye out for a good piece of meat at a good price starting in January. (Freezers are great.) Part of the romance is it’s one of the few meals we cook (and clean up) together. We have a few appetizers, and do plenty of tasting as we prepare the meal. We have music and the table always looks nice; I wish I could say that’s true all year.

So. It’s a fairly easy meal and we both know what we need to do: I fix the steak and dessert. Wife does salad and potatoes. And we take our time eating. The piece de resistance is dessert. It’s my favorite—Cherry Fluff. Aaand here’s where we’ve really been frugal. All the ingredients for this dessert go on sale sometime in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and that’s when we buy them. Then, we just keep them in our pantry or freezer. Ok, ok…I’ll be honest. Cherry Fluff is also my favorite Christmas Dessert, but those are usually the only times I get it. Anyway, I’ll give you the recipe. Then I’ll finish up this article. When you try it, let me know how you like it. By the way, I did see some of the ingredients on sale last week. It’s possible you could save a bit on them still.

Spoiler alert: This recipe is not original to me. I can remember my mother making a variation of it, and you can definitely find it on the internet.

Cherry Fluff

1 container (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits, drained

1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Recipe makes 10-12 servings. (I like generous servings.)

I know this is a simple recipe, but it’s really good. Since it needs refrigeration, it’s the first thing I make. By the time we’ve eaten and done a little clean up, it’s ready—a nice finish to the evening.

Conclusion

As I said earlier, I believe we should celebrate Valentine’s day on a budget. A major reason for being frugal is to allow my money the opportunity to maximize the quality of my life, my wife’s too. Enjoying our Valentine’s Day dinner is one way we get to do that without experiencing post-holiday financial trauma. (Of course, we prepare ahead of time for birthdays, anniversaries, other holidays, vacations, weekends…life.) Check out my posts. They offer information about living on a budget and ways to make your money work for you. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy some Cherry Fluff.