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Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be expensive, and doesn’t only have to be about store-bought gifts. PennySaver has compiled some DIY Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas just for you, in the event that you didn’t have time to shop for something, are on trying to spend Valentine’s Day on a budget, or just prefer to gift something that you made yourself.

DIY Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

• Create an ‘I Love You’ Book

  Time to unleash your crafty and creative side! The ideas for this gift can be endless. All you need to do is create a book telling your significant other how much you love them. It can be small, it can be comically large, it’s completely up to your imagination. Here are some great examples to get you inspired.

  • ’52 Things I Love about You’ done using a pack of playing cards and 1 inch binder rings. You can make it as basic, or elaborate as you see fit.
  • Photo Love Story using index cards and photos to tell your love story.
  • ‘I Love You Because…’ Book from Wahetver Dee Dee Wants. Great way to tell your significant other why you love them.
  • The Envelope Book from Oh Hello Friend Blog to help your significant other get through their day.

• Coupon Books

  You might remember doing these as a kid. Creating coupon books for your parents on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, redeemable for you doing the dishes, or other household chores. The same gift would also make a great Valentine’s Day gift as you get older. You can still keep the coupons for the occasional hand with the household chores, but you can add coupons redeemable for foot massages, homemade dinner, car-wash, or even a kids-free day coupon! Some cute examples are:

  • Elegant Coupon Book using free printable templates, cardstock, and other office/craft supplies you probably already have at home.
  • Non-Corny Valentine’s Day Coupon book from Kind Over Matter
  • Packaged Coupon Book that’s abstract, and different from the usual coupon book format. This one’s more structured, and reminiscent of a fold-out wallet.
  • Vintage Coupon Book for the vintage-lover in your life.
  • Ticket-themed Coupon Book from Mommy by Day Crafter by Night. You can download the coupons with text already printed on them, or blank to add your own coupon text. They look similar to theater/movie tickets, and you can paste them on card stock to personalize them further.

• Love Notes in a Jar

  This one is pretty self explanatory, and not much to it. If you already have empty jars laying around you can use those, or purchase some mason jars or small jars at your local craft store. You can create thin strips of notes, or larger notes, notes in circles or notes in square, folded or flat. You can hand-write them or have them printed. The possibilities are endless, but the outcome is the same. You have a beautiful jar full of love notes and sweet sayings for that special person in your life that they can enjoy at home or at work.

• Scrapbook of Dates

  If you collect or still have receipts or movie stubs from your dates, then this is the perfect DIY gift idea for you. Create a scrapbook of sorts, or a stub diary for your sweetie. Highlight the special moments you shared, and include cute anecdotes of the times you spent together.

Buying gifts are great, but nothing shows how thoughtful you are, more than dedicating time to making something yourself, and your wallet will also be happier!

Just because you don’t have a date doesn’t mean Valentine’s Day has to be a drag. In this edition of Save Money Monday, PennySaverUSA provides four affordable options for singles to have fun on Valentine’s Day.

Single on Valentine's Day? Don't worry, have some friends over and play some games!

1. Have some friends over for a game night.

There are so many fun party-oriented board games out there right now to choose from that you are bound to find one that suits your taste. You can go old school and bring out Twister, challenge your brainy friends with a game of Trivial Pursuit or play a more modern game such as Cranium. The possibilities are endless. And the best part of it all – even if you don’t have any board games, they are readily available for purchase on PennySaverUSA.com for great prices.

2. Go out to eat with some friends at your favorite local hangout.

While all the couples are dropping extra cash at fancy, romantic restaurants that have special Valentine’s Day menus with jacked up prices, you and your single buddies can take the occasion to visit the neighborhood pizzeria, burger joint or taco stand and down some good old-fashioned comfort food. Make sure to check PennySaverUSA.com’s restaurant listings to get coupons and save money.

3. Get your athletic gear on and burn some calories.

There’s no sense in wallowing in self pity, instead release all that energy and get a good work-out in. Whether you want to go on a run, play basketball with some friends, hit the punching bag, take out the bike for a ride or just pump some iron, there is nothing to lift your spirits – at very little cost – like exercising and getting that adrenaline pumping. Scan PennySaverUSA.com classifieds for used sporting goods.

4. Visit your family.

Sure, Valentine’s Day might be geared towards love of the romantic sort, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the occasion to show your other loved ones you care. See what your parents, siblings, aunts/uncles or cousins are up to and spend some time with them. Nothing soothes the soul like being around close friends and family.

