For most of us, whisking your partner away to a five star resort for Valentine's Day just isn't feasible. Combine that with the fact that retailers and restaurants jack up their prices to take advantage of the supply and demand aspect of Valentine's Day, not to mention our desire to 'give the best' to the one we love, and we are left with the perfect conditions for overspending and digging ourselves into deeper debt. Here are some ideas for saving money on Valentine's Day without sacrificing your desire to show your partner just how much you love them.

1) The meal. Perhaps the most important aspect of pulling off the ultimate Valentine's experience is breaking bread. The Valentine's Day dinner should include an assortment of your lover's favourites while providing a relaxing ambiance where the two of you can reminisce and share all of the things that have made your love strong. This time should not be rushed and no detail overlooked.

Traditionally, many couples have spent this time out at a fancy restaurant, enjoying a repast prepared by professionals. This experience is usually enjoyable, fulfilling, and quite costly. Typically, restaurants establish a set menu for Valentine's Day and increase their prices, not because of additional costs on their part, but because they can. Your partner will undoubtedly appreciate a night out with a gourmet meal but there is a better way, a less expensive way, to cater to your lover and deliver a more impactful way of showing just how much you love them.

Prepare the meal yourself. Although for some this may seem like an impossible mountain to climb, the effort  and time you put into this endeavour will not only impress your significant other with just how much you care, it will save you money.

The key is the thought you put into the meal. Make sure you have all the ingredients, including your lover's favourite vintage of wine or dessert (nobody expects you to make everything from scratch!), well in advance. Select a dish that is not only a favourite of your partner, but will be something that you can pull off. Not a whiz in the kitchen? Sites like www.fooddiva.com or www.about.com offer easy to follow online videos and cooking classes. Mastering this part of Valentine's Day will set the tone for the evening and leave a lasting impression on the one you love.

2. The key to your lover's heart is a box. Giving gifts on Valentine's Day is pretty much a given. Whether it is chocolates, flowers, or jewellery, giving a token of your love has been practiced for centuries. But buying a gift just for the sake of it really doesn't say much about you as a lover or a consumer. Retailers and manufacturers pray on consumers who can't be bothered to put any thought into gift giving and instead rely on products earmarked for Valentine's Day such as chocolates or candy. These items are packaged and priced to sell to Valentine's Day slackers.

A great idea is the Valentine's Day Sweetheart Box. This gift not only makes fiscal sense, it provides you with the opportunity to show your sweetheart just how much you appreciate them. Here is a list of suggestions to get you started:

• Favourite chocolate or candy
• Scented soaps or candles
• Specialty coffees
• Favourite movie or CD
• Magazine or book
• Bottle of wine

The beauty of this gift is twofold. Your lover gets an assortment of their faves and you get to show that you use more than just your credit card when shopping for your mate.

3. Take off. Suggest that you and your partner skip work for the day. No friends or family just the two of you. Spend it together doing something you love. Go skiing, see a movie, or just hang at home and get reacquainted with each other. Under no circumstances should this be a time to catch up on work or paint that room that you've been planning to do. Turn off the Blackberry and focus on each other. Their will be plenty of time for all of that other stuff another day.

4. Make a website. Creating an online shrine to your lover is both romantic and cool. Write down everything you love about them and display on a simple webpage complete with pictures and stories about how the two of you met. Paste lyrics to a shared song or love poems from a book of poetry. To help you get your site up and running, free online website creating and hosting can be found at www.weebly.com or www.wordpress.org. Both are easy to use and will have your dedication website up and running in no time.

5. Ditch the roses. Nothing says "I couldn't be bothered" more than picking up a dozen red roses on your way home from work on Valentine's Day. It is cliché and expensive. A cheaper, and more thoughtful alternative when giving floral gifts, is a potted plant. These underrated marvels last longer and are a more environmentally friendly way to say I love you. Visit www.pickontario.ca for a complete list of potted plants, how to care for them, and where to buy them.

The key to making your Valentine's Day a memorable one that won't break the bank is to make the whole affair an authentic and real reflection of your feelings.  Use the 'water cooler' barometer as a guide to your planning. Will your partner have something to brag about next day at work to all of their colleagues? Or will the Valentine's Day you plan be typical and unspectacular? It is actually easier to impress your loved one when trying to stay on a budget because it forces you to be savvy and thoughtful rather than overindulgent and inattentive. The payoff for your hard work in this endeavour will be reflected in more than just your bottom line.