As Americans, we are convinced that the best things in life are free. MasterCard believes everything but four to five select items are priceless. Jenny from the Block has informed us that her “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.” And just by being a U.S. citizen, you, too, can have several enumerated rights at your disposal. Unfortunately, Hallmark, Zales and almost every American restaurant (yes, even White Castle) have crafted their first quarter marketing campaigns to suggest otherwise.

Forget true love, a successful Valentine’s Day is contingent on one thing: your wallet. For the broke college student, however, this poses a problem. Despite all our cleverness and ‘potential,’ our bank accounts have little…or nothing…or overdraft notices to show for it. Luckily, we do have one critical advantage over the average adult: Bear Bucks, points and meal credits. Our principles for impromptu, edible Valentine’s Day gifts on Meal Plan after the jump.

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Tao — “the way.” The notion’s metaphysical vastness is alarming. “The way” to what? Taoism, an Eastern belief system, would contend that it is “the way” to best interact with and understand nature in order to lead a happy life. But college students consider “the way” pretty often, too. “The way” to get “the right” level of intoxicated. “The way” to check BlogDailyHerald in a 10-person seminar. “The way” to get a high-paying good job after senior year. Someone’s probably even pondered “the way” to avoid yielding to cars at Brown and Waterman. There is one question, however, that almost every Brown student contemplates at some point in his/her undergraduate education: what is “the way” to best utilize the meal plan? Everybody has his/her own answer to this all important question, but BlogDailyHerald will offer some insight on the pros and cons of meal plan taos after the jump.

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