• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 9, 2015

A new survey, from BeFrugal with Omnibus, finds that Americans have already started preparing for Valentine’s Day with their significant other, and these plans don’t have to break the bank.  A majority feel it’s appropriate for a Valentine’s Day gift to be purchased at a discount, whether crafting something homemade, conjuring a low-cost activity, or using a coupon to purchase a gift, the sentiment is the same.

84% of Americans think it’s appropriate to look for ways to save money on a Valentine’s Day gift.

• More women than men (89% vs. 79%) think it’s safe to save on this gift.
• Younger folks 18-34 are more likely than their counterparts 35+ (90% vs. 82%) to think finding a Valentine’s gift for less is acceptable.
• More of those in the West than in the Northeast (88% vs. 80%) feel that looking for ways to save on a Valentine’s Day gift is appropriate.
• Nearly nine in ten (89%) Americans who have been in a relationship for less than five years think it’s appropriate to look for ways to save on a Valentine’s Day present, compared to fewer (82%) of those who have been with their partner for 5 or more years.

Several ways of saving on Valentine’s Day are bound to be a success.  Americans who think it’s appropriate to save money on gifts for this holiday are open to using a discount code or coupon (54%), making a gift (51%), doing an activity that doesn’t cost much (49%).

• Twenty-six million (11%) Americans even think it’s okay to re-gift something to their loved one in order to save money, and 24 million (10%) say this about giving an I-O-U 
• 97% of Americans would not be disappointed in a Valentine’s Day gift if they knew it was purchased at a discount or with a coupon.  In fact, fewer (88%) are confident they wouldn’t feel let down by a gift that was too expensive
• More Americans 35+ than those 18-34 (98% vs. 94%) would not be disappointed in receiving a gift that was bought at a discount or with a coupon
• 98% of Americans who have been in a more long-term relationship (5 or more years) would not be disappointed in a gift bought at a discount, compared to 95% of those who have been with their significant other for less than five years

In this study, at the 95% level, the confidence level is ±3.1 percentage points.