This Valentine's Happy on the Cheap

I love love and I love Valentine’s Day. Maybe that’s because it’s never been a negative, dread filled day for me – regardless of my romantic status. Growing up, Valentine’s Day was always a family day. My mom bought us Dairy Queen cakes. My uncle brought me flowers. My aunt made heart-shaped pancakes. I made valentines from brightly coloured paper with pastels, pencil crayons and glitter. I wore red or pink clothes – bonus points if I could find something with hearts on it. The theme was always showing each other how much we care without spending a mint, and that’s really the point of Valentine’s Day. I don’t stop celebrating if I’m single or broke and neither should you.



Valentine's Day 2009 - notice the necklace and heart jumper



Living in Toronto as a 20 something (okay, 29 for less than another month), there’s definitely a struggle to keep afloat financially, never mind spending a fortune on Valentine’s Day gifts to show your loved ones you care. (Disclaimer: material things and gifts don’t equate to love). It’s a common theme among us and luckily we have Tiffany Mealia, founder of She’s So Savvy to spread the lovey-dovey, money saving cheer for us. *The second point really mirrors how the day has always been celebrated in my life.*

·         Celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 15th. If you get a kick out of the flowers, chocolates, cards and all that goes with it then celebrate the next day because everything is heavily discounted. “My boyfriend and I celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 15 each year. We avoid the rush, overpriced goods, and make it our own,” says Mealia.

·         Decide your Valentine’s Day is not just for couples. Make Valentine’s Day a celebration of your love of family by doing something together like going to the Zoo, taking advantage of discounted movie night, having games night at home, creating an art project, or cooking a big kid-friendly meal together. No kids? Make Valentine’s Day about your friends or parents. Invite them over for dinner or grab some half priced appetizers at a savvy restaurant location.

·         Make Valentine’s Day about loving yourself. Take one full day to devote to caring and tending to your needs so that you feel invigorated and loved. Have a home spa day, read a great book, organize your living space...do whatever you want to do that day/night. You might call it falling in love with yourself all over again.

·         Share all the love you have with those who need it most. Make Valentine’s Day about loving our neighbours, community, and our world. Head to a shelter to help serve meals, lend a hand at Daily Bread Food Bank, take part in a Habitat for Humanity build. Decide your Valentine’s Day is about saying “I love you” in a way that extends far and impacts lives for the better.

If you feel creative, er, at least feel like hitting “print” and cutting along the dotted lines, download some free Valentine printables. These are my new favourite things lately. I pin them all to one of my Pinterest boards and dream about printing the most gorgeous cards without spending a fortune. I find the happy in printables because they’re free and pretty. There, I said it.

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Maybe Valentine’s Day means sweets to you - like bulk candy in adorable plastic bags. Head over to a grocery store, discount store or your favourite variety store down the street and grab gummies for a few cents a piece. Then, wrap a dainty little bow around your package and presto! You’re giving the inexpensive (less than a buck) gift of sugar and sweets to your loved ones.

So you’re real mushy and romantic, eh? You want a blue Tiffany box, three dozen pale pink tea roses, a stay in a plush hotel bed with room service delivered on silver trays? Well, I don’t have a way to make that happen, but I do know that watching my favourite romantic movies in pink jammies with tea and DQ ice cream cake always makes me happy on Valentine’s Day. The Holiday, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and Something’s Gotta Give rank high on my list. I’m sure you can find a downloadable version online – no, I don’t support bootleg movies, but I won’t report you to the cops – or a copy at your local movie store for a few bucks.

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For more el cheapo ways to bring Cupid into your day: add red food colouring to your milk; use a heart shaped cookie cutter to make your sandwich; make heart shaped pasta with a hearty tomato sauce; sneak a love note into your loved ones’ coat pockets or in between pages in the book they’re reading; watch A Charlie Brown Valentine when it airs on one of the big networks; pick up the phone and call somebody just to say “hi.” Don’t text, email or IM. Make a legitimate phone call – especially if you want to wish your less techie loved ones a happy Valentine’s Day.

Here’s the deal, Valentine’s will be a happy and wonderful day if you want it to be. Make it special for yourself and loved ones while living within your means.

This Financial Happiness

My finances don't usually make me happy. I wasn't born rich and I've come through university with hefty student loans - none of which I regret. I've wiped the slate clean, started contributing to an RSP and felt so empowered about my financial situation only to have my self control wane and then the Visa gets heated up again. And again. And again.

Last night I paid a bunch of bills and get this - I paid some early! Like way before they're due. That's a big step for me and although I just got paid and already my chequing account is parched, but I feel really good about it. I've got a plan and I feel confident that I can tackle my finances and build a future sans debt. It will take a while and I'm okay with that.

Have you ever felt swallowed up by your debt or your dwindling bank account balances? I think for the most part, it's something we learn in our twenties. We get out of school, possibly buy a car (debt I don't regret because I absolutely LOVE my Jeep), start taking vacations and furnishing our rental condos. This stuff costs money and often, our good/bad friends credit card nation are there to help us out. If I had a time machine, I would have never applied for a credit card because it's like a loaded gun for me and I just love hitting the firing range. My target is often clothes. The more money I make in life, the more I spend and it's just never enough. I'm just like my father this way. My mother was much better at holding back financially and buckling down. Spending is my addiction and I've actually looked for a support group in Toronto. Did you know that there aren't any? There are tons of gambling addiction support groups though, so if you need one of those, just hit Google.

I've got to think about my future, so last night instead of hitting the town with the gals, I stayed in to pay bills. I made a list, wrote down what I paid and when and I felt really good about it. I'm growing up. It was bound to happen.

When Did THIS Happen?

Ummm, I'm not sure about you but I've noticed that lately my wardrobe consists of work clothes or my corporate costume, sweats and jeans. Jeans are a staple. Denim is my go-to and that part doesn't really worry me. What does worry me is that fact that when I knew I was going out last weekend I had to go shopping because I didn't own a thing that hadn't crossed the runway at least three seasons prior.

When did this happen to me? When did I stop having a closet full of current trends and instead a wardrobe of classic staples? Oh right, it was when Visa starting coming to me in my dreams and waving bills in my face. To combat that, I began avoiding the malls...shocking, eh? I bought a pair of skin-tight pleather leggings to take the edge off last Saturday night and they helped, but I can't help thinking I needed better shoes, ankle booties specifically to really complete the ensemble. And the classic Chanel quilted bag, but let's not get carried away.

Generally, I'm a well put together gal. I never look like a wreck, well, not on most days, but lately I've lost that pizazz and I miss it. I wear work clothes a LOT and it needs to change. Monday to Friday, a Jacob and Banana Republic repertoire is perfect, but come Friday night I'm going all out from now on. Unless I'm staying in to watch Say Yes to the Dress and in that case I'll wear jammies.