Our series for planning the perfect Valentine’s Day on a budget continues with a special Valentine’s edition of Free Friday. After all, there is no better way to stick to a budget than by getting free stuff!

We open Free Friday with an offer from Quizno’s. The popular sandwich chain is spreading its own brand of Valentine’s love with an online coupon for a free cookie! Bear in mind, the coupon is only redeemable on Valentine’s Day and no purchase is required.

Who doesn't love free bagels on Free Friday?

While not as much of an aphrodisiac as a chocolate cookie, bagels can be quite romantic in their own right … especially, when they are free. If you like the Facebook page of Bruegger’s Bagels and sign up for their email list, they will email you a coupon for a free bagel.

Some might say that Quaker Oatmeal Squares are not exactly the most Valentinesy of freebies. We would politely disagree. They are hearty – and healthy – and have a decadence that almost no other cereal can match (how’s that for using fancy Food network language to convince you this one wasn’t a reach!). Plus, it helps they are free if you like the Quaker Oatmeal Squares Facebook page.

Few things are sexier than homemade baked goods. Surprise your Valentine with a tasty treat by downloading a free New Taste of Tradition Recipe Book from Sun-Maid.

With dessert out of the way, it’s time for the big Valentine’s kiss! But you don’t want to have chocolate stuck on your teeth when you go in for the smooch do you? That’s why it’s important to take advantage of this Free Friday offer for free toothpaste from Arm & Hammer.

Snoring is such a not-so-sweet sorrow, particularly on Valentine’s Day. Nothing will kill the mood faster than dozing off for a few seconds while your Valentine brushes his/her teeth and starting to snore. Avoid that calamity by getting a free sample of BreatheRight.

Use a free $25 flower voucher towards a purchase.

As great as all the previous freebies have been, none of them have really been Valentine’s gift worthy. That’s about to change. Luxury skincare brands Murad and Clarins have impressive gift with purchase offers available just in time for Valentines. Murad is giving away a free Hydrating Toner with any resurgence purchase. Clarins, meanwhile, is giving away a free 5-pc gift PLUS beautiful pouch with any order of $75 or more if you use the code VALENTINE at checkout.

John Frieda, on the other hand, is not even requiring a purchase for its freebie. Just for completing a short survey, they will send you a free sample of Frizz-Ease Smooth Shampoo & Conditioner AND Extra-Strength Serum.

This special Valentine’s edition of Free Friday ends with an exclusive one-day offer for our San Diego readers. Get $25 worth of Valentine’s Day flowers for free from our daily deal site SaverTime.com good for Nostalgia D Glorious Conqueror in Flower Design.

Still searching for that perfect Valentine’s gift? You’re in luck! Steals of the Week is dedicated to Valentine’s gift ideas. PennySaverUSA found five great Valentine’s gift ideas at amazing prices. Take a look:

Everyone buys fresh roses for Valentine’s Day. It has become so common that it’s cliché. This is your chance to be a little different and get your Valentine a 24k Gold Dipped Forever Rose for only $50. The seller, from Port Lucie Fla., says each one is completely handcrafted from real roses. That’s certainly a Steals of the Week caliber price.

Charms are always a good choice when it comes to Valentine’s gift ideas, but it can be difficult to pick out just the right one. Thanks to this Steals of the Week entry, that’s not an issue. A seller in Tampa, Fla. has a dozen striking charms available for just $25 each.

Say you chose the safe route and bought your Valentine flowers, but now you need an eye-catching vase to put them in. Well, a seller in Rancho Cordova, CA is here to help with the next Steals of the Week featured item. For $50 you can get the hand blown glass tall vase pictured below.

Put your hand up if you remember the Care Bears. Come on, you know you do. Now’s your opportunity to shower your Valentine with some old-school love by getting this blast-from-the-past 25^th anniversary Care Bear stuffed animal from another seller in Rancho Cordova, CA. It will set you back just $25 – far less than it would cost you to buy one from a collector.

Chocolates are a great go-to Valentine’s gift idea, but if you really want to impress your Valentine, you should unpack the chocolates and put them into this beautiful Princess House – Pavillion. Berry Pedestal Bowl. The seller claims it is new and in the box and is willing to part with it for $80. The only requirement is that you pick it up from home in Mira Loma, CA.

