What's your Valentine's Day plan?

I've never been all that into Valentine's Day. It's nice to have someone around on the day, but it always seemed like a holiday designed to rub single people's noses in their status.


In the past, when I was single, I was a big fan of the anti-Valentine's Day. One year, I rented Saw and made a bunch of spaghetti and had a friend over. We figured it was appropriate for Valentine's Day because the sauce was red... and so was the blood in the film.


But Tim likes holidays, even this one. So we've generally settled on going out to dinner. It's not too expensive, there's no gift-giving to worry about (I told him it was one or the other: gifts or food) and both of us are happy.


This year, though, things are extra tight. That's mainly because we're paying down debt. But there's also the cost of flying Tim up for the wedding. After using our miles as a partial credit against the ticket price, we're still paying $145 to get him up there, $153 to rent a car, and about $100 in various expenses while he's there.


Normally, I'd weep at these amounts, but it's his best friend's wedding. That's not something he can just get around to after we're out of debt. So, no weeping. A little moistness in the eyes at the bills, but, as far as I'm concerned, it's worth it.


Overall, the fates were conspiring against our having any kind of Valentine's Day celebration. Perhaps it shows a lack of a romantic soul, but I wasn't particularly put out. Tim was still hoping to do something, though.


My mom took pity on us and sent us an early anniversary gift: a $30 American Express gift card that she got as a rebate from some endeavor. So she has saved the (Valentine's) day!


Being the sentimentalist that I am, what uber-romantic spot did I pick for Feb 14th? TGI Friday's.


Before you roll your eyes... Tim never gets to go there. The closest one to us in Seattle was a good 20 miles or so away. Now, there are a couple within 10 miles of us. I had recently agreed to go with him, since they were offering the three-courses-for-$12.95 deal. But we got lost and then I got grumpy and just wanted to go home.


Given that debacle, this less-than-Valentinesy suggestion was actually met with some enthusiasm from Tim. I'm really not sure which is sadder: that I thought it was appropriate or that Tim is eager to go. Whichever it is, I certainly feel lucky that I found a guy who is so amenable to cheap, easy fun.


So our Valentine's Day will consist of three courses at a chain restaurant and playing the trivia game on those little mini-computers they hand out. And you know what? We'll have a blast, even with the long wait to get in.


Bonus: The gift card should cover dinner and sodas. We'll just have to pay for tax and tip.


What are you plans this Feb 14th? Are they more traditional? Are they unique like ours? Or are you ignoring the holiday altogether?

Romance, spending & the economic crisis: Some Vday-induced thoughts

Blah, blah, "love"


Blah, blah, "cherish"


Blah, blah, "chocolate"


Hey, wait! Chocolate? Now you've got my attention!


Actually, last night, I talked myself out of buying some chocolate because it seemed ridiculous to pay $3 a bag now when, in two days, I could get it at least 50% off.


So while I bide my time waiting for chocolate prices to plunge -- if only the stock market's prices were as reliable as grocery stock prices -- here are a few things to consider:


To quote my blogging buddy Brunette on a Budget,

"According to the Washington Post, the National Retail Federation's spending survey found that Americans plan to put up a total of $15 billion in the name of Cupid this year, or $103 per person. Granted, that's $20 less than last year, but it's still a far cry from macaroni-necklace territory, the paper says."

To me, this is once again proof that either Americans are even more short-sighted than we have ever given them credit for, or the average American is still doing a lot better than most media would have us believe.


Yes, it's much lower than retailers were hoping for. We were in a boom, now we're moving toward the "bust" end of the cycle. Businesses are experiencing the pain of financial contraction. In good times, businesses expand and hire a lot of people. In bad times, they have to pare back down to essentials. That means layoffs.


I'm not trying to be crass or flippant. Of course these layoffs have huge ripple effects across the economy. Of course people's lives are changed by this, rarely in a good way.


But I've always thought of economics as a cycle. As the old adage, "What goes up must come down." In terms of the human existence, the effect is far more nuanced and important. But the simple fact that something has tragic consequences rarely keeps it from happening.


And given all this potential tragedy, all this nervousness about job security and our shared economic future, what does it say about us that we are still willing to fork out $15 billion for a single day? (I try not to think about the total for more popular holidays like Christmas and Hannukah.)


Well, it either says either:

• We are the kind of patriotic saps -- er, Americans -- that are spending to keep the economy afloat, just as our politicians, economists and investment bloggers vehemently implore us to do
• For all our new-found frugality and housing-bubble-induced wisdom, we're still mainly a myopic, instant-gratification oriented group of people who will never truly learn to put our future security above a nice dinner and some overpriced flowers.
  

