Everything I Needed to Know About A Frugal Valentines Day I Learned From My Dog

By Ron | Feb 14, 2008

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Everyone has a list of how to have a frugal Valentines Day.

Trent at The Simple Dollar has Nine Tactics for a Frugal Valentines Day.
Jason at Frugal Dad listed Frugal Valentines Day Gift Ideas.
JD at Get Rich Slowly wrote Cheap Ways to Say I Love You.
Mighty Bargain Hunter reminded the guys that The 14th Is Approaching.
At My Two Dollars you can learn Frugal ways to Make Your Valentine Swoon.

But no one does “frugal” like a dog.

Puppy VALENTINES DAY
Me: Honey, where would you like to go out to eat for Valentine’s Day?
Wife: Oh, anyplace is fine, Chili’s or O’Charley’s would be nice.
Dog: I’d be happy just eating that leftover lasagna in the back of the fridge.

LITTLE SIDE TRIP?
Me: Would you like to go on a little trip for Valentines Day this year? The beach, snow skiing in Colorado, the West Coast, a cruise?
Wife: Anywhere is fine. You pick.
Dog: The park just down the street, let’s go to the park! Yay!

TRANSPORTATION
Me: What would you think about buying a new minivan, say a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna?
Wife: Can we afford that right now?
Dog: So long as it DOESN’T have air conditioning, any old car will do. I just love hanging out the window with my tongue flapping in the breeze!

HOUSING
Me: Did you see the house plans for that 5 bedroom 5 bath house? I really like that one. If we could build it on those 26 acres just outside of town . . .
Wife: That’s an awfully big house.
Dog: A one room house is fine with me! HEY! We could all sleep together! YES!!!

FOOD
Me: I’m heading to the grocery store. I want more variety in our meals.
Wife: WAIT. Let me see if I have some coupons and if the Grocery Game has any specials.
Dog: I eat the same thing every day and I LOVE it. Hey, I KNOW — How ’bout some dog chow right now? Hmmm?

ENTERTAINMENT
Me: I wonder if I could get a new Wii and some games to go with it.
Wife: Those are fun, but they do cost a lot of money.
Dog: Why don’t you just throw the tennis ball a couple of thousand times at the park? I promise to always bring it back! That is, unless you’ll chase me for it.

BOREDOM
Me: I’m bored, let’s go to the mall and look around.
Wife: Now that’s some temptation.
Dog: How ’bout you let me sit in your lap and you scratch my belly for a couple of hours?

Isn’t it funny how a dog is happy with just the simple things in life? They’re happy just spending time with you, doing something as simple as taking a nice long walk, or rough-housing in the yard, or digging a hole. So long as he isn’t digging up your tulips, it doesn’t cost anything to do those things. Dogs are happy with a belly full of the same old dog food, happy to just walk down the street with you, and happy to chase a Frisbee or a ball. They don’t demand a large house with elaborate decorations, or a fancy sports car, or any of the trappings that humans fall into. They’re happy to just be with you.

There’s a lot we could learn from our “best friends.” Maybe we should just be happy being together.

Technorati Tags: valentine, blog, dog, puppy, frugal, save, money

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20 Comments so far

David (10 comments.) February 14, 2008 12:10 am

My list was the simple things and about being together, that was the point! Thanks for the mention though.
Cars » Everything I Needed to Know About A Frugal Valentines Day I … February 14, 2008 1:01 am

[...] Ron wrote a fantastic post today on “Everything I Needed to Know About A Frugal Valentines Day I …”Here’s ONLY a quick extractMe: What would you think about buying a new minivan, say a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna? Wife: Can we afford that right now? Dog: So long as it DOESN’T have air conditioning, any old car will do. I just love hanging out the window … [...]
Valentine » Blog Archive » Everything I Needed to Know About A Frugal Valentines Day I … February 14, 2008 1:01 am

[...] Ron wrote an interesting post today on Everything I Needed to Know About A Frugal Valentines Day I …Here’s a quick excerptVALENTINES DAY Me: Honey, where would you like to go out to eat for Valentine’s Day? Wife: Oh, anyplace is fine, Chili’s or O’Charley’s would be nice. Dog: I’d be happy just eating that leftover lasagna in the back of the fridge. … [...]
Shamelle @ Enhance Life (1 comments.) February 14, 2008 4:25 am

