Saving money is sexy-- as long as you master the art of how to cheap out without looking like a cheapskate! Here are a few ideas on how to have an upscale, romantic date without the corresponding out of control price tag.
Simple and elegant: Romance doesn't require an overpriced French restaurant or a huge, expensive bouquet from a top florist. Under $50 can net you flowers from any of the online florists (you can get a bouquet for as low as $19.99, + delivery, plus get up to 20% cashback with Ebates!) plus an inexpensive bottle of wine, a baguette and a hunk of good cheese-- all that you need for a romantic picnic. If you need assistance picking out a great (but reasonably priced!) bottle of wine, go to WineTasting.com and sort by price, rating or best selling. You can even order a gift basket which will contain everything you need for your picnic from Wine.com-- and both WineTasting.com and Wine.com offer cashback if you click through Ebates to make a great deal that much sweeter!
Have a romantic night in: If it's too cold to picnic outside where you live, light the fireplace, lay out a blanket, put on some music and have an indoor picnic instead! Don't have a sitter? Put the kids to bed early and either pick up dinner or order in. Light candles, turn off the TV and have a quiet dinner, just the two of you-- even if it's a frozen lasagna, it will taste better by candlelight. Rent a movie for free from your local library or spend $1 to get one from your local Redbox or Blockbuster Express.
Go Local: Take advantage of your local environment. If you're on the coast, grab a picnic and head to the beach for a stroll. If you're in the mountains, grab your skis or snowboard. Explore all that your local area has to offer: museums, walking trails, picnic areas, amusement parks, strawberry picking and more.
Let's do lunch: If you want the restaurant experience but don't want to pay elevated prices go to lunch instead. Many high end restaurants have very affordable lunch specials and the ambiance and service are comparable to what you'll find in the evening.
Score a discount! Sites such as Groupon offers deep discounts on local attractions, spas, salons and restaurants, usually 50% off or deeper-- be sure to click through Ebates to get an additional 3%. cashback at Groupon, too! Restaurant.com offers $25 gift certificates for $10 and you can often find a code bringing your out of pocket cost down to as low as $2, and click through Ebates for 15(!)% cashback-- most restaurants do have some restrictions-- either minimum spending requirements, black out dates or exclusions-- but as long as you can live within the restrictions, you're well on your way to a low cost dinner!
Babysitter Swap: If you can't afford to pay ransom rates for a sitter and don't have family either close or willing to watch your kids, consider a babysitting swap with some like minded friends. It can be as simple as you watch my kids this Saturday night and I'll watch yours next Saturday night, giving each family a much needed and well deserved break from parental duties.
Regardless of your budget, you can have a ton of fun without spending a ton. With just a little bit of ingenuity and smidgen of planning, you can have a hot date with your sweetie without souring your budget.
Jodi Furman is a blogger for LiveFabuLess. Be sure to check out all her money saving tips here.
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If there is one thing that almost all the gents I know clamor
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don't just want to bring home a six pack of whatever you could find at
the store to be consumed from a bottle or can. This Valentine's Day go
the extra mile. Nothing says "I love you" like a custom-etched beer
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Chocolates, jewelry, wine... the gift list for February 14th goes on and on. It's no wonder that men (and women) can get frazzled when trying to do something nice for the special someone in their life. Commercials bombard with overpriced truffles, diamond necklaces, and skimpy lingerie, but is this really what Valentine's Day is about? The origin of lovers' day comes from Saint Valentine. After being rejected by his mistress, Saint Valentine sacrificed his heart and sent it to her in a dramatic show of undying love. Luckily for you, modern times call for less bloodshed, with a heart-shaped card replacing the body's strongest muscle. 
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3. The next give-it-to-me Gift Card is none other than electronics central; 
The holidays are not solely about Christmas and no one knows this better than myself. Sunday night was the start of Chanukah, a celebration of family, life, and history. Most everyone has heard of The Festival Of Lights, (especially if you're an Adam Sandler fan) however most don't know the history and meaning behind this eight day celebration. What I'm sure everyone does know is the jealousy felt as a child when your Jewish friends would get presents for eight days while you only had one day of gifts. Let me clear the air and say that it wasn't eight days of jaw dropping gifts. More like two or three really great gifts, with the remainder of gifts being socks and underwear. My mother alone would supply me with enough underwear to clothe an army, and that's before my aunt and grandparents had a chance to give me anything.
My second favorite thing about Chanukah is the chance to see family. My family happens to be the kind that shouts your name out as you enter a household, and it sounds something like "Allison!, Allison's here!" "Hey look who it is!" It's such a red carpet welcome, that it will easily give anyone a superiority complex, and I firmly believe I can blame them for my big head. Considering that I am not able to see them often, this Kosher Hanukkah Cornucopia basket from 
Do you have a son, daughter, or especially clumsy friend that should never really have any portable electronic device costing more than $50? Then this particular Samsung Camera was MADE for you. Featuring 8.1MP of generous picture-taking power, 9x total zoom (3x optical and 3x digital), and a small form factor, the Samsung S860Z is an outright steal at $50. It takes clear, 640x480 video that's perfect for recording YouTube videos, home movies, and capturing even the most random and inane happenings on digital "film." Of course, you'll need a SD card to go along with it, but for only $50, this Samsung is a no-brainer for anyone asking for a simple digital camera. It's small, it's sturdy, and takes clearer pictures than some cameras twice it's price. What's more can you want than that? 
While I'm not quite sure where external hard drives fit into the traditional gift-giving continuum (It's neither blue, nor new...), I can safely say that this is the best deal on a portable hard drive I have seen yet. If you need a little something that really says "I know you have a whole lot of (essential) crap that you like to take with you everywhere," nothing is better than this 320GB Western Digital 2.5" external hard drive at it's bottom-barrel price of $79. It's so small it will fit in your pocket, and so spacious that it will hold over fifty seasons of your favorite TV shows, 70,000+ songs, and close to three hundred movies in it's 2.5" chassis. Wow! Recently, I purchased a near-identical drive at a special "deal" site for $85, thinking it would never get much better than that. Now, Buy.com comes along and offers up a superior model for $5 less. Amazing! 
Hello, friend! Are you tired of the hum-drumming of life? Have you given, and possibly received, practically everything under the sun for the last few holiday seasons? There's a slim chance you (or your giftee) may have one of these little unique desktoppers, but if not, the Westinghouse 10" Digital Photo Frame is the perfectly thoughtful gift that screams "I have no clue what to get you, but chances are there are some people you'd like to look at on your desktop." In case you haven't seen one before, a digital photo frame is like a little high-definition computer monitor for your pictures. You simply load up a folder of your favorite images, pop it into the digital frame, and choose to display one image, multiple images, or view a slideshow of your favorites with just a few button clicks. Thats it! No more annoying opening or closing frames or cropping images!
