It is my pleasure to host this week’s Carnival of Money Stories. There were so many great submissions, it was hard to choose which ones to publish. Some submissions were top quality, but simply weren’t “money stories” and therefore eliminated.

Since today is Valentine’s Day, I’m going to attempt to entertain you with a My Funny Valentine Money Story, hope you enjoy!

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The day started like any normal day, Mitchell’s alarm clock rang and he rolled out of bed and prepared for another day at the office. His wife Carla had already left for work. “Hmm…usually she wakes me to say goodbye”, he thought. He arrives to the office early and begins to check his weekend email. Mitchell tends to browse the subject lines and read those he deems most important first. However, one subject line jumps out at him: Happy Valentines Day from the Office Staff!

Mitchell’s eyes swell as he realizes he has completely forgot Valentine’s day. He wonders if that is why Carla didn’t say goodbye. Hundreds of thoughts flood his mind. How could this successful office executive that manages staff, mergers, oversees departments and projects forget this day. He loves his wife and wants to do something special. He knows that dinner is out of the question without a reservation….and there is no way he is getting one today! So he begins to brainstorm a creative, special, albeit last minute Valentine evening for him and Carla.

He scours the Internet, and he stumbles across Valentine’s Day Ideas: 8 Frugal Ways To Declare Your Love (posted at A Faithful Few). He feels slightly guilty about trying to be frugal….especially since he forgot about Valentine’s Day to begin with! The last thing he wants is to end up fighting about this, even though their discussions on money have been resolved amicably ever since reading Fighting Fair: How to Disagree About Money in Marriage (posted at Free From Broke) he still can’t shake that reoccurring dream where an unrecognizable force is hurling objects at him. Hey, Have You Ever Been Hit In The Face by A Baseball Bat? Mitchell has in his dreams! He dreamed about when Carla recommended they Cache some cash (posted at Surviving and Thriving). Mitchell retorted, that isn’t “How I Set Up My Bank Accounts” (posted at PT Money). Just thinking about the frightful financial fantasy was enough to send chills up Mitchell’s spine.

Mitchell’s reminiscing is interrupted by the reality that he still has no idea what he is going to do for Valentine’s day. He justifies his quest for frugality by the fact that Carla is going to be leaving her job soon. They have discussed the changes and adjustments they’ll have to make When Two Incomes Become One (posted at MomVesting) – no reason for both of them to do the Bureaucrats and the Workman Waltz (posted at Funny about Money) any longer. No more take-out and office parties…Mitchell you will be Brown Bagging Your Way to Savings (posted at Live Real, Now). They are off to a good start! Even though there are Real Problems in Real Estate (posted at Money Walks), The Value of a Home (posted at Personal Cents) they purchased a few years ago continues to appreciate. If they had to move, they picked up some Tips for DIY Moving (posted at Cash Money Life) that should save them some money in the long run. Fortunately, their Financial Planner Makes House Calls (posted at 50 Plus Finance) and was able to help them see When a Great Deal Isn’t So Great (posted at Personal Finance By The Book).

As Mitchell reflects on Valentine’s Day and Finances (posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog), he realizes that he and his wife have made some financially savvy decisions in the past. In fact, Carla loves to save money! Just last week she was boasting about How Not Losing Our Credit Card Is Saving Us At The Grocery Store (posted at Money Beagle), 8 Ways We’ve Saved Money in the Last 8 Days (posted at Money Help For Christians), How a 5 minute phone call is going to save $324/year (posted at Personal Finance Journey) and trying to convince her girlfriends Why You Should Still Carry Cash (posted at Money Thinking).

With Mitchell’s eyes still glued to his computer monitor and mind racing 100 miles per hour. He is fully convinced Carla would appreciate a thoughtful frugal gift opposed to an expensive one. With the temptation to overspend due to lack of planning and guilt subsiding, Mitchell begins to clear his head and think of what would be a great gift. Still stumped…and frustrated by the new emails that are filling his inbox, he decides to ask a co-worker for input. “Capturing memories is always good”, exclaims a voice from the crowd. With a definite direction, Mitchell begins to focus on his memories with Carla. Their 1st date was a musical, he proposed after a concert….they are both music lovers! Mitchell decides to made a CD compilation of songs from memorable occasions in their past. He’ll even be Saving Money on Music (posted at Canadian Finance Blog) since it will be purchased electronically.

With a clear head and a plan of action, Mitchell is ready to get to work! He’ll have plenty of time during his lunch break to put together a CD compilation. He’ll stop at the store after work and grab all the ingredients for Carla’s favorite dinner. Before turning his full attention to his growing inbox, Mitchell has one more call he must make.

He dials and as he hears that familiar voice on the other end he says

“Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Be sure to submit your articles to next week’s carnival hosted by Invest It Wisely!

Tagged as: funny, pictures, story, valentine