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How to celebrate Valentine’s Day on a shoestring budget

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Valentine’s Day is a special day to celebrate and show love to our significant others, family and friends. As beautiful as the idea to spoil your loved one may be, it doesn’t always mean we should dig deep into our pockets, more especially if we didn’t budget and plan for it.

Dhashni Naidoo, Programme Manager at FNB says, “We enjoy spoiling our loved ones and there is nothing wrong with doing that. But we should not spend money that we did not budget for or use credit to buy gifts. You can still enjoy this special day by keeping it simple and there are many creative ways to spoil your loved ones.”

Naidoo shares practical tips on how to celebrate love on a shoestring budget;

  1. Plan ahead – Valentine’s Day comes around year after year, one of the great things you could do is to plan and save for it ahead of time. This may also help you purchase your gifts with a clear conscience knowing you aren’t over extending yourself financially.
  2. Use your rewards programmes – In these tough times, different companies are helping customers to make their money go further by offering rewards programmes. If you are a member of a reward programme and have points that can be used to purchase gifts or vouchers, rather do that, than using credit for presents.
  3. Look for specials – During this period, different companies are offering discounts for their in demand products and services.
  4. Consider eating in – Instead of going to a restaurant, why not spoil your partner or family with a home cooked meal, trying new recipes or getting the family involved by doing a cook-off.
  5. Be creative with gifts – We often feel pressure to buy extravagant and expensive gifts. However, in these difficult times, we need to curb expenses on non essential items. Try to make something or find a less expensive activity that you can do with your loved ones, like a picnic. We need to try and avoid buying presents that we cannot afford.

To stay financially afloat, consumers should pay attention on where their money is going. If you are one of the people that celebrate Valentine’s Day, it is highly recommended that you plan for this months in advance and save so that you can enjoy the day, without the financial stress, remember it is the thought that counts,” concludes Naidoo.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.