Money Matters - Cheap Cupid: There Is Still Time
BOSTON (CBS) - So what have you got planned for Valentine's Day?
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Well you still have time! Stop and pick up cards. You can get them most everywhere, card stores, drug stores, grocery stores, Wal-Mart. E-cards work well also.
If you want chocolate you can find those heart shaped boxes everywhere. In a recent study 70% of men would prefer chocolate to flowers especially older guys. But another survey showed that only 50% of women were planning to buy chocolate this year! So I figure there will be a lot of guys buying candy at half price on the 15th!
Flowers are always good. You can find flowers at the florist, the grocery store, the street vendors and the Home Depot. Flowers do have the ability to make your heart sing! Give someone an IOU for tickets for the Boston Flower show in March. And go with them.
Roses are the traditional flower for Valentine's Day for they were said to be the favorite flower of Venus the Roman goddess of love. But in the middle of winter they are outrageously expensive. If you do buy roses look for ones with tight buds and short stems. They will be cheaper.
One red rose can be just as romantic as one dozen! If you do buy one rose make sure there is a single stem vase to put it in. Last year there were 190 million roses grown for Valentine's Day.
More and more tulips are competing with roses for your Valentine dollar. My personal preference is tulips. How about a bouquet of all red tootsie pops tied with a red ribbon.
Put together a coupon book for your special valentine. The coupons can be for such things as a back rub, foot massage, home cooked dinner, an uninterrupted nap, a quiet day, a dinner out, breakfast in bed, sleeping late etc. You can see where I am going here!
Give someone a certificate for some future gift of your time spent with them. Give your mom a certificate for the chocolate bar at the Langham Hotel, or the flower show in Rhode Island or Boston this spring, your sister may need a weekend away from her twins after this winter and you can offer to baby-sit.
Put together a CD of your Valentine's favorite music or find a frame for some of the pictures you took on vacation last summer, stick the picture in and tie with a bow.
Not too late to suggest going out. Hire a baby sitter. Add dinner, a movie and it's a winning evening. You can do this anytime over the weekend, try lunch and a matinee. And a word of advice for the guys, Yogi Bear would not be a good choice of movies!
You could plan a quiet evening at home. Don't want to cook, do take out. Order a movie on line or stop at the library and pick one up. This will be hard for the guys, but pick a chick flick. You will win points for being sensitive!
