The Gift Of “Love” Does Not Come With A Price Tag!
Tomorrow is one of MY favorite holidays – Valentine's Day. And although we tend to associate this day with HUGE expenditures...it does NOT take piles of cash to show someone how much you love & care for them!
You know what time of year it is, right? Valentine’s Day is upon us… and actually one of my favorite times of year! And I have a few ideas for you, especially if you’re trying to pay-off debt or be wise with your money.
I want to share some ideas with you for tomorrow, because you can show your love in so many great ways, without breaking the bank.
And if you absolutely dread tomorrow, because you may be alone on Valentine’s Day and all the talk of love in the air just depresses you… well, let ME be your first Valentine! Happy Valentine’s Day! (I like to call it “I Love You Day!”)
This day is specifically set aside to express love, honor and adoration. Such an amazing idea! However, with virtually every business out there tempting you to spend money on bogus things, we like to couple those messages with ones from us about becoming financially-independent and being mindful of your spending. Put love and that positive messaging together and you’ve got the formula for a great day!
Now, instead of another mug or candy or flowers or just stuff, let me give you some ideas to express your love – and they actually cost you nothing!
Rather than buying a gift, why don’t you do something with zero impact on your wallet… something with a deeper meaning for the recipient? Something that will mean more than a dinner or flowers or another blouse or another item that will just end up in next year’s garage sale.
Grab a cup or an old tin (you probably have something sitting around the house that you can use) and some paper. If you have kids, you probably have some colored construction paper around the house somewhere. Go get it!
Write encouraging notes on the paper. Write things you love about the person. You could even write out a bunch of scriptures, if that’s something they would appreciate. Then fold them up and put them in the cup. This is a great gift someone can keep in their office, bedroom or anywhere else.
Someone did this for me once and I kept it on my desk for a really long time. It so blessed me. She wrote little encouraging notes, saying things like, “Today is going to be a great day!”… “Strength, beauty, and honor”…. “Love God with all your heart.” They were just little reminders every day.
Here’s another thing you could do: Rather than buying a gift, you can give the greatest gift: your time…. a gift I, personally, love. I watched my girlfriend Mona do this for her husband one year. It was so awesome! And I’ve borrowed her idea to use with my family and other people, for several years now.
Mona handmade her husband a card and put a coupon inside – a coupon to help him clean the garage. This was awesome, because the garage was a major pet peeve for him. He’s one of those organized people and loves for everything to be in order. And Mona is the exact opposite. She’s very fun, and totally disorganized. So, you can imagine the communication issues these two have had in their marriage! But as she learned what was important to him and how she can best honor him and communicate with him, she realized this would be a gift he would genuinely love… and he DID! It showed him tangible proof she loved him.
You can do all kinds of coupons! It can be for cleaning the house or cooking dinner or washing the car. Think of things designed to reduce people’s stress. And it’s FREE! You are giving your time, to serve somebody else.
There’s another one my girlfriend Jenn has done for Hans and me, from time to time. When our kids were younger, she would give us a coupon to watch the kids for a weekend, so Hans and I could get away together. Isn’t that an awesome gift? We could have a weekend alone together – without stressing about the kids or the house.
Use your imagination, think creatively! There are so many things you can do! It doesn’t take a lot of money to show someone how you feel and how much you love and appreciate them!
What’s another way you can really bless someone – without spending money? I’d love to know YOUR ideas! Leave them in the comments below!
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In great faith,
