Trying to get ready for Valentine’s Day, but you’re broke?  Many students can identify.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t treat your loved one like a King or Goddess. If, like me, you’re a poor love nut, then I’ve got tips on how to make your true love’s heart throb on Valentine’s Day:

Tip #1: Don’t expect a gift.  Not one. If you expect zero gifts for Valentine’s Day, you can focus on love’s finest essence: selfless giving.  With this mindset, you can make Valentine’s Day as magical as your wildest—most generous—dreams.

Tip #2: Give a heart-shaped box of chocolates at bare minimum.  If you can’t afford a box of chocolates, then a heart-shaped anything will do.  You could draw and color a red heart, placing a poem in its center.  As long as the heart is there, that’s what matters.

Tip #3: Go all out on the meal.  Treat your loved one to the finest dinner—go upscale—I mean world class dining—even if it means just your loved one eats while you stare longingly into his or her eyes. If you can’t afford dinner, consider buying or baking a five-dollar pie.  If you can’t afford a Valentine’s pie, consider fasting for a full day, using your savings to buy that pie. As long as you nourish your loved one, that’s what matters.

Tip #4: Give a great gift. Apply for financing, if you must, but make sure you’re able to pay it off.  Financing can be applied to specific stores, from jewelry to sporting goods to electronics and more. But that’s how poor love nuts get poor in the first place.  Perhaps a better idea is to build, knit, or bake it.

Tip #5: Create an experience.  Take your Valentine to a movie. Or treat your loved one to a trip to a neighboring town, a tour of a museum, or a walk in a park. But avoid taking your loved one to a nightclub.  Alcohol and pick up places don’t shout, “I’m healthy,” or, “I’m in it for life.”  And if it’s not for life, why bother? Valentine’s day spent with the soul you vow to love for life feels like fireworks and cotton candy.

Tip #5: Make a list of one hundred things you love about your dear one.  Make sure every listed item flatters. And then roll it in a scroll and place it in a bottle.  I know messages in a bottle are so 80s, but, hey, Boy George had the hair.

Tip #6: Renew your vows. Vow to serve your loved one 24-7 on Valentine’s Day. You’ll stir romance by offering massages, meals, acts of service, kind words, gifts, quality time, and physical touch …  (that’s the Poor Love Nut’s plagiarism of Garry Chapman’s The Five Love Languages).  But if that’s too much to fit in one day, then try uttering only sweet words: that means no criticism, no complaints, no condemnation, and no blame.  None of that. Make sure you only speak (and think) words that build up, compliment, please, validate, or express love toward your dear one. Otherwise, silence makes for the Valentine’s virtue.

Now that you know how to treat your loved one like a Valentine’s King or Goddess—do it all year round.