As a personal finance blogger, I found myself asking if this was a reasonable amount to spend for Valentine’s Day. Personal situations differ, but I know that I won’t be spending anywhere near that amount on Valentine’s Day, though I will be spending a little bit of money to have an afternoon “tea” celebration with my grandma, mom, and aunt. Here are a few things I thought of that you might be able to try to keep the costs of your Valentine’s Day celebration to a minimum and still have a classy celebration.

Don’t Dine Out

Going out to eat is usually a big part of most people’s Valentine’s Day celebrations. Luckily, Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this year which means most people who work a traditional 9-5 job will have the day off work. Perhaps instead of spending money to go out to eat at an over-booked restaurant, you could prepare dinner for your Valentine at home. Even if you spend extra money to prepare an extra-special, fancy meal, chances are that it will still be cheaper (and healthier) than going out to eat.

If you really do like to enjoy a meal out for Valentine’s Day, check into restaurants that allow BYOB to help cut down on costs, or you could eat dinner at home and have dessert and a drink out afterward.

Play Tourist

Again because Valentine’s Day takes place on the weekend this year, maybe you and your Valentine can spend the day together without taking part in the traditional Valentine’s Day activities. One idea would be to take a short road trip to a neighboring town to go window shopping in a downtown community or attend a community event. If your community is having any events, you could stay in town and play tourist in your own community.

In my rural hometown, I’d go visit the museum and art displays, grab a cupcake at the local bakery, and go window shopping downtown. The majority of these activities are free or extremely cheap, but they can still be a fun way for you to spend time with your Valentine just getting away from the day-to-day grind.

Enjoy the Outdoors

Most of us spend the winter months complaining about the cold weather and snow, but instead you could spend Valentine’s Day enjoying it by building a snow fort, snow men, or even having a snowball fight. Just think, afterward you and Valentine could enjoy some hot cocoa and cuddling while watching a romantic comedy.

The main idea of Valentine’s Day is spending time with your Valentine and getting away from the ordinary. This doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money to do so.

How will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?

Photo courtesy of: Michael Gil

How to Keep Valentine’s Day Spending Under Control is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Whether a couple shares or hides their finances from each other, or at least each person has a separate account for discretionary spending, finances can be a big part of a new relationship.

A recent survey by Citi found that 24 percent of Americans in a committed relationship have a private account that their significant other doesn’t know about. That’s a fair amount of hiding something from someone you plan to spend the rest of your life with.

Many more, however, share finances, with 82 percent saying they share their financial life with their significant other, and 88 percent of couples having complete access to at least one of their partner’s accounts, the Citi survey found.

The good news, whether they have separate or combined finances as a couple, is that being with someone can change your financial habits. The Citi survey found that 82 percent changed their financial habits, 60 percent are more careful with their discretionary spending, and half are more focused on long-term financial planning.

Dealing with finances as a couple

There are a number of ways to deal with finances as a couple, especially as an engaged couple planning on getting married who have some time to work things out.

“Getting to know each other fiscally is just as important as getting to know each other sexually,” says April Masini, a relationship expert at AskApril.com.

Here are some things to consider when deciding if you should have separate or combined finances as a couple, or a combination of both:

Spender or saver?

Are your financial habits compatible? “When a spender and a saver marry, the idea of a ‘mixed marriage’ takes on grand proportions,” Masini says. “This can be a huge conflict, so try some fixes.”

“Don’t pass judgment on how your spouse likes to spend,” she says. “If he loves video games and she loves shoes, make an allowance for those fun items.”

Consult on big purchases

Pick an amount, such as $500, and agree to consult each other before making a purchase greater than that set amount, Masini recommends.

If $500 seems to big, lower the threshold to $50 or $100. Whatever amount you set for your separate finances as a couple, be sure to discuss the expense when it gets to the level you agreed upon.

Combine all accounts

Danny Kofke, a retirement consultant in Georgia, says starting to combine all accounts on the day couples get married helps the couple as a team, and has worked in his marriage.

“This has worked well for me and my wife and enabled her to be a stay-at-home to our two daughters for nine years despite living off my $42,000-a-year teaching salary,” Kofke says.

Combining your finances as a couple helps “accomplish more together than they would ever be able to accomplish individually,” says Ken Rupert, a life and financial coach who has been married 22 years.

“Combining finances creates communication, trust, and a sense of collective accomplishment,” Rupert says. “Money is a trust issue. If trust is an issue before marriage, it will be an issue after. A lack of trust in marriage results in hurt feelings, deceit, and eventually divorce.”

If you’re joining every other part of your lives, why not finances? That’s the thinking of David and Jill Ilgenfritz of Hamilton, Montana, who married in November.