We hope you enjoyed our Steals of the Week Valentine’s gift ideas and welcome you to add any of your own in the comments below.

PennySaverUSA.com is your home for online classifieds, and we want to help you be as successful as possible when it comes to selling your old stuff.

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our new Valentine’s paid icons! They cost only $2.50 and are a fantastic way of helping your ads stand out from the rest and get the most possible attention.

Think of it this way: Putting a Valentine’s icon on your ad increases the chances significantly that a potential buyer will be struck by cupid’s arrow and fall in love with your item.

There are two Valentine’s icons to choose from as you can see below:

1. Valentine’s cupcake
2. Floating hearts

What makes this announcement even more exciting, however, is that we not only have Valentine’s paid icons, we also have a special limited time package offer.

You can now get premium ad placement that pushes your ad to the top of the listings for the category it is listed in AND the Valentine’s icon to the right for just $18! To put in perspective how incredible that value is, premium ad placement by itself is normally $20.

Happy selling and Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at PennySaverUSA.

PennySaverUSA has a very special Save Money Monday for you this week. We’re here to help you plan the perfect Valentine’s day on a budget. You can thank us later.

Checklist of items you’ll need:

A perfect example of a chocolate box, flowers and a note.

Eggs — $1-$3 depending on store price and if you have coupons
King’s Hawaiian Rolls — $1-$3 depending on store price and if you have coupons
Oranges – Less than $5
A bouquet of flowers — $5-$10 at most grocery stores or pharmacies
Vase – Free-$5 if you buy it at a thrift shop
A small box of chocolates – $5 or less depending on store price and type of chocolates
A notepad — $1
Your valentine’s favorite fish fillet – $5-$10 depending on store price, type of fish
Lemon — $.50 or less
Candle — $1-$5
Heart-shaped cookie cutter – $1
Salad — $5 or less depending on store price and sales
Romantic DVD – Free -$5 depending on rental price and coupons

Total cost: $25-$50 depending on your budget

Plan of attack:

Step 1: Buy all of the checklist items.

Step 2: Place the bouquet of flowers and vase either in her car or near the front door (depending if she drives to work) and write three hand-written notes the night before that you will strategically place in certain spots throughout the day.

• The first note should say something to the effect of “Enjoy this home-cooked breakfast courtesy of your lovely Valentine”.
• The second note should say something to the effect of “have a great day with this little scented surprise”.
• The third not should say something to the effect of “Thanks for being such an amazing Valentine, enjoy this little treat on me”.

Step 2: Wake up really early, plant the first two notes, make breakfast and either make fresh-squeezed orange juice (if you have a juicer) or just buy some orange juice from the store. The first note should be deftly placed under her pillow or on her nightstand while she is sleeping. If she drives to work, the second note should be placed on her car dashboard or if she stays home or walks to work, the note should be placed on the front door. A simple breakfast of eggs, King’s Hawaiian rolls (trust us, if you haven’t tried them, they’re the best) and orange juice should be ready in the kitchen and waiting, so when she wakes up and reads her note, you are prepared to bring it to her in bed.

Step 3: Get home early and start cooking. The beauty of fish is that it cooks pretty quickly and is very easy to prepare. Once again, if you are a confident cook, make it as fancy as you want. If not, here are some quick and easy steps for making fish:

One candle is key for setting the mood.

• Put a little butter and olive oil in a sauce pan.
• Place the pan on low-medium heat on the stove
• Rinse the piece of fish in some water and sprinkle it with salt and pepper
• Put the salmon into the sauce pan
  
• Squeeze a bit of the lemon juice on top of the salmon as it cooks
• ***Once the salmon has been cooking for a few minutes, it should be nice and tender. That’s when you get the heart-shaped cookie cutter out (make sure it’s the right size for a piece of salmon) and carefully use it to cut the piece of salmon into a heart! Even if she isn’t blown away by the flavor of the salmon, you’ll surely wow her with your creative touch.***

Step 4: Either make a little salad or buy one from the store and put it on the plate with the salmon. Set it on the table, light the candle and put all the lights off.

Step 5: Hand her the final note with one hand and once she has read it, the small box of chocolates with the other for a final dessert.

Step 6: After you have enjoyed a tasty dinner and chocolates, offer to watch whatever romantic movie your Valentine wants to watch (or if your Valentine dislikes romantic movies, let her choose another type of movie)

Step 7. The rest of the night is up to you!