Valentine’s Day on a budget?
You know when Valentine’s Day is REALLY tough? When you really, really like the person you are dating but you don’t have money to buy a gift that would “show” them. Thankfully, the right person won’t care that you are on a budget. They will care if you do or say nothing. It’s the zero effort and irrational anger towards the “made up commercial holiday” that won’t go over well.
The good news is that your serious love jones, coupled with a little attention to details can help you become a little creative. No money? NO problem! Here are a few of my favorite date ideas that are low-budget with a high romantic ROI:
Light the table and room with candles (tea lights are cheap!). Make a home cooked meal. Bonus points if it is their favorite food. Make a playlist of your favorite love songs (no booty music mixtapes!). Spend the evening feeding each other dessert while (insert your favorite non-sexual activity) watching sports, playing video games, reading a book, watching movie). End your night slow dancing cheek to cheek. *swoon*
Set up an indoor picnic. Lots of pillows. Lots of candles. Pick the sexiest, yummiest foods to munch on. Swap stories of childhood. Get to know one another better. Turn off your phones.
You know we live in one of the coolest cities, right? Atlanta has so many things to do that don’t cost much. A lot of great places are Marta accessible! Look up any specials or deals that are around the city. AJC’s fabulous Bargain Hunter has tips to save on those Valentine’s Day traditions too.
Whatever you decide to do, make it thoughtful and meaningful for the both of you. Oh, and if thought of doing something nice for the person you are dating bothers you in anyway, please let them go. Immediately. It’s the most loving gesture you could ever do for them.
Do you guys have any ideas on how to pull off Valentine’s Day on a budget?
What is the least amount of money you have ever spent on a date? What did you do?
Happy Wednesday!
By Wise Diva, Misadventures in Atlanta Dating Blog
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235 comments Add your comment
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:01 pm
@disco: I think the bus driver knew, she just wanted to get our loud behinds off the bus. We always sat in the back, thinking we were baaaaaad!
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:01 pm
Marta use to put a small printout call “Rider’s Digest” and they would have updates and pics from the plan posted there. I was always in “awe” when I’d see those pics. Yeah, I was a tad green back then. lololol
DuShawn
February 13th, 2013
3:01 pm
Then in a 80’s the candy lady started selling nickle bags and dime powders.
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:02 pm
Reading about that Christopher Dorner…amazing that it seems like he was hiding out right under their noses and could have been in the cabin right across the street from the command post. How wild is that? He was probably sitting there looking out the window and laughing. I wonder how quickly they’ll determine for sure it was his body that was burned in the cabin…
disco
February 13th, 2013
3:03 pm
D – what? we all knew the ice cream truck wasn’t nothing but a front. lol. after the first somebody did it all kinds of chaps went out and bought used ice cream trucks. it faded out after that. guess the market got saturated.
MsAtl
February 13th, 2013
3:03 pm
Disco- That was our thing too, passing the bus pass out the back window.
Leggs- Y’all had a french fry guy??? We got our fries from the chinese restaurant in a brown paper bag with chicken wings and that deep red hot sauce. That was mostly after Halloween when we were jingling. Other times we had to suffice with our moms’ oven-warmed Pathmark or Key Food crinkle fries.
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:05 pm
disco – We walked to school, until my mama and daddy pulled a George Jefferson move and moved out of our neighborhood….lol From that point it was Marta with my big brothers and sisters holding my hand all the way across town. I was only in the third grade. My mama showed us a couple of times and we were on our own at that point. All she knew was y’all better get back here, giving us one hour…FROM ACROSS TOWN NOW…with everybody present….lol Oh, don’t get detention and have to stay longer, causing you to miss the bus that would get you there in one hour’s time. You sho nuff got it then. lololololol
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:06 pm
I remember when our corner store put in a “deli” and you could get Jo Jos there. A jo jo potato…have mercy those things were good!
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:06 pm
Or the ice cream man that sold the soft cones….mmmm, yuuuummy
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:07 pm
@Bluz: I won’t believe it’s him until they confirm it with DNA. Nope….
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:08 pm
My first “float” was when mama when to visit her sister in Maryland. I was 6 years old and I remember it well. We took Amtrak
We had hamburgers in the Caboos, the restaurant. Me, mama and my brother. My mama would go through hell and high water to spend time with her sisters.
