Love is in the air. You can see it all around you – be it in the decked up card stores like Archies or Hallmark or the heart-shaped chocolate ad from Cadbury Silk.
Valentine’s day might not be an Indian concept but we Indians have adopted the idea of this day of love with full gusto. How do you know something is important in India? Political parties get involved. In India, Valentine’s day is now also synonymous with self-proclaimed Indian culture protectors who chase after any possible V-day celebrators.
You might be wondering, what does all this have to do with money? Think spiked up prices at restaurants or your local florist. Everyone is out there to try and make a buck.
Personally, I don’t understand the big deal about celebrating one day of love. For me and my sister, Valentine’s day used to mean a chocolate each from my mum and till this day that’s the best part of V-day for me.
WHAT DO THE NUMBERS SAY?
While thinking about Valentine’s day, I decided to research a bit. I came across an interesting survey by the National Retail Federation (USA) which seems to have been conducted annually for the last few years.
This year Americans are expected to spend a record amount of money on celebrating Valentine’s day – an average of $143 per person and a total spending of $19.6 billion. These are the numbers from just 55% of the respondents who admitted to celebrating the day.
The biggest spending will be done on jewellery and on eating out. Candy remained most popular with 55% of celebrating folks planning to buy it followed by greeting cards and flowers.
Surprisingly, the spends were not made only on a romantic partner. Family members, friends, pets and co-workers also find a place in the V-day spending.
PLAN YOUR VALENTINES DAY
Valentine’s day does not have to be synonymous with spending money. In fact, is it not better to get away from the milling crowds at the restaurant or celebrate it in a much more meaningful way? One quick search revealed many such ideas:
- Movie night at home
- Romantic candle-light dinner at home followed by some dancing
- Put helium gas balloons to float in your room tied to love notes
- Make a photo collage and share it with your significant other
- Resolve to be nice to the other person by doing some tiresome chores around the house
- Write hand-written love notes and place them all around the house
- Have a romantic Whatsapp conversation during the work day
So, what is your plan for Valentine’s day this year? Let me know in the comments below or email me at aparna@elementummoney.com
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$143 /person is not a joke. This is a very big number but nothing beats the amount of love that they hold for their loved ones. This is an insightful article.
iNFOSITORY
Thank you 🙂 Love is priceless and it is just interesting to see the ways in which people express it
We try to keep V-Day low key. If you are out searching for a mate I think you are going to end up paying more for the traditional date nights.
That’s a valid point. The cost will be much higher when you are still searching for a mate or in the traditional courtship/dating phase rather than when you are living with your mate.
Personally, me and the husband celebrate on 10th Feb, the date we registered our marriage in court and skip celebrating 14th Feb completely 🙂
Wow, I had no idea the average spending per person was that high! I agree, a nice Valentine’s Day in is nice. As long as you have chocolate and good company, all is well!
Thanks Elle… Chocolate and your valentine sound perfect to me too 🙂
Great tips, Aparna! You were right; we do have similar views on Valentine’s Days. I was also so surprised by how high a lot of those numbers are.
I guess some people take the “love is priceless” too literally 🙂