Times are tough. For many the thought of spending a lot of money on Valentine’s Day can add pressure you certainly don’t need. The good news is you don’t need a lot of money to create a nice Valentine’s Day for your sweetheart.

As martial artists we spend a great deal of time learning, practicing and perfecting techniques. Granted, those techniques are usually focused on causing pain and injury rather than expressing love and gratitude, but as I always say, the process is what’s important!

Throughout my adventurous and colorful life, I’ve had many opportunities to practice and perfect techniques for crafting memorable moments with the barest of resources and during times of great challenge and adversity. Today I share some of these techniques with you:

#1 The Movie Night

You’ll need:

  • Streaming movie service or DVD
  • Take-out
  • Flowers
  • Wine

This doesn’t mean flopping on the couch and throwing in whatever disk wasn’t already rented out at Red Box. The well crafted Movie Night requires a little bit of planning.

First, choose one of the iconic Valentine’s movies. I recommend “Moonstruck,” though this tradition has shifted in my relationship as my wife Alex is a foodie and “Julie and Julia” not only has food, but a heart warming Valentine’s theme.

Which leads me to the food! No matter which partner is the cook, it’s always nice to have a break. Either switch roles or spring for some take-out. Take-out need not be fancy or expensive. Most well-stocked supermarkets have a prepared food section. You don’t need to pretend that you cooked, but you should plate your dinner; anyone in the restaurant vocation can tell you that presentation is critical.

Today’s aforementioned supermarket is also usually well stocked with market fresh flowers at discount prices and the current trendiness of wine gives you the opportunity to pick an excellent bottle for less than $10. Here’s a great website just in case your last bottle was Boone’s Farm: http://www.goodwinecheap.com/

So: Flowers, take-out and a cheap bottle of wine with a movie…

  • Total cost: Less than $30
  • Prep Time: 2 to 3 hours 

#2 Bubble Bath 

You’ll need:

  • Bathtub
  • Water
  • Candle
  • Optional: Wine & rose

For maximum return on investment, there may be no better Valentine’s technique than the simple bubble bath. Even if your resources are so modest that Bath & Body Works bubbles would be a stretch on the budget, a capful of shampoo will create the desired effect.

The great secret of the bubble bath is timing. This is the perfect Valentine’s for when your sweetie is just getting home from a tough day in the trenches. You’ll want the water to be hot, candles lit and lights dimmed before your love walks through the door.

If budget allows, spring for the wine and a single rose makes as much, if not even bigger splash than the commercially traditional dozen.

The best thing about this date is that depending on the mood, the bath can be a prelude to a quick room change leading to more intimate developments or can be a calming denouement that simply marks the occasion with no further expectations.

To continue the evening, keep the bath to a reasonable duration, make sure the water is not too hot and keep the bottle in the next room. If you’d like the bath to be the highlight of the evening, add a gentle foot massage and re-warm the tub a couple of times.

  • Total cost: Less than $15…could be zero!
  • Prep time: Less than one hour

#3 The Ultimate Cheap Date Dinner Out

You’ll need: 

  • Small, preferably rustic restaurant
  • About $20 plus tip

OK, this one does require a minimal expenditure! 

On our honeymoon, Alex and I were wrapping up a wonderful trip that she had largely put together on a very tight budget. We splurged on one or two nights in hotels; the rest of the trip was comprised of camping in some of Eastern Canada’s most scenic parks and enjoying amazing campfire dinners.

Nearing the end of the trip, we wanted to have one night out at a restaurant. The problem was we only had about $20 left to our names. Thankfully we had a full tank of gas; just enough to get back home!

We walked the waterfront in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. We passed several restaurants that looked fantastic, but were way out of our budget. We then stumbled on a very small seafood restaurant that was built out on a well-weathered pier. The ambience was perfectly set with the obligatory hanging fish nets, lobster traps and plain white candles one each table set in emptied tuna fish tins.

We had just enough money to split an appetizer and a single glass of wine. To this day, it was one of the best dinners out I’ve ever had. Why? Because I was with my love and we just didn’t need anything more!

Valentine’s doesn’t need to be a day where you feel pressured to impress. If we learn anything from the economic pinch of the past few years, it should be that you don’t need a lot to have a great time.

I may be weird, but I’ve always been able to squeeze some good times out of bad. Now I greatly appreciate the skill! After all, good times and bad shouldn’t be defined solely by how much money you have, but rather by the people you share them with.

No matter what challenges you face today, if you have someone special to share them with the toughest times will someday be remembered as your best. That’s what can make Valentine’s Day special!

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THIS TUESDAY’s LESSON: LOVE Like a BLACK BELT

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LOVE Like a BLACK BELT!

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