Today we have a guest post from Tom Becker all about saving money during Valentine’s day. Personally I used to go all out on Valentine’s..flowers, chocolates, fancy dining. If only I had known these tips earlier

It might be an understatement to say that things can get a bit out of hand when it comes to expenses and Valentine’s Day. Sometimes it’s hard to restrain your spending when it’s on the one you love. However, when money is tight and you really can’t afford to go all out for Valentine’s Day, it’s important to know how to save some money.

If you still want to make your Valentine’s a special day, but not spend too much cash, here are some tips that may help you do just that.

1. Attention to Detail: Some of the coolest, most romantic, and most memorable restaurants, are also the least expensive. Cozy eateries, quaint diners, and dive bars can be great memory makers. Sometimes the characters you meet and the atmosphere of the place itself can make your date a more special occasion than any upscale restaurant dining experience.

2. Cupid Coupons: Coupons can be a great way to give your sweetheart something special without breaking the budget. Look for things that you can do yourself that would really surprise your darling. The coupons might be for cooking, cleaning, fixing things around the house, taking the kids out so that he or she has some alone time, or whatever, so long as they are for something special that you might not normally do.

3. Pampering is Free: Pampering might be one of the best inexpensive ways to make a Valentine’s Day romantic on a tight budget. Run a bath complete with candles and wine, offer a foot, hand or full body massage, give a facial, or maybe just wash and brush her hair to show how much you care for and appreciate her.

4. Day Trip: A drive in the car to somewhere romantic, unique or that is special for the two of you (such as the spot where you first met) can be a great way to spend the Valentine’s Day – and it might only take the price of gas to get you there. You might decide to bundle up and take a romantic walk once you are there, do a little exploring, or maybe even pack a picnic lunch if the weather allows in warmer climates.

5. Flowers: Other than jewelry and dinner, flowers can be one of the costliest Valentine’s Day gifts. While it’s hard to deny that many women won’t be a little disappointed if they don’t receive flowers, you can often save quite a bit of money by purchasing them at a supermarket rather than having them delivered or buying them from the florist.

6. Frivolities: Sometimes there is a difference between making Valentine’s Day special and just going overboard. If you’re looking for ways to save money this Valentine’s Day, consider avoiding those costly, yet somewhat frivolous items like balloons, stuffed animals (unless there is a hidden meaning), and other silly treats that so many stores thrust at you each February.

7. Focus on Your Sweetheart: Your Valentine’s Day doesn’t always have to be expensive to be special, especially if you know your sweetheart well. You might be able to play into his or her hand cheaply. Maybe she’s a pizza and beer girl, and is easily pleased. It could be that a cozy night in with a good movie and some popcorn is all it takes to hit her fancy. The point is that it’s not always the high-priced gifts that will make your love happy. If that’s the case, why spend several hundred dollars on dinner or a night out when he or she would be happy at home or with a $40 dining experience?

8. Watch the Wine: When it comes to wine or champagne for Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t always have to be pricey to be good. There is a huge selection of unique, yet reasonably priced wine out there, and you don’t necessarily have to spend $30 or $40 or more for a good bottle. There are so many mid-range labels available now that you can often find a gigantic selection of very good wines for between $5 and $15.

Editor’s note: I usually overdo things on the romantic side..breakfast in bed while I serenade my wife with Sinatra. On top of that, I always film it so my wife can be embarrassed for me all over again later. Ya, it takes a bit of time to prepare, some time to practice the song and make the food but it’s cheap and always enjoyable

Tom Becker writes about saving and investing money for MoneyCompare.com.au, an Australian comparison website where it’s easy to find a savings account stash some money for a rainy day.

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I’ve got a bit of catching up to do here but I wanted to bring the light to some great articles I read during the last quarter of 2009. My personal favorite for this group has to be Anna’s article from ABDPBT titled What Everybody Ought To Know About Buying a New Mattress, my favorite for obvious reasons.

Anna’s post gives some tips about how to deal with the salesmen and gives some info about the mattress industry that I certainly didn’t know. Check out the article, especially point #1 and if you’re still not convinced that you should start saving and eventually throw out that twenty year old mattress and invest in your health a bit more often, check out this other article from Anna about living luxuriously without mortgaging your family’s future.