David, who started a business called Citizen Threads Co., isn’t drawing a salary yet, so the decision was easier for him.

“In the end I think it comes down to trust and transparency,” he says. “When people maintain separate checking accounts, credit cards, and sign prenups before marriage, it starts you out on rocky soil.”

Combined banking accounts required them to be completely transparent with their spending habits, David says, and ensure they’re both held accountable while allowing them to save for things like trips, savings and investments.

Major assets or debt?

If one person has significant assets or debt before getting married, such as through an inheritance or large credit card bill, they may want to consider keeping them separate among their finances as a couple, says Sandy Arons, a financial divorce specialist.

“If either spouse has significant separate assets, it is best to keep premarital funds either separate or make copies of monthly statements at the time of the marriage,” Arons says. “Put those copies in a safety deposit box for safe keeping. If a divorce should happen in the future, the value of the premarital funds is known.”

Totally separate finances as a couple

Doing the opposite of combining finances as a couple may be best for some people. Michael Greaney, a certified public accountant at Equity Expansion International in Washington, D.C., says mistakes happen, even with the best of circumstances, and “overdrafts are too easy if two or more people are writing checks on the same account.”

“Speaking strictly from an internal control point of view, a married couple should always maintain separate checking accounts, although each one may include the other as an authorized signature for emergencies,” Greaney says.

After two divorces, Debbie Curtis, a freelance writer in Ithaca, N.Y., says she recommends not combining accounts when married.

“Thank God my checking account, and my credit rating, were my own,” says Debbie Curtis, who has divorced twice.

Curtis’ first husband was vindictive, she says, and tried to run over her with her own vehicle that were registered under his business name but that she had bought.

“Thank God my checking account, and my credit rating, were my own,” she says. “I didn’t take a thing in the divorce settlement because I was afraid of him. But I had what little money I’d saved, a job, and my credit rating, and I did get my vehicle back eventually.”

Separate and combined

As Masini suggested at the start, a combination of separate and joined accounts can work well for couples.

A joint account can be used to pay household bills, and each person can have a separate account for individual expenses.

“Whatever system you choose, choose it together and make sure both partners know what’s where, and what the priorities are,” says Kevin Gallegos, a consumer finance expert and vice president of Phoenix operations for Freedom Financial Network.

Keep your own credit card

As anyone who has gone through a divorce and dealt with finances as a couple probably knows, each person in a marriage has their own separate credit score, based on accounts in their name.

A credit score involves three scores from the three major credit reporting agencies, Gallegos says. Both people in a marriage can access their credit reports for free once a year.

“If one member of the couple has an account in good standing, with a good history, adding a credit score-challenged spouse as a joint account holder will help the latter’s score,” he says. “Having the credit score-challenged spouse on the account will not negatively affect the former’s score.”

How you deal with finances as a couple may not matter

Even if you don’t decide to combine finances as a couple when you first get married, you can choose to combine accounts years later, Gallegos says.

Kelly J. Sullivan Noah of Thomas L. Sullivan Financial Services in Roseville, Minn., says it really doesn’t matter if couples have joint or separate checking accounts.

“People often associate joint accounts with traits like trust or accountability, and separate checking accounts with traits like security or independence,” she says. “The truth is that the structure of your bank accounts can neither create not prove any of these elements in your relationship.

“Either you will make decisions to spend your time, energy, and money with respect for your partner and your shared values, or you won’t,” she says. “Either you will struggle with control or you won’t.”

What matters, she says, is finding a style that works for you as a couple and makes communication simple.

“As long as you agree on the bigger picture of your spending allocation, and have a system that works for managing the rest, that’s the right system for you,” she says.

Separate or Combined Finances as a Couple? is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.

Like any romantic union, your relationship with money probably started out in a passionate state of

euphoria. Maybe you met when you were young, and Money was your childhood friend Allowance. Or maybe you didn’t get together until that summer after high school when you met at your very first job. Every love story is unique, but in every case Money was like a missing piece that made you whole. You should date your money.

This Valentine’s Day when everyone is professing their love for their significant other or proclaiming their happiness in singledom, I encourage you to spend some quality time with your money. Find out where it’s

doing well and where it needs a boost. Talk about your struggles and ask for help. If this is going to be the first time you tell Money about Credit, be gentle. Always make sure your money is getting the love and support it needs to grow. Now might even be the time to make a lifelong promise to your money by putting it in a retirement fund. Just like love, RRSP is a four-letter word! In any case, I wish you and your money a very Happy Valentine’s Day together — may you show your love & affection for one another every day of the year.

Are you going to date your money this year?

This Valentine’s Day, Date Your Money is a post from: When Life Gives You Lemons. Did you like the post? Follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, or hop on over to my blog and leave me your feedback.