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:09 pm
Later folks
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:09 pm
I always got a push-up or one of those red, white, and blue bomb pops from the ice cream man. I had one of those bomb pops not too long ago, and it was soooo good. Made me feel like a kid again.
disco
February 13th, 2013
3:10 pm
C – one of my real good childhood whoopings came behind not coming straight home from school. I was in around second or third grade and stopped to play with a little classmate at her house. girl when I did go home my momma wore me out AND THEN she made me take her to the other little girl’s house and cussed out her momma. I don’t recall that me and that girl were friends much longer but to this day I remember her name. a whooping like I got, I’ll remember her for life. lol.
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:13 pm
ITL – I’m with you…won’t believe it until it’s confirmed 100%. I just hope they are remaining on high alert. He was too smart…wouldn’t surprise me if he someone “stand in” for him during that stand off and he’s somewhere still hiding…
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:14 pm
I said I was gone didn’t I? lol I need to work, but this thing is addictive…lol
disco – That’s funny…I chuckled a bit on that because I know that scene all too well. I didn’t get too many whoopings for getting home late, but I remember my sister getting switched good fashion cause she pulled your move. She stopped the next street over at Sheila’s house and got home a couple of hours late. Iyayayaya, she got the brakes beat off of her (I say that lightly for our resident child advocates…it wasn’t abuse)….lol She and that girl weren’t friends after that either. That’s funny cause that’s real life to me. My mama didn’t go to their house, but she warned my sister to make right decisions. Coming home on time, being the point she was making.
Now, in hs, my sister was a senior when I was in the 8th grade and I remember getting detention and they left me. Talking about brokedown refrigerator not holding nothing. She was bumping her gums left and right. I didn’t have sibs that would sneak and cover for you. Nuh uh
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:14 pm
I love push-up pops! It’s been too long since I’ve had one…now, I’m craving one!
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:18 pm
@Bluz: Do they sell those at QT???
Leggs
February 13th, 2013
3:22 pm
Naw, MsAtl. French fry guy’s fries were delicious. Got a bag for .25.
Our ice cream man was called Mr. Softee.
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:24 pm
ITL – they might…I’ll have to check next time I stop. Or maybe at a drugstore…
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:24 pm
Ugh. somebody just burned popcorn. P-U!!!!
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:26 pm
I hate it when people make popcorn cause it makes me crave it, but hate even more when they burn it. Nasty smell!!!
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:27 pm
I’m so bored right now…I’m covering for the receptionist, who had to leave early and I’m just sitting here surfing the web. Amazing how when you have time to just surf, you can’t think of anything to look at!!!
DuShawn
February 13th, 2013
3:27 pm
Mr. Softee…….what a coincidence…..That’s the name all the girls on campus used to call me. I think they pronounced it Mr. Soft – D.
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
3:28 pm
It is disgusting. They didn’t just burn it, they cremated it. Seriously, I’m surprised it didn’t set off an alarm. Ick.
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:32 pm
Du – I don’t know if I would brag about that…maybe if they called you Mr. Hard D…
MsAtl
February 13th, 2013
3:33 pm
We had Mr. Softee and Good Humor. Y’all got Bomb Pops and Push-up Pops? We had to get the ten cents Whammy sticks with the joke on the stick. My mama had too many darn kids for us to get the Bomb Pops.
disco
February 13th, 2013
3:37 pm
C – another good whooping was when I got hit by a car (going to the store before school when we weren’t supposed to) and my cousins and I decided it was best/safest for all of us to keep it secret (I merely got bumped and what my momma didn’t know couldn’t hurt me – lol). that one little snitch azz cousin told and we all got beat behind it. thinking back we got a lot of group whoopings as kids.
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:41 pm
Wow…I’m trying not to laugh about this, but a top patron of the Heart Attack Grill in Vegas died of a heart attack. They surve one burger that is almost 10,000 calories and their fries are fried in pure lard! Gross!!!
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:44 pm
disco – Now that’s classic. You got a whooping after getting hit by a car and for sneaking. That is my second best laugh of the day. Meello’s black ding was number one…dang I just laughed again at that one. Anyhoo, I feel on having nonallegiance kinfolks. Folks said I’m goodie two shoes on here? My sister DID NO WRONG….EVER!!! She made sure mama ‘nem got updates as needed. lololol
disco
February 13th, 2013
3:45 pm
bluz – have you seen that place? it’s on one of the food shows, triple D, man vs. food, something. man I’m not going to front, I wouldn’t mind giving it a try. I enjoy a good burger. and, what’s wrong with lard? lol.
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:45 pm
disco – Never mind you didn’t killed….lololol That’s truly classic
disco
February 13th, 2013
3:47 pm
C – girl yeah. the man who hit me was all nervous and anxious and are you all right and let me call your parents. heck naw you ain’t calling my momma!!! I’m good. I’m out. holler. janky cousin told anyway. and it’s not like her telling kept her from getting whoopings. she got it just like the rest of us. she was just sheisty that way.
