Budgets & Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day tonight because our schedules are a little crazy this weekend.  After a couple texts with Darrin earlier in the week, it was decided that our Valentine's Day budget would be $10 each. We have never been big gift spenders.  For a lot of our marriage we couldn't afford to be.  Now that money isn't as tight as it used to be, we are both too cheap to spend much more than $10 on each other.  Truth. Thankfully, it's totally mutual.

In the last 14 years, we have established a budgeting system that works for us.  It goes a little something like this...yours, mine, and ours.  "Ours" covers all the bills, tithes, groceries, gas, and stuff like that.  "Mine" & "Yours" covers our personal wants like clothes, entertainment, eating out, and gifts for each other.  Our little allowances have fluctuated over the years depending on what our household budget dictated, but they've never been very elaborate.  So, $10 for Valentine's Day is fine with both of us.  Darrin would probably rather not buy gifts at all, but he plays along with my need to celebrate with a token gift.

Miles was the first to open.  He also had a $10 budget.

He got a Bionicle Lego set, which he was most excited about...

I couldn't find a card for Darrin that captured my true feelings...

So, I settled on a $10 gift card to a local coffee shop, b/c gift cards are the way to his heart...

I got a card from Darrin & one from Miles...

Darrin's included a $15 Google Play card.  Clearly he broke the rules...

Miles' card was the grand finale.  Darrin said he showed Miles the "Mom" section of cards at Walmart, but none of them satisfied him.  He happened upon this card in the "funny" section...

I'll leave the sound effect to your imagination....  They were both so proud of themselves.  Miles even told his teacher all about it earlier in the week.  She was very impressed, obviously.

$30 total makes for a happy family...

After declaring that we were "the greatest parents in the world", Miles immediately got to work on his Lego.  For the record, he's already finished.  I love Legos, but they sure are expensive for the amount of time he actually spends playing with them.

After reading this, I know just what you are thinking.  Have no fear, I'm getting my hair highlighted tomorrow.  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!