A unique approach to Valentine’s day. I love the way you included the dog Great post!
self help zone (1 comments.) February 14, 2008 6:26 am

mmmm Frugal Valentine’s Day… thats a good idea… and I agree with David… being together is what very important on this special day…

“In love the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two.” -Erich Fromm

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Unleash your emotions this valentine’s day.
Frugal Dad (11 comments.) February 14, 2008 7:35 am

And people wonder why they are called “man’s best friend!” And thanks for the mention.
Karen (3 comments.) February 14, 2008 8:51 am

This post makes me want to go to the pound to rescue a dog… except my two cats would claw my eyes out.
Becky@FamilyandFinances (5 comments.) February 14, 2008 10:38 am

Lol! I like the entertainment one:

“Dog: Why don’t you just throw the tennis ball a couple of thousand times at the park? I promise to always bring it back! That is, unless you’ll chase me for it.”

This sounds *just* like my brother-in-law’s dog. That dog would catch tennis balls until he dropped dead if you let him!
Four Pillars (21 comments.) February 14, 2008 10:26 pm

Excellent post.

Mike
jason holmes (7 comments.) February 15, 2008 7:23 am

Theyre happy just spending time with you, doing something as simple as taking a nice long walk, or rough-housing in the yard, or digging a hole.>>>> I had heard somewhere that time is the best gift that you can give to your loved ones….but in today’s fast life how many of us can really spend some quality time with our near and dear ones.

Dog: How bout you let me sit in your lap and you scratch my belly for a couple of hours?>>>> my tipsy used to love it…..i miss her a lot ….dogs are indeed wonderful companions, they hardly want anything from us but give us so much of love in return.Isn’t it the true meaning of love.

I must say its a simply “wow” post….a very nice way of explaining the concept of Vday.
Mike (13 comments.) February 15, 2008 5:41 pm

Ron: About a year ago, my fiancee and I rescued our golden retriever, Sandy. She was two years old, and she’d spent most of that time alone, outside in a small run, even in the Minnesota winters. It seems like she’d have plenty of reasons to be grumpy, but she never was. She was warm and friendly and sweet from the moment that we met her.

By the end of my life, if I can say that I was half, maybe even just one-quarter, as nice as a dog, I’ll feel like I did okay.
Saturday linkstuff February 16, 2008 8:14 am

[...] Journal had a great post about a frugal Valentine which really could describe any day of the week. Dog lovers are required to check it [...]
Ron February 16, 2008 3:16 pm

Mike »
Don’t you just love dogs? They truly love unconditionally and no matter what, they’re always glad to see you.
We have a little dachshund named Copper, who was as sweet as sugar from day one. I never knew I could love a little dog like I love HIM!
Nicolas Lutz February 16, 2008 8:19 pm

But yet, your sweetheart is not your dog.

As for me, I added to all the questions, I will (did) not take “you pick” as an answer. Consequently, I was asked to prepare a nice meal with wine and dessert and then was my loved one was happy.

Let us not confuse frugal with lazy.

Nicolas

PS: I will admit I don’t have a dog AND I did love your post.
Ron February 16, 2008 8:44 pm

Nicolas Lutz »
Thanks for commenting. Those were just examples actually. My wife usually knows exactly where she would like to be taken out for dinner.
Interesting point you make, “Let us not confuse frugal with lazy.” There is some validity to that argument!
Financial planning tips and Roth IRA conversion planning for those in their 30s and 40s » Chance Flavors of the Week February 17, 2008 5:38 am

[...] Everything I Needed to Know About A Frugal Valentine’s Day I Learned From My Dog - I think this a very clever post for Valentine’s Day. I stopped reading V-day posts because people were writing the same things. Well, not this one. This is a very original and thought provoking approach to celebrating Valentine’s Day and beyond… [...]
Ron February 17, 2008 5:42 am

David »
You had some great ideas and I enjoyed reading your article.
I think dogs have us all beat though
Ron February 17, 2008 4:38 pm

jason holmes »
Thanks Jason. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Time is the best gift, yes — it’s our most precious and scarce resource. We can always earn more money, but we can never recover time.
Living Off Dividends & Passive Income (2 comments.) March 10, 2008 9:17 pm

great post!
Ron March 11, 2008 9:05 am

@Living Off Dividends & Passive Income
Thanks!