My husband went from bouquet guy to buying me potted plants.
I now LOVE potted plants. All around our house you can see where he's given me valnetines day plants (in our heart garden), mother's day plants (with my girl) in the porch garden, and all the other plants in the various gardens around the house.
I love it that I never get cut flowers. Otherwise, I'd never remember them.
We sometimes go out to dinner, but we pick a place with a fixed menu. We know what we're getting going in, and we know what it costs. We also go to places we know something about, so we can gauge whether their VD special is all that special.
Great tips! I particularly like your point about choosing a growing sector. I personally think that Stem Cells is the next hot sector. http://tradingstemcells2009.blogspot.com
You're never too old to make homemade valentine's! I'm not that artsy, but I make elaborate glitter-and-doily creations for my parents, my husband, and my daughter, and they get such a huge kick out if it!
One year I did not even have a valentine and landed up cooking a valentine dinner for my brother and my cousin and their valentines and they took all the credit for it. I was only 13 years old!!
We make our own Valentine Cards. Occasionally we'll use the computer, but this year my kids punched out hearts and other shapes to glue on cardstock. I already had cardstock and construction paper on hand, plus tons of glue sticks and extra envelopes. So we made lots of cards and didn't spend a thing.
If my husband was home this year (he's deployed) we'd make a great meal at home and enjoy eachothers company. I'd rather spend quiet time with him at home instead of a crowded noisy place
Last year I decided to go GREEN for Valentines Day. I didn't really have much money to spend, so I went to the local craft store and got red food coloring and made a larger than life heart in the snow. The tricky part was trying not to flatten the design and lettering. He simply loved it and the heartfelt Valentine lasted a couple of weeks until the snow melted. Heck it lasted longer than my flowers. It made him blush.
This observation is right on the money. I can attest to that from personal experience. I raised two children as a single mother and was determined that they would have a good quality of life, which frequently meant pulling out the credit card and charging school clothes, shoes and so forth. I was so poor and struggling all the time, but determined that they would be set up to succeed in life and not be imbued with the same poverty messages I had gotten as a kid.
Then when it came time for college, I didn't have any savings to help send them to school, so I borrowed and they borrowed. And I went back to school myself, on -- you guessed it -- loans. I still am a renter and never got in the housing market because I couldn't afford a down payment.
However, this story has a more upbeat ending (or middle, actually, since I'm still in process) than you might imagine. Once the kids were out of school, they both got great jobs and began paying back their loans. I got a succession of better and better jobs and finally am making close to real money. And I've been paying off my bills steadily, a bit each month, to the point that I can now see out of the big hole I dug for myself. I have accepted my enormous school loan as something that will probably be a part of my life for years to come, but am not overwhelmed by it any more. It is what it is and I just keep making payments and trying to look forward.
However, there were so many days when it seemed as though nothing I could ever do would be enough, that my debts and my financial situation were fixed and hopeless, so what did it matter if I charged, say, dinner at a really nice restaurant for all three of us? Or take a cash advance from one credit card to pay the bill on the other one? Yep, been there, done that.
It's taken everything I have to change my internal conversation about money from one of hopelessness to one of responsibility, and to believe in a future for myself that doesn't involve debt. It's worth doing, but it really takes something. Part of that something is believing that you actually have a future and there actually is a path out. That sense is in very short supply these days, particularly as the financial news gets worse and it appears our "leaders" have their eye on just about everyone else but the citizens and consumers who pay their salaries.
Instead of going out for an expensive dinner, the restaurants will be packed anyway, go out for a romantic dessert and coffee. Find a quiet cafe and sit at the back and enjoy each others company and not have the stress of waiting for an enormous bill at the end of the meal.
Hmmm. Perhaps it is biological on some level. I would lean more toward overspending being a social construct. I have read some very interesting studies that make a strong case for the effects of mass marketing on societies.
In more primitive cultures (or even less industrialized cultures)- cultures lacking in media & marketing - people do not have the desire to accumulate to the extent that we do. It is actually quite fascinating.
I mean really - do we 'need' so much stuff - or do we believe the lie that having so much stuff makes us happier, sexier, more powerful, etc.? I vote the latter.
My husband went from bouquet guy to buying me potted plants.
I now LOVE potted plants. All around our house you can see where he's given me valnetines day plants (in our heart garden), mother's day plants (with my girl) in the porch garden, and all the other plants in the various gardens around the house.
I love it that I never get cut flowers. Otherwise, I'd never remember them.
We sometimes go out to dinner, but we pick a place with a fixed menu. We know what we're getting going in, and we know what it costs. We also go to places we know something about, so we can gauge whether their VD special is all that special.
