Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and no matter whether you are on the side of the fence that believes the holiday is fabricated by the greeting card industry, florists, and bakeries, or if you and your sweetie celebrate it every year, the fact is the population as a whole spend a lot of money on Valentine’s Day. According to a survey done by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (presented by Statistic Brain), the average person plans to spend about $116 on Valentine’s Day.
As a personal finance blogger, I found myself asking if this was a reasonable amount to spend for Valentine’s Day. Personal situations differ, but I know that I won’t be spending anywhere near that amount on Valentine’s Day, though I will be spending a little bit of money to have an afternoon “tea” celebration with my grandma, mom, and aunt. Here are a few things I thought of that you might be able to try to keep the costs of your Valentine’s Day celebration to a minimum and still have a classy celebration.
Don’t Dine Out
Going out to eat is usually a big part of most people’s Valentine’s Day celebrations. Luckily, Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this year which means most people who work a traditional 9-5 job will have the day off work. Perhaps instead of spending money to go out to eat at an over-booked restaurant, you could prepare dinner for your Valentine at home. Even if you spend extra money to prepare an extra-special, fancy meal, chances are that it will still be cheaper (and healthier) than going out to eat.
If you really do like to enjoy a meal out for Valentine’s Day, check into restaurants that allow BYOB to help cut down on costs, or you could eat dinner at home and have dessert and a drink out afterward.
Play Tourist
Again because Valentine’s Day takes place on the weekend this year, maybe you and your Valentine can spend the day together without taking part in the traditional Valentine’s Day activities. One idea would be to take a short road trip to a neighboring town to go window shopping in a downtown community or attend a community event. If your community is having any events, you could stay in town and play tourist in your own community.
In my rural hometown, I’d go visit the museum and art displays, grab a cupcake at the local bakery, and go window shopping downtown. The majority of these activities are free or extremely cheap, but they can still be a fun way for you to spend time with your Valentine just getting away from the day-to-day grind.
Enjoy the Outdoors
Most of us spend the winter months complaining about the cold weather and snow, but instead you could spend Valentine’s Day enjoying it by building a snow fort, snow men, or even having a snowball fight. Just think, afterward you and Valentine could enjoy some hot cocoa and cuddling while watching a romantic comedy. 🙂
The main idea of Valentine’s Day is spending time with your Valentine and getting away from the ordinary. This doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money to do so.
How will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?
Photo courtesy of: Michael Gil
I am not a big fan of valentines day, but I think that depending on where you are in the relationship should determine what you should do or spend on this holiday. If you’re broke writing a meaningful poem for your love one should suffice. If you got some loot a nice 1 carat ring will do. Just saying….
I’m not really into Valentine’s Day either. 🙂
We will just exchange cards and stay in. Going out to eat is overpriced, as are the flowers and the other “typical” gifts. We would rather have a quiet night with just the two of us enjoying each others company.
That sounds like a good way to spend the holiday and keep your spending low. 🙂