Savvy About Savings (and Sweets!)

The chocolates have been opened — and mostly eaten. The rose petals have begun their quick decline from beautiful red to brown. Romantic comedies have taken back their largely neglected place on the DVD shelf for another year. Valentine’s Day has come and gone again.

For many, Valentine’s Day is a pastime filled with joy and love, strong feelings shared with sweethearts, family members, and friends. For others, it’s just another day, much like any other, approached with indifference. And then you have a small, yet resolute group that has chosen to absolutely despise this most pink, purple, and pastel of holidays. These feelings of hatred often come from a place of bitterness, perhaps from a past failed relationship, or from an envy of those who currently have a significant other to spend the day with. Raise your hand if you know what I’m talking about!

Each of the three aforementioned types of people will likely celebrate February 14 a little differently. Once the holiday has passed however, everyone’s attention (no matter what their Valentine preference) can be turned to one of the best days of the year: Discount Candy Day.

I look forward to February 15^th all year. This is the one day that I get to totally satisfy my sweet tooth without feeling the stress on my wallet. (Even more so than on Nov. 1, when the transition from Halloween to Christmas is so sudden that it's almost as though the Christmas decorations and sales have been in place for at least a week already.) Discount Candy Day is a day worth doing right, which is why I have listed five suggestions on how to take full advantage of it:

1. Act fast. These sales only last three days, maybe four. The longer you wait, the more picked over the candy becomes, so get to the store NOW.
2. Forget your pride. For those of you in the “bitter and envious of love” category, don’t let those heart-shaped boxes, or lip-shaped chocolates, deter you from the goodness! If you need to, look at your on-the-cheap purchase of a heart shaped box as an act of defiance. Stick it to the Valentine’s man!
3. Don’t settle for the mediocre. All the Valentine's Day candy has to go, which includes the imported chocolates, and the gift bags complete with expensive cookies. This is your chance to get the sweets you always wanted on Valentine’s Day — you'll just be getting them from yourself, not someone else.
4. Think ahead. If creatively packaged, Valentine’s candy can be used as gifts for future holidays, such as the fast-approaching Easter. Don’t forget to check the expiration date!
5. 50 percent off or bust. If a store is not selling the good stuff for 50 percent off or lower ... then you’re at the wrong store.

It doesn’t matter how your Valentine’s Day turned out this year. If you follow the steps above, then you can be sure that Discount Candy Day will be a sugary success!

Here's the real prize, though: Because you made out like a bandit at the candy counter, you'll have plenty of money left over to spend on training and certification! Which is good, because there aren't big savings on the day after Valentine's Day here at TestOut Continuing Education — just our always affordable, ridiculously low everyday prices. Frankly, you don't even need to spend anything. Just soften up your boss with a box of chocolates, or a basket of exotic nuts and cookies, and then drop a hint about how much better you'd be able to do your job with a new certification.

It's like Forrest Gump's mom always said. "Life is like a box of chocolates. If you give them to your boss, then your boss is more likely to do something nice for you in return."

About the Author — Jake Slater is the social media manager for GoCertify and a graduate of Brigham Young University. Jake is not bitter about Valentine's Day. All of his available bitterness is currently being consumed by the Utah Jazz and their putrid three-game losing streak.