Five Facts About Valentine’s Day Spending

While some people buy chocolates, flowers or cards, many will accentuate one of these purchases with a nice romantic Valentine's Day Dinner. This figure comes from a survey conducted in 2009 when it was found that Americans spent over $8.5 on dining out for Valentine's Day. This item is only fifth on my list because of the consideration that it costs more for two people to go to a fine restaurant than for one person to get chocolate or a card from their significant other. That is still an obscene amount of money, I recommend making pasta at home. Even if you buy your own bottle of wine and candles, you'll be spending at most half of what you would for that same candlelit, pasta dinner out at a restaurant.

The same survey as mentioned above (which will have a link included below) found that in 2009, Americans spent $2.46 billion purchasing candy. Largely, I am going to assume this is chocolate, and while this is sadly not entirely surprising, I still consider it a poor investment for 3 reasons: 1- If we are spending nearly $2.5 billion, we are likely buying candy in large quantities. 2- Buying candy (chocolates) in large quantities will involve eating large quantities of candy. 3- (And this is from a guy- intended as advice for the guys) If you expect your lady to consume large quantities of candy, there is a chance weight will be gained, and then it truly will be your fault. I have no problem with women putting on a few pounds, I think women are generally falsely told by society that they need to be skinnier and skinnier, all I'm saying is, guys, if your woman starts complaining about feeling fat, don't give her a reason to blame you.

This upsets me for two reasons: 1- Greeting Card companies must be charging too much money for them to accumulate this much money for a single holiday. 2- When was the last time you received a card for any holiday and thought- I love this card so much, I shall treasure it for all of my days. If you can recall a specific date, the card was likely handmade, or included a sincere handwritten note. My thoughts: Greeting Cards are a rip-off, and are forgotten about within a week. Chocolate and flowers don't last long either, but at least they taste/smell good.

This is truly a troubling statistic. Women, I realize Valentine's can be a difficult time if you are single- the pressures and potential embarrassment- I get it. However, the price of roses is greatest on Valentine's Day... Wouldn't it be cheaper to... I don't know... CALL IN SICK INSTEAD? I'm sure the flower industry appreciates your business, but save yourself a few bucks on flowers, buy a pint of ice cream instead, stay at home and watch The Notebook.

In 2011, we (Americans) spent $681 Million dollars on... wait for it... our pets. Now, I love my pet dog just as much as the next person- but I can promise you, birthdays, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, it doesn't matter- my dog has no comprehension for various holidays throughout the year. You know why most of us love our pets? Because when they wake up, they greet each morning like a kid on Christmas. