How To Do Valentine's Day On The Cheap -- But Make It Look Expensive 

Valentine's Day ideas that are cheap for 2022.
Photo: Twenty20
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Celebrating Valentine’s Day without breaking the bank can be a tricky thing. Envisioning taking your special someone to a romantic dinner out? You’ll likely encounter highly pricy prix-fixe menus. Want to surprise your special someone with chocolate? Yeah, expect to pay more for that special box for Valentine’s Day. Jewelry? Now, that’s definitely going to cost you.

You don’t have to accept the inevitable V-Day sticker shock, though. You can do Valentine’s Day on the cheap while making it look expensive. Here are a few tips that are sure to impress.

Do V-Day At Home — But Make It Special

Going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day can easily cost upwards of a hundred dollars – if not way more. And that’s if you’re even lucky enough to score a restaurant reservation. Why not plan something special at home? Candles, wine, chocolate, the whole works. It might be even more special than going out!

Now, because we are all about doing Valentine’s Day on the cheap but making it look expensive, we highly recommend taking advantage of Ibotta to execute this. Ibotta is one of our favorite apps for getting cash back on groceries, and the app is running a very sweet (and we mean that literally) Valentine’s Day promotion.

From February 8 to February 15 Ibotta is giving extra cash back on Valentine’s Day essentials if you shop using its app including:

  • Godiva Chocolate
  • Ferrero Chocolate
  • Campo Viejo Wine

Chocolate and wine? With Ibotta’s help, you’ll be halfway to planning a Valentine’s Day at-home celebration for the books. You are going to want to take advantage of this.

If You’re Going To Splurge You Might As Well Get Cash Back

We get it, sometimes you just want to splurge on your special someone on Valentine’s Day. Two dozen roses, a diamond tennis bracelet, some champagne? Your special someone is going to love any of it. If you are going to splurge, you might as well get cash back when you do, and you can if you shop within Ibotta’s app.

Here are a few online stores where you can get cash back on Valentine’s Day goodies via Ibotta:

Flowers:

  • Bloomscape
  • 1800Flowers.com

Jewelry:

  • Jared Jewelry
  • Zales
  • Kay Jewelers

Wine/Champagne:

  • Wine.com

You can get up to 20% when you shop online at these retailers via Ibotta’s app. That will be a serious saving that will help you keep your Valentine’s Day budget in check even if you splurge.

Don’t Be Afraid To DIY A Gift

You can’t DIY your way into great chocolate and great wine, but there are parts of the holiday that are ripe to be DIY-ed like a card, a great dessert, and even a gift if you are crafty. Your loved one might even like a DIY surprise more than something store bought.

Above All Else, Get Creative

Throw out all of your ideas of what Valentine’s Day should be like when you are planning something this year. There are no rules – thinking of your special someone is the only requirement. Why not plan a hike if your significant other likes getting outdoors? An at-home album listening date night if they love music? A historical tour of your hometown if they are a history buff? Just get creative – all while saving money.

Bottom Line

Just to recap, you don’t have to do the expensive dinner out for Valentine’s Day to show your loved one that you care. Doing something at home that is a bit more creative might impress them even more.

You also don’t want to miss out on taking advantage of Ibotta’s special Valentine’s Day offerings – including chocolate and wine that it is offering extra cash back deals on for the holiday. The app also has you covered when it comes to getting cash back if you are looking to buy jewelry, flowers, and champagne.

To get started:

  • Download the Ibotta app.
  • Link a credit card to the app, which makes getting cash back a lot easier.
  • Start adding offers that you want to take advantage of, adding them to your list by tapping the + sign in the Ibotta app. This is the step where you’ll want to add the special Valentine’s Day promotion items like Godiva chocolate.
  • Shop for the items online via the app.
  • Make sure you have a linked credit card set up within the Ibotta app so you’ll get cash back on qualifying offers within minutes.
Don’t forget the Ibotta Valentine’s day promotion runs through February 15. Sign up for Ibotta today and start planning the perfect Valentine’s Day.