Creative Cheap Ways to Say “I Love You”

Want to let your husband know that you love and appreciate him? These inexpensive ideas are all great, creative ways to say I love you, loud and clear!

There are affiliate links in this post – please read my full disclosure policy.

One of the things that I am super committed to is keeping our marriage alive and exciting. And while Valentine’s Day is a fun time of year to celebrate love and romance, I definitely don’t want to celebrate my husband only then and forget about letting him know that I love him for the rest of the year.

So during the 16 years that we’ve been married, I’ve tried to do little things throughout the year to say “I love You” and let him know that I appreciate him, am grateful for him and never want to do life without him. Yes, it takes effort to do this consistently. But it is so worth it!

Here are some of the inexpensive, creative ideas I’ve enjoyed using over the years to say “I love you!” to my man. And just in case you are wondering, these are all “man approved”, meaning he enjoyed them and agreed that most other men would too.

Inexpensive, Creative Ways to Say I Love You!

1.  Make a treasure hunt
This one takes a bit of time to do, but it’s always been a hit with my husband! I mean really, who doesn’t enjoy a good treasure hunt?

Simply hide your gift or prize and then create a bunch of clues, making each clue lead to the next and finally ending with where you hid the prize. Hide all but the first clue- you’ll save that one to give to your sweetheart to get started!

Related: 40 Frugal Gifts for Men that Cost $30 or Less

2.  Tuck notes in his clothes
Take Post-it notes and write a sweet message on them. Then randomly tuck them into a stack of his clothing for a sweet little surprise.

3.  Hide his favorite candy or snack
Buy his favorite candy or snack and hide it, along with a love note, in his lunch or car.

4.  Do one of his household chores 
When he notices (and let’s hope he does!), just grin, kiss him and say “I love you!”.

5.  Bathroom mirror love note
Use an erasable marker and leave a love note on the bathroom mirror for him to find.

6.  Give him a massage or foot rub.
Make it even more special by lighting some candles and turning on soft music.

Want to connect even more? Check out this Melt Couples Massage. The techniques are incredible!

7.  Fix him his morning cup of coffee/bowl of cereal/breakfast smoothie
For even more fun, deliver it with a kiss.

8.  Send him a text
Send him an unexpected, fun text in the middle of the day. This can be flirty, something you like and appreciate about him or just a simple, “I love you!”.

9.  Surprise him at work with lunch
Stop by and eat lunch with him- take him something special to eat together. About a year ago, the children and I did this and my husband loved it.  

10.  Leave him a note on his computer
You could do this a variety of ways: change his desktop background to say “I love you”, open a new document and type up your note there and leave it open for him to find, or add a note to a current document that he’s working on for a fun surprise.

(If you do the last one, you might want to change the font color to red just in case he isn’t observant. You don’t want him to miss it and end up with the note stuck on something important when it shouldn’t be there!)

11.  Make him his favorite meal
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right? 🙂If he would appreciate it, pull out the china, decorate the table and light some candles too!

12.  Share a list of all the things you love and appreciate about him.
Need some ideas? Here are a few of the ones I have used:

*  Thank you for faithfully taking out the trash for us! I love not needing to worry about having to do that.
*  I appreciate that you are a man of your word. If you say you are going to do something, you will do it. Thank you!
*  I love that you know how to make me laugh! You are so good for me.
*  You are such a hard worker and provide so well for us. I’m grateful for that!

13.  Pray for him out loud in his presence
Ask him what you can pray about for him. Pray a blessing over him. Thank God for the man he is.

14.  Be affectionate
Hold his hand while driving. Sit on his lap. Kiss often (and not just a quick peck!). If you’re walking somewhere, grab his hand. Snuggle while watching a movie. Guys love knowing that you like them and find them desirable!

15.  Just be with him
For whatever reason, guys just like when you sit beside them, watch them work, and just “be” wherever they are, whatever they are doing. Do that!

Other posts you might enjoy:

• 20 Cheap Fun Date Ideas You’ll Love
• 40 Frugal Gifts for Men- all $30 or Less!
• 15 Frugal Family Activities for Spring includes a free printable bucket list!
• 15 Fun Frugal Family Activities for Fall includes a free printable bucket list!