Valentine's date ideas on a budget! The Heart of the Deal: Reduce your V-Day stress and have fun!

Valentine’s Day is for everybody, it isn’t a holiday just for couples. Love for your family, friends, and even love for yourself, is worth celebrating, too. Valentine's day ’s a great opportunity to spend some alone time with your spouse or partner, or even celebrate it with your entire family!

However, since everything’s pretty expensive nowadays, it’s important to not splurge too much on your romantic date.

When Valentine’s Day approaches, we’re all hit with a barrage of commercials for restaurants, flowers, chocolates, and even edible bouquets. But if you’re short on cash, the idea of a pricey dinner and a movie night may not have that romantic feeling.

Even though your surprise date might not seem as inherently romantic as a candlelight dinner, it is truly what you make of it.

Let’s face it: The usual date for Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly groundbreaking. As such, all of the restaurants in town are likely to be crowded – and good luck finding a good seat at the movie theater. So, what if, instead of spending your special day waiting for a table and rushing to get to the cineplex, you did something a little offbeat?

When planning a date, going against the grain and putting a little extra thought into something out of the ordinary can win you some major points in the romance and enjoyable lifestyle. You can fight fewer crowds, save yourself some coin, and impress your Valentine with something refreshingly different.

We've got plenty of ways for you to keep the romance and your bank account alive this Valentine's Day.

The best deals are online. Whether you are looking for an affordable dinner at a romantic restaurant or booking an overnight stay, the deals you can get from online promos are hard to beat.

Nowadays, it can be more difficult to find a dinner-for-two deal at only P500 but there are quite a number of places where you can score a dinner date within the P1000 -P2000 range. And more often than not, you can find these deals online.

Websites like Metrodeal and Deal Grocer give you so many options for buying Valentine’s gifts as well as booking your restaurant trysts—and all of them at huge discounts.

Spas and staycations. Why not take your Valentine celebration to the next level of chill and relaxation? Spa services and hotel stays cost 50% off or more when you book them online. In a way, doesn’t a wellness staycation express your love better than chocolates and roses?

Check out sites like Agoda and again, Metrodeal and Deal Grocer for great deals on spa services and hotel stays. 

Trip Advisor can also be helpful – because there are customer reviews – but you have to call the establishments yourself to ask about their promos. This is made easier because Trip Advisor provides the addresses and contact information.

Rates at the spas and hotels in these sites range from below P2,000 to P10,000 or higher depending on your budget and preferences. Still, there are enough places in the below P2k and below P8k for the more budget-conscious to choose from.

If you can afford a more premium experience, then check out the promos featured in the Our Awesome Planet site here and here. Other premium deals are featured in the Fat Girls Day Out site.

Another way to banish stress is to share in an enjoyable activity. Believe it or not, activities like fencing, archery, and even target shooting at the gun range are becoming popular recreation options for barkadas and couples as well.

If you choose target shooting, Armscor has several shooting ranges but in Metro Manila, the ones in Makati and Marikina are the most frequented.

The budget for this can range from P600 – P3000 depending on the package you choose; how long you use the gun range; whether you rent a gun or bring your own. 

Another activity that’s also fun for couples is archery. There are a few archery ranges in Metro Manila. There’s Kodanda Archery Range that has branches in Makati, Pasay, and a few other places.

Googling the keywords “archery manila” will give you options on which archery schools or clubs are closest and most convenient for you to visit. For example, there’s The Archery Academy in San Juan.

However, if you want to up your game into something that pumps up your adrenalin, you can try Archery Attack. Essentially, this is similar to the paintball shootout games except that, of course, you use soft, ball-tipped arrows instead of paintball guns. A two-hour session costs P500 per player.

Or why not play the ultimate game in intelligence, discipline, class, and honor? We’re talking about fencing. 

Republic Fencing and Sports Club lets you and your date en-garde, cross blades (don’t worry the fencing sword or epee is designed for sport safety, not actual combat), and touche each other for fun. Be sure to learn the French fencing terms--because if you whisper them properly, they sound really romantic. 

With these activities, you’ll get your heart pumping and have fun making metaphorical and imaginary shots to each other’s hearts. It’s no wonder that the best love stories on-screen and in books involve dashing heroes and beautiful damsels in scenes with arrows and swordplay: think The Princess Bride and The Hunger Games.

V-Day online deals are much easier to snatch up when you use your BDO credit card. BDO credit cards have ongoing promos that will give you more discounts on the day of hearts. 

You can always find ways to make Valentine’s Day more enjoyable, less stressful, and more affordable. 


Reduce your V-Day stress. For more fun and budget activities, check out this video

https://www.facebook.com/BDOUnibank/videos/vb.1534645913418238/507842659738994/?type=2&theater

On Valentine’s Day and other celebrations, there are enjoyable things to do with a date, by yourself, or with friends and family, so that this Valentine’s Day and every day is less expensive and lots of fun. 

The most romantic Valentine's Day activity can be something simple. Happy Valentine's Day!