Can you afford to be in love?
This was the question I posed to our millennial attendees and friends from media during a Valentine forum a couple of years ago where I shared the stage with finance personalities and entrepreneurs Wilson Lee Flores, Aya Laraya, and Marie-France President George Siy.
The forum discussion focused on finding the real costs of the different stages of love, from courtship, marriage, and starting a family. Each of the invited speaker shared their wisdom on relationships and discussed how money plays a big role in making each relationship work out successfully.
And as the youngest speaker in the event (ehem), I was given the topic about quantifying and qualifying the costs of courting and being romantic, with a killer line that made the audience go nuts:
“If you’re not able to support the costs of courtship, then you won’t be able to support your partner when you get married.”
Dating and Courting Should Not Be Costly
But expressing your love for someone doesn’t have to expensive. You just need to be bring out the researcher in you and be a little more creative in planning out your perfect V-day date.
To plan your V-day budget, what you need to do is just factor in your monthly salary in order to estimate your “courting expenses”. Check this proportion: Your courting and dating expenses should not go beyond what you actually make in a month. If you do, expect your heart and wallet to be broken right after Valentine’s Day.
Here are some prudent but exciting ways to keep the romance going this V-day without hurting your pocket:
Search for the Best Online Deals
You may be having a hard time finding the perfect gift in malls or or the best meals in restaurants at discounted prices. But there are several online promos that will help you book that affordable dinner at a romantic restaurant or discount vouchers that you can use in select mall stores.
Websites such as Metrodeal and Deal Grocer will give you many options for buying Valentine’s gifts or booking your favorite restaurant in your city at huge discounts. There are quite a number of places where you can score a dinner date for as low as P1000.
But what the heck, you can even enjoy your V-day at home with your loved one for less than P500 by ordering a Big Guys pizza voucher from Metrodeal!
Spas and Airbnb staycations
I have been in the spa and Airbnb businesses for more than 3 years already. And in my opinion, these two are the better options to spend money on than chocolates and roses for your special someone on Valentine’s Day. Spa services and hotel stays cost 50% off or more when you book them online.
You can use your BDO cards in booking my Airbnb units Casa Silvana, Casa Malarayat, and Alegre Suite to experience the food, culture, nature, and cool weather of Lipa City on V-day for less than P3,000 with full home amenities with high-speed internet and cable TV. The temperature still falls at a low of 18 degrees C at night this February so it’s about time for cuddle cuddle, di ba?
You can even book a spa service at great discounts while staying in our place if you purchase vouchers on Metrodeal or Deal Grocer.
Tripadvisor is also a great website where you can find other interesting places for the perfect V-day staycation for as low as P1,000. But you have to call the establishments yourself to ask about their promos. This is made easier because Trip Advisor provides the addresses and contact information of hotels and accommodations.
Alternative Date Activities
Activities like fencing, archery, and even target shooting at the gun range are becoming popular recreation options for barkadas and couples as well.
We used to visit Armscor for target shooting in our home city of Marikina as a place to de-stress and network with other shooters. I highly recommend it as an alternative activity for dating couples on a budget since you will just have to spend between P600 to P3000 depending on the package you choose; how long you use the gun range; whether you rent a gun or bring your own.
Another activity that’s also fun for couples is archery. A friend of mine is actually setting up her own archery range in Antipolo but there are other archery ranges in Metro Manila. One of them is the Kodanda Archery Range that has branches in Makati, Pasay, and a few other places.
When you Google the words “archery manila”, several archery schools or clubs will show up where you can choose the closest and most convenient ones for you to visit. For example, there’s The Archery Academy in San Juan.
However, there’s an adrenalin-pumping version of archery activity that you can try at Archery Attack.for just P500 per player (which is already good for two hours). Essentially, this is similar to the paintball shootout games except that you will use soft, ball-tipped arrows instead of paintball guns.
And since movies like Goyo and General Luna have become popular among many millennials and Gen-Z’s these days, another activity that may interest you is a game of intelligence, discipline, class, and honor. It’s called fencing.
Republic Fencing and Sports Club lets you and your date en-garde, cross blades (don’t worry the fencing sword or epee is designed for sport safety, not actual combat), and touche each other for fun. It’s best that you learn the French fencing terms beforehand because if you whisper them properly, they sound really romantic.
These activities will surely get your heart pumping and you can even have fun making metaphorical and imaginary shots to each other’s hearts.
Have you ever wondered why the best love stories on-screen and in books involve dashing heroes and beautiful damsels in scenes with arrows and swordplay? Watch The Princess Bride and The Hunger Games when you get back home to discover why and end your V-day date on an unforgettable romantic note.
Create Your Own Frugal Love Story on V-Day
Your love story need not equate to fancy restaurants, pricey bouquet of flowers, or cholesterol-packed sugary chocolates.
Perhaps you could learn a thing or two on how my ex-girlfriend (and now my wife) spent and celebrate Valentine’s Day frugally. We even shared in that story how we used our BDO debit card to purchase our favorite canned tuna for our frugal dinner date on the grass by the Marikina River. Go read it!
V-Day online deals are much easier to snatch up when you use your BDO credit card. BDO credit cards have ongoing promos that will give you more discounts on the day of hearts.
You can always find ways to make Valentine’s Day more enjoyable, less stressful, and more affordable.
Check out this video for more tips on just that.
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Rock your way to abundance! #moneyliferocknroll
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