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:48 pm
I was a little irked this morning. I was looking at my bonus and taxes took almost half….uggggh (shaking my fist at Uncle Sam)
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
3:48 pm
disco – I’m not saying I wouldn’t try it if I were in Vegas, but dang…I would be nervous about having a heart attack while eating there. Oh…and they have Butterfat milkshakes…
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:51 pm
disco – heck naw you ain’t calling my momma!!! I’m good. I’m out. holler
This cracks me up. Kids (us and all) are some of the dumbest creatures…sometimes. Never mind you could have internal bleeding or something that’s going to adversely affect down the road or years later, just don’t tell so mama won’t know and I won’t get a whooping. Lawd, thank goodness for parents.
Leggs
February 13th, 2013
3:53 pm
DuShawn ~ I knew with this group, Mr. Softee wasn’t going to fly by. But, that’s not a name to be proud of if that’s what the girls called you. IJS…
I loved the Good Humor truck. Toasted Almond was my favorite. I remember when Mama had a bbq on our little patch of grass in the backyard. I was allowed to invite my bf. He came in all white. White shoes, white pants, white shirt, white cap. Everyone “jonesed” on him looking like the Good Humor man. But, he got down to Michael Jackson’s “Dancing Machine!” Always think of him when I hear that song.
DuShawn
February 13th, 2013
3:53 pm
As a parent , you come to realize why you got whooped for coming home late (or getting hit by a car …lol) . It’s not merely to teach you a lesson, but it is punishment for scaring them half to death and having them worried about what could’ve happened. That’s why they tap that azz, they can’t relax until you walk in the door, then you come skippin your care free, happy azz in there like nothings wrong.
Exiled
February 13th, 2013
3:54 pm
What happened to ur Albertinaed lawyer colleague MsAtl?
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:56 pm
Mmeello – LOLOLOLOL….you are on a roll today. You are bad bad bad
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:56 pm
I did wonder what happened to our resident lawyer. I thought she said she’d be back after the new year
disco
February 13th, 2013
3:56 pm
C – whatever. I think there was a greater chance of my getting internal bleeding from the whooping than from the car. really (even looking back) it wasn’t a big deal. dude was parked at the curb and bumped me as he was pulling into the street. his speed wasn’t even up. naw that wasn’t worth the whooping that I ended up getting anyway. lol.
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:57 pm
Mmeello – You need a chair in the corner for old and new. I think you should given a pencil and pad to write down what you want to say. Then we filter if we can blog it…lolololol
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
3:58 pm
disco – whatever. I think there was a greater chance of my getting internal bleeding from the whooping than from the car.
I just hollered….annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd
______________________flatline______________________________
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
4:03 pm
Well, since inquired (not me, I just wondered), I’m sure CC will make an appearance in the next day or so. It’s telepathy. I just “feel” it.
Into the Light
February 13th, 2013
4:05 pm
WTH is a butterfat milkshake??? That sounds nasty.
MsAtl
February 13th, 2013
4:05 pm
Exiled- I don’t know what happened to her. I thought she would be back by now. Maybe she’s working on a big case?
Bluz- he was actually their spokesperson. I tried not to chuckle (I am going straight to hell, lol), but it is hard not to, especially when you have a heart attack in front of the Heart Attack Grill and the owner told you you would die of a heart attack if you kept eating like that. One customer had a non-fatal heart attack while eating their triple coronary bypass burger. If you finish their 9,000 calorie burger, you get a ride in a wheelchair back to your car and patrons over 350 pounds eat free. They are a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
4:13 pm
Well, I’ve enjoyed you guys today. I gotta run. Gotta meet someone to do a bit of business.
I shall be more quiet tomorrow. That was my 2013 resolution anyway
Tooddles
Bluzgirl
February 13th, 2013
4:15 pm
ITL – You got me on that one…I’ll bet a butterfat milkshake tastes yummy, but I don’t think I would want to try that!!!
MsAtl – I can honestly say that I laughed when I read that he had the heart attack right in front of the grill, but felt bad for laughing! I don’t think I would feel right owning a place like that. I’ve heard of the restaurant before…maybe from the non-fatal heart attack. The waitresses even dress like nurses! Wow!!!
Celisea
February 13th, 2013
4:15 pm
Last one…does anyone know how to delete folks from email apps on phones? I get a slew of spam that rolls to my phone. Wish there was a way I could delete the folder altogether. If anyone knows, let me know. Hit me up.