My boyfriend and I are both going through some financially tough times - there's been some weeks were it's all we can do to decide what bill to pay and what to skip on until the next paycheck. Time doesn't stop for financial difficulty, though... and his birthday is coming up in a few weeks.

We've been together for a while... but I still want to get him something meaningful. I don't have a fortune to spend as I would like to - a month-long vacation in Europe would be amazing! But some of the best gifts come from the heart... any suggestions? What's the most meaningful gift you've ever given/received?

You know, to me a surprise gift means a lot. Even if it is something simple and inexpensive, but it is something I like, and it was bought in advance - it shows me that the person has been thinking about my birthday and preparing for it. Last-minute gifts, to me, are borderline disrespectful. So if you know that your boyfriend likes a certain movie, get him a DVD - without him knowing - wrap it nicely, and watch him smile when he opens it.

Why not create him a photo album with pix of the two of you? I've known a lot of people who do it, and you can really have some fun with it

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-Brittany Brydahl

Hey, a photo album or a scrapbook is an excellent idea!! It takes time to make but it's fun, and not costly. I'll need to make one for my husband someday, we've got some good photos just stashed away that need to be put in an album.

Since I started dating my boyfriend, I have started putting together a notebook.. nothing fancy, and I'm going to take pictures of each page as I complete them and upload them to my website. It will make it easy to edit the pages, and organize them So far, I have info on each of us: birth place, parents' names, our fav foods, etc. I also have the movie stubs for all the movies we have gone too. I think it's really special, and it fits, because he means a lot to me

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-Brittany Brydahl