Honestly, I'm not sure which interpretation is worse.


And on that cheery thought I am off to eat some breakfast and prepare for our unValentine's Day. The boys have decided to see Friday the 13th. (My mom replied that gory movies aptly mirror a lot of romance: Someone delights in ripping someone else's heart out. I guess you see where I get my romantic sensibilities from.) After that, it's some greasy fast food and then home to have a few drinks and probably watch Christopher Titus's special "Love is Evil" along, perhaps, with some cheesy movies that we can heckle.


FYI, before you chide me for spending after that tirade, the movie will be seen with free passes thanks to Mom's MyCokeRewards account. The fast food will be out of pocket, but, hey, it's a holiday, folks!


And what better way to spend a holiday than at the carnival(s)? So here are a few blog carnivals that have been good enough to include me in their ranks. Read up while you wait for your discounted chocolate!


The Carnival of Investing Strategies

The Carnival of Debt Reduction

The Festival of Frugality

The Personal Finance News Blog Carnival

The Carnival of Everything Money

February 15th: The frugalist's Valentine's Day

One of the biggest complaints about Valentine's Day is that romance shouldn't be forced and it definitely shouldn't all be squeezed into one day a year.



Have Vday your way


So why not schedule Valentine's Day for more convenience (and affordability)?
This year, Tim and I are celebrating on February 15th. It will make things eminently more affordable:

• The candy will be half price.

• Vday cards will be remaindered cheaply. (While you're at it, stock up for next year!)

• Vday-themed gifts (jewelry, trinkets, lingerie, lotion sets, etc) will be clearanced.

• Flowers will be back to their normal prices.

• Restaurants won't require reservations weeks in advance.

• It will be more intimate. Since so many ate out the night before, crowds should be nearly non-existent.

• If we want to see something romantic, we won't be in a packed movie theater.

What's not to love?

Actually, this idea was a practical solution for Tim and I. He likes to celebrate the holiday. (There is part of me that does, too. But the practical -- aka miser -- side of me thinks it's silly to put so much emphasis -- and money -- into one day.)

In addition, one of Tim's good friends is in a newly long-distance relationship. Tim wanted to celebrate with me, but also wanted to keep his friend distracted. This way, we get the best of both worlds: We're supportive friends, I still get to disregard a lot of the Valetine's hype, and then we still do something (affordably) romantic.

We will exchange gifts, but we have agreed to keep them small. I'd tell you the gift, but my guy is a faithful reader of the blog. And I'm all about surprise. (Okay, that and I'm still not completely decided.)

A very merry unValentine's Day to you

For any of you who are actually actively anti-Valentine's Day, I will also use this post as a time to make some suggestions. I have had a few different unValentine's Days. They can be quite fun.

The first time was my freshman year. A friend and I were both single. So we had dinner (at TGIFriday's -- and only appetizers and dessert, no entree) then saw the least romantic movie we could find (the updated Star Wars Episode IV) and went to a club where everyone was dancing by themselves.

More recently (and on more of a budget), I finally got around to renting Saw, though any scary flick will do. I made spaghetti for dinner, so that the red sauce would be in keeping with both the Vday and bloodfest theme.

This year, I think we've decided that we'll take Tim's friend out a bit. We'll eat only at fast food restaurants (nothing romantic about those) and then go see some action or slasher flick. After that, we'll come back home. We'll do some drinking while watching and heckling particularly bad movies. At the end of the night, he'll crash out on our couch and we'll have had a successful unValentine's Day.

If you have your own Valentine's Day traditions -- whether they're about rebelling against the day or celebrating it affordably -- I would love to hear about them!

Carnivals (belatedly)

I've been a tad distracted this week, plus keeping a very late schedule. (Bad Abby!)


But there have been some fabulous carnivals this week -- several of which were kind enough to include me -- and the great thing about the Web is that, well, once stuff is up, it tends to stay up.


So please do check out the following:

On "One Family's Blog": Carnival of the road to financial independence #3

On "Cultivate Positivity": Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation, 18th edition

On "MoneyNing": Festival of Frugality#161 -- Frugal Businesses?



Also, my friend Dory over at Can't Remember Diddly did a really wonderful, well-written piece. Usually I love her stuff because it's funny, entertaining, stream-of-consciousness stuff. This is actually a 180-turn from that. But impressive nonetheless.

Turns out this is the second Jan 20th that was filled with hope for her. The other one was all the way back in '93. I won't say anything more because I don't want to mess with the power that comes with the unfolding story line. But I would really appreciate everyone taking two or three minutes to read it. I think you'll all be glad you did.

Afterward, in case you're in need of a bit of humorous escape, be sure to check out her other post, a realistic Valentine.