I'm a true believer in the thought that you don't have to spend a lot of money to show someone you love them.

So on this Valentine's Day, please share your budget-friendly Valentine's plans. Maybe you'll inspire someone looking for a last-minute idea or someone who likes to plan ahead for next year...

The National Retail Federation recently did a survey asking people which items they thought were "untouchable," as in, indespensible. The results weren't totally surprising. Of the people surveyed, the top item was Internet service (80.9 percent) and cell phone service (64.1 percent). Shoppers also said that cable television (60.5 percent), discount shopping for apparel (43.0 percent), hair cuts and colors (40.0 percent), eating at fast-food restaurants (36.6 percent) and a new pair of shoes (24.0 percent) were untouchable.

How about you? 

As more people begin exploring the use of coupons to save money, it's almost inevitable that each one of them will have some experience in a store where they feel embarassed. It could be that they weren't aware of a rule that exists. It could be that they didn't buy the right quantity or size of a product to use the coupon. Or it could be something else. But all of those experiences add up to 22 percent of people feeling uncomfortable using coupons (according to a recent study).

If that describes you, first let me tell you that you are not alone. Using coupons requires you to learn a lot about how coupons work and store policies. Don't be discouraged! It gets easier over time.

And to prove it to you, here's an invitation to all of you to share your most embarassing couponing story... go on...

I got an e-mail from reader Ann, who wanted to tell me about a neat tool she found on the McCormick Web site. If you have McCormick spices in your house, you can go to this Web page and enter the code on the bottom of the package. Then the site will tell you how old your spices are.

And if you are interested in learning how to de-code the stamps on other food items, check out this post on the Consumerist Web site... (I've posted this link before, but in case you missed it.)

This picture is almost two years old, but it is really a picture of my key chain. There may even be a few more cards on it by now...

My general thought about loyalty clubs is that you might as well sign up for the free loyalty programs at stores that you frequent. You might just get something back, and that's always a good thing.

But this story from Gourmet Retailer makes the point that such clubs may be losing their effectiveness. The fact that nearly every retailer offers such a program now has made them a little less special. And don't we all want to be special? What do you think?

In mid-December, I bought a Christmas gift for my uncle online from a well-known catalog retailer's Web site. It was the first time I've purchased from this company, but the item I bought was a must-have kind of gift. When I finished my transaction, a little window popped up asking me to take a survey about my shopping experience. Well, I'm all for letting companies know how they are doing, so I took the survey. In the comments space, I noted that I wished there had been a free shipping discount or maybe a first-time customer discount, especially with it being the holidays and all.

I finally received an answer today.

To start with, I feel that six weeks to reply to a customer comment is WAY too long. A co-worker of mine was just bragging about how he contacted a local company by e-mail and had a response within 12 hours. Then, on top of that, the reply I got began, "We are sorry that you found our shipping charges to be excessive." Well, that's not really what my complaint was, and it shows me this customer service representative was not really paying attention. In the end, it might have been better for the company to have not replied at all. I had certainly stopped expecting any reply, and the one I received definitely does not improve my impression of this retailer.

I got an e-mail today from a reader asking about ways to save on fresh produce. It's a good question. I mentioned the Farmer's Market, buying fruit that's on sale each week and keeping your eyes out for produce rebates (there are some occasionally). But I thought I'd open up the discussion... how do you save on fruits and veggies?

Just a friendly reminder that today is the last day to use the Lowes Foods store coupons that were issued for this month. Those are the store coupons that come periodically in the sales flier that you can also partner with a manufacturer's coupon. There were some good ones this month!

A few weeks ago, I re-posted the link to my Excel savings tracker spreadsheet and offered it to you to track your savings in 2009. We're now almost a month in... who's been doing this? Anyone feel like sharing how much you've saved so far?? (If you still want to do this, the link to the Excel spreadsheet and the spreadsheet as a Google Doc are over on the left-hand side of this page...)

I wrote a story Friday about how you have to be very careful at liquidation sales like the one going on right now at Circuit City. Liquidators who take over the stores' inventory are out to make a profit — not to save you money. Need more proof? Check out this piece from the ABC station in my hometown of Philadelphia.