And some other greats from approximately the same time period…

• DINKS Finance discusses Couples Finance. Michael talks about the dynamics between he and his wife when dealing with their family finance, how that effects their relationship and how their relationship and individual personalities effect their finances. I think they have a pretty good system going and one we can all take note of, especially this line right here, “The only suggestion that I would stress would be to communicate with your partner“.
• More on household finances, My Money Blog shows How to Create a Completely Automated Financial Household. There, an imaginary couple is used to portray many different methods and products that can help automate your finances to a very fine point. I think this is a great idea and have done automation on our finances to some degree.
• On the other hand of financial sense there is the world of consumerism. Financial Freak Show talks about how ever since he embarked on his journey against debt, the commercials and marketing ploys of the world seem ever louder and more aggressive. Don’t give in! It’s all worth it in the end.
• Frugal Dad gives some great advice most of us can use titled How To Not Suck at Everything. This was actually a guest post but talks about things you can do to feel better about yourself and improve your life. Tips include telling yourself why you love you, stop measuring yourself up to others, and laugh at yourself.

And for the catching up part, I wanted to link back to a few posts that focused on someone I love…me!

• Len Penzo let me throw some questions at his magic 8 ball that pertained to predictions for 2010. The ball had some pretty interesting things to say.
• Brian at My Next Buck was gracious enough to let me share one of my big money mistakes with his readers in his Financial Foul Up series. This gives me another opportunity to laugh at myself I guess
• Kelly at Almost Frugal let me share a little about myself and tell about how I am trying to be more frugal in my life in her This is What Frugal Looks Like series.

It’s been a very eventful 2010 so far and I am still working on getting all caught up with everything but I’m on my way there and should become more regular around here soon.

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Delayed gratification is something that kids now don’t even hear about anymore . Everything in today’s world is “on demand”. You can get any TV show, movie or video clip on your TV or on the computer, any time you want. Listening to music is no longer a passive activity and you can download any song you like from the web, or right from your phone or music player to listen to instantly. Just about anything you can think of is available in a very short amount of time but is that really good for us?

I could go on and on about the problems instant gratification create such as the credit crisis, obesity, etc. but today I want to talk about delayed gratification.

My wife and I have been married for four years and we have been sleeping on a mattress that was handed down to my wife when she was still living at home. Honestly, I have no idea how old it is but it has been growing ever more uncomfortable as each day passes. I’m not the slimmest guy and my back really doesn’t appreciate the mattress’s shape nor it’s firmness. My wife doesn’t seem to have a problem with the mattress but I believe that’s more an emotional attachment she has created with it rather than her being comfortable or not though she is in much better shape than I.

Lately I have been noticing the mattress more than ever. One of my new years resolutions was to get in shape (surprise surprise) but I have actually been sticking with it this year and worked out in some form every day in January and so far every day in February too. Because of this, I have been pretty sore and much more tired than my previous sedentary self. I wake up in the morning and feel like I slept for only a few minutes.

We have been shopping around for a mattress for about two years now. The first time we decided to get a new mattress was before we started paying much attention to our money but we knew we didn’t want to put it on a credit card and that a new mattress was just too expensive to buy at the time. So we put it off. We didn’t realize we should start saving for one because it didn’t seem like that big of a deal at the time but come around the time when I started paying attention to money a year ago, we started putting a good amount of money away just as an emergency fund. That money and several other money pots have continued to grow since then and this week we were able to buy a new mattress with cash from our savings.

This was a big purchase. Anyone that has ever purchased a mattress will know there are mattresses in the lower hundreds to those costing upwards of a few thousand. Having stopped into the mattress stores half a dozen times over the past two years, my wife and I knew this and we were never able to look past the numbers. This time was very different. I didn’t feel the strain of money in the back of my mind while looking at the mattresses. I was able to focus on the bigger picture, the comfort and rest we will get sleeping on a new mattress. We were able to pick out a mattress that cost more than we would have thought spending on a mattress any previous visit.

This was unprecedented for me, being so money conscious for the past year but it was a good feeling because I knew we had money in our savings, separate from our emergency fund, separate from any money we had put aside for anything else specifically. This was money put away to buy a nice mattress and here we were buying one. Knowing exactly what we wanted and how much we had to spend made me so at ease I was even able to haggle a bit and had a couple hundred dollars knocked off the price.

I only had buyers remorse for about ten seconds as I climbed into bed on the old mattress as the new one hasn’t been delivered yet. As I climbed into bed I thought about the price for a split second..then I rolled over on our current mattress and as my leg and shoulder went numb, the remorse quickly passed but the feeling of satisfaction from having waited, and saved for the mattress will stay with me every time I sleep on the mattress because I know it was a smart, conscious decision.

That is the feeling of delayed gratification.

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