12 Tips for Valentine's Day on a Budget

Even with a tight budget, there are still plenty of ideas that will help make Valentine's Day special this year. I've always thought that the personalized touch always trumps the price of anything else. I think that this year, more than any other year, will be the year of personalized gifts. There are more ways than ever to personalize your gifts online and the prices are very reasonable. Here are 12 tips for some memorable gifts and things Valentines related.

1. Personalized Photo Book: Go through all those photos you have on your computer or on Facebook and create a photo book to share with your loved one. I suggest using Kodak Gallery or Snapfish. Both almost always offer coupons like the 20% discount being offered right now.
2. Personalized Candies: Give your Valentine candy with his or her name on it or include a personalized message. With My M&M's you can write that personalized message (2 lines, up to 8 characters per line) on each M&M. For Valentine's Day 2012 you can get 10% off any order!
3. Send Flowers: Check out sites like 1-800-Flowers or FTD.com where you can find great discounts on Valentine's flowers and gifts. Combine these with a coupon for a double discount.
4. Perfume & Cologne: A staple of any Valentine's, perfume and cologne always make a nice gift. If this is a gift you are interested in, I suggest looking online. Prices are not only lower online, but there are also more coupons available. Just check out Perfumania as an example.
5. Skincare Products: This is probably equally as popular as fragrances. I suggest going with a gift set. It looks nicer, plus you'll more than likely meet the minimum coupon requirement. SkinStore has some great gift sets.
6. Personalized Gifts: Check out PersonalizationMall for some very unique gifts that you can personalize. They have an entire section devoted to Valentines.
7. Make Dinner: Check out the Food Network for some great Valentine's Day recipes. Don't forget to print grocery coupons to take with you to the grocery store!
8. Go Out for Dinner: Don't be afraid to use a discount for your meal. Purchase a gift certificate from Restaurant.com and you'll save over 50% on your meal. (You're not being cheap. You're being smart with your money)
9. Valentine's Cards: If you have a bunch of people to send Valentine's cards to, purchase them in bulk. You can get them as cheap as 50 cents each at PersonalizationMall
10. Book a Trip: A great place for a getaway on a budget is Las Vegas. Rates are as low as $27 a night over Valentine's weekend. If you'll check out Expedia, you'll see that they have an entire section devoted to Valentine's travel.
11. Go on a Cruise: Get a romantic Bahamas cruise package from $239 per person over Valentine's weekend. Just check out CruiseDirect for some incredible deals on cruise packages.
12. Get a Date: Give online dating a try. I've got a couple friends that have had great success with it. One is actually getting married to the person he found on eHarmony this summer. And yes, there are coupons available there as well.