Valentine’s Day is two weeks away and many may be scrambling for gift ideas. But, before you panic and spend more than your budget allows, the money-saving experts at Slickdeals have some tips to help you gift well without causing heartbreak at the bank.
- Celebrate after Valentine’s Day – You’d be hard pressed to find a restaurant that isn’t taking advantage of this holiday to charge a lot for a simple dinner. Expect to pay $100 to $150 per person for dinner on February 14th. At that hefty price tag, you’re better off celebrating before or after the actual date. Make plans for Thursday night when the restaurants aren’t as crowded and you can get a good meal at a decent price. If you’re not a fan of crowds and spending huge amounts of cash for a meal, wait till Monday and you’ll enjoy a romantic dinner without sacrificing money or your sanity.
- Bookmark and use Slickdeals – With a community of 10 million users, Slickdeals is your go-to source for anything deal and coupon related. Our seasoned members post, comment and vet the best deals so you’ll know it truly is a great deal. For strictly Valentine’s Day deals, check out our dedicated Valentine’s Day deals page to find bargains on travel, spas, restaurants, flowers and more.
- Buy flowers from the grocery store – Don’t want to shell out $50 for a basic bouquet of flowers? Visit your local grocery store and score a nice bouquet under $20. Trader Joe’s carries simple, yet beautiful, bouquets starting at just $3.99! At that price, you’ll have extra money to spend on a box of chocolates or some other fun treat.
- Send flower delivery, but not on Sundays – Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday this year, this generally shouldn’t be an issue, but a note of caution: If you’re sending flowers to someone via a flower delivery service, try to avoid delivering on Sunday. There’s usually an upcharge for Sunday delivery. Also, make sure you search for a coupon code for flowers as well because you can save up to 20% on one order.
- Discounted gift cards – Did you know that you can buy gift cards at a discount? Gift card resale sites have a huge inventory on gift cards from virtually any store. To help with your flower purchase, 1-800-Flowers gift cards are currently discounted up to 17% off face value. That’s instant savings with the click of a button. Similarly, gift cards for restaurants like Ruth’s Chris are discounted 13% and See’s Candies gift cards are 10% off. Just make sure you don’t buy more than you need or you’ll have gift cards sitting in your wallet wasting your dollars.
- Skip the jewelry – One of the tops gifts for Valentine’s Day is jewelry, but keep in mind that jewelry gets marked up around this time of year. The occasional deal will pop up, with things like a $30 Zales diamond accent necklace last year, but in general, waiting to purchase your jewelry at a later time may be a better idea (we often see more deals in April during tax return season).