Great tips! I particularly like your point about choosing a growing sector. I personally think that Stem Cells is the next hot sector. http://tradingstemcells2009.blogspot.com
I just started with eHow and am looking for all of the info I can on the website. I am excited to see what happens with my articles there.
Best of luck to you and your eHow articles!
You can cheaply make your own cards out of construction or scrapbooking paper and it has a personal touch.
You're never too old to make homemade valentine's! I'm not that artsy, but I make elaborate glitter-and-doily creations for my parents, my husband, and my daughter, and they get such a huge kick out if it!
The strategies are a lot like warren buffet, except for the sell part. He pretty much holds on to them forever.
celebrate on the 15th--you can get everything for 50% off or more!
One year I did not even have a valentine and landed up cooking a valentine dinner for my brother and my cousin and their valentines and they took all the credit for it. I was only 13 years old!!
I haven't had a Entertainment book for several years but when I had one, we used the restaurant ones and the grocery store ones.
We make our own Valentine Cards. Occasionally we'll use the computer, but this year my kids punched out hearts and other shapes to glue on cardstock. I already had cardstock and construction paper on hand, plus tons of glue sticks and extra envelopes. So we made lots of cards and didn't spend a thing.
Dinner and a Movie
If my husband was home this year (he's deployed) we'd make a great meal at home and enjoy eachothers company. I'd rather spend quiet time with him at home instead of a crowded noisy place
A simple valentine is the best with time for each other and enjoyable food and drinks.
My tip doesn't cost a lot of money and is a great way to spend a day.
Go on a day hike taking along a romantic picnic stopping at a secluded spot to relax and enjoying all nature has to offer.
:) Thank you for the wonderful giveaway! :)
Last year I decided to go GREEN for Valentines Day. I didn't really have much money to spend, so I went to the local craft store and got red food coloring and made a larger than life heart in the snow. The tricky part was trying not to flatten the design and lettering. He simply loved it and the heartfelt Valentine lasted a couple of weeks until the snow melted. Heck it lasted longer than my flowers. It made him blush.
I usually write a short note and we enjoy a romantic dinner at home
This observation is right on the money. I can attest to that from personal experience. I raised two children as a single mother and was determined that they would have a good quality of life, which frequently meant pulling out the credit card and charging school clothes, shoes and so forth. I was so poor and struggling all the time, but determined that they would be set up to succeed in life and not be imbued with the same poverty messages I had gotten as a kid.
Then when it came time for college, I didn't have any savings to help send them to school, so I borrowed and they borrowed. And I went back to school myself, on -- you guessed it -- loans. I still am a renter and never got in the housing market because I couldn't afford a down payment.
However, this story has a more upbeat ending (or middle, actually, since I'm still in process) than you might imagine. Once the kids were out of school, they both got great jobs and began paying back their loans. I got a succession of better and better jobs and finally am making close to real money. And I've been paying off my bills steadily, a bit each month, to the point that I can now see out of the big hole I dug for myself. I have accepted my enormous school loan as something that will probably be a part of my life for years to come, but am not overwhelmed by it any more. It is what it is and I just keep making payments and trying to look forward.
However, there were so many days when it seemed as though nothing I could ever do would be enough, that my debts and my financial situation were fixed and hopeless, so what did it matter if I charged, say, dinner at a really nice restaurant for all three of us? Or take a cash advance from one credit card to pay the bill on the other one? Yep, been there, done that.
It's taken everything I have to change my internal conversation about money from one of hopelessness to one of responsibility, and to believe in a future for myself that doesn't involve debt. It's worth doing, but it really takes something. Part of that something is believing that you actually have a future and there actually is a path out. That sense is in very short supply these days, particularly as the financial news gets worse and it appears our "leaders" have their eye on just about everyone else but the citizens and consumers who pay their salaries.
I'm debating getting an ipod soon. I'll have to keep this in mind if I decide to get it.
-Nate
Just planning some alone time together-just the two of us
i have not had an entertainment book before but would probably use mostly the restaurant and movie tickets. DATE NIGHT!!!
Sounds like psychobabble.
Instead of going out for an expensive dinner, the restaurants will be packed anyway, go out for a romantic dessert and coffee. Find a quiet cafe and sit at the back and enjoy each others company and not have the stress of waiting for an enormous bill at the end of the meal.
Hmmm. Perhaps it is biological on some level. I would lean more toward overspending being a social construct. I have read some very interesting studies that make a strong case for the effects of mass marketing on societies.
In more primitive cultures (or even less industrialized cultures)- cultures lacking in media & marketing - people do not have the desire to accumulate to the extent that we do. It is actually quite fascinating.
I mean really - do we 'need' so much stuff - or do we believe the lie that having so much stuff makes us happier, sexier, more powerful, etc.? I vote the latter.
VERY NICE LOOKING SHOE