Everybody Loves Coupons giveaway - Win $500 worth of gift cards in the Spoil Your Sweetie Blog Contest

We know you love a bargain, but if you also love to blog, we've got something for you! Our sister site Everybody Loves Coupons is giving away $500 worth of gift cards to one lucky blogger in their Spoil Your Sweetie on Valentine's Day contest. Write a 500 word blog post about how you'd spend the money and it could be yours! Alas, we're not eligible, but we thought we'd throw our entry out there anyway!

$500 can go a long way for a Valentine’s gift. Rather than spend it all in one place, we’d rather spread that budget as far as possible – we are The Bargainist, after all! We’d treat our sweetheart to a quick overnight trip, but there are so many places to choose from!

Is there anything more romantic than the beach? San Diego comes to mind; it’s drivable from Bargainist headquarters and makes for an affordable and nearby destination. Beachside strolling is cheap, so we’d get in plenty of that! But there are lots of sights to see in San Diego; to make the most of our money we’d get something like a CityPass and visit the San Diego Zoo and Sea World – no kids allowed! There’s also plenty of nightlife in San Diego; we’d have a fancy dinner and then stay at a comfy and cool hotel, followed by a peaceful coastal drive in the morning.

The beach is relaxing and all, but maybe we feel more like treating our sweetie to a party! We could hop on a cheap flight to Las Vegas - there’s still plenty of romance in the so-called city of sin. We could spring for a nice hotel on the strip by naming our own price at Priceline. From there, we’d walk to one of Vegas’ five star restaurants for a romantic meal. After that? Why not see a show? We’d even let our date make the choice, so long as we can spend a little bit of time on the penny slots. The next morning, we’ll treat our well rested companion to some room service breakfast, and maybe a little bit of shopping with whatever we have leftover!

That’s not to say we can’t have a romantic time without getting out of town! With all of the money we’d save on travel, we could devote a whole weekend to rest, relaxation, and romance. The weekend could start on Friday night with a surprise trip to the movies – maybe even rent out the theater! If our budget still allows it after that stunt, we’d have a nice dinner out – or in, with some mail order steaks. For Saturday? A spa day is in order. We’d spring for massages, facials, (even mani/pedis if our male counterpart is into it). Any leftover cash we could split evenly and head to the mall, where we’d pick out a fun gift for each other.

How would you spend your $500? A gross of roses? A big ol’ rock? Write about it and let Everybody Loves Coupons know!