Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Celebrating Your Anniversary on a Budget

Mike and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary within the next few months. I've already been thinking about what we can do to celebrate it frugally, so this guest post by Kelly Jordan really hit the spot and gave me some great ideas to think about. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

We get it. Money’s tight. In your family. In the middle class. In the country at large. More and more, hardworking people are struggling to make ends meet, and that means there is less and less to go around when special occasions come up. Like dinners out. Like family vacations. Like your wedding anniversary.

When the budget’s tight, it’s that last one that often gets the short end of the stick. You’ve got to have that family vacation for the kids. But for you and your spouse? Well, wedding anniversary celebrations and gifts can add up and you’re not sure you can afford it. We understand, of course. We really do. But we’re also here to tell you not to give up on that anniversary. Even with a small budget, you can choose meaningful and personalized wedding anniversary gifts that won’t break the bank and enjoy a wonderful afternoon or evening with your other half.

Sound like something you need? Then read on for our best tips for celebrating your anniversary on a budget.


1. Write a love letter to your spouse. This one costs you nothing but a little time and an open heart. Start off the day by giving them the letter. While he or she reads it in bed, go make breakfast for a quiet breakfast in bed. Whatever else you do for the day, you’ll have started things off with what really matters: expressing your love and devotion to your spouse.

2. Send the kids to friends or their grandparents for the day and stay in. With the kids absent, the only question will be: what to do with an empty house? We have a few suggestions. How about you cook dinner together, set the table with your best china, and dress up in your finest clothes. Light some candles, enjoy some wine with dinner, and see where the mood takes you. Maybe you’ll soon end up in the living room, where you can get a little music going and have you own private dance party. Or maybe the mood will take you to the couch, where you’ll read poetry to each other.

3. Spend the day wine tasting. Few things are more romantic than drinking wine and enjoying the splendors of nature with your spouse. A wine tasting tour will certainly take care of the first, and more often than not the second, as wineries usually find themselves out in the countryside. The best thing about wine tasting (besides the wine)? It’s cheap. Dirt cheap, actually. Pay a few bucks for each winery tour, drink a few samples along the way, enjoy the majestic settings as you travel from winery to winery, and, hey, catch a nice little buzz with your spouse. There’s no law saying you have to buy any bottles of wine from the wineries you visit, though you might want to grab at least one to keep the party going once you’re back home.

4. Ride bikes to your favorite local nature spot and picnic together. A leisurely bike ride with your spouse on a sunny day: few things beat that. Pack a picnic basket, find a shady spot under some trees, lay out a blanket, and break out the sandwiches and the wine. Your spouse can lay his or her head in your lap, and you can talk together about life, about marriage, about your love for each other.

5. Watch a movie and pop up some popcorn. This one might seem too low key or too much like a regular night. We get that. But this might be the extent of your budget, and that’s okay. So, rent one movie for him and one for her, grab a comfy blanket and some wine to wash down that popcorn. Cuddle, watch the movies, laugh together, talk about memories and what initially made you fall for each other.

There you go. It’s not easy living on a tight budget. It can mean scrimping on some meaningful events. But it doesn’t mean you have to let your anniversary come and go without much ado. Follow our tips above and you’ll make anniversary memories without spending an arm and a leg.

See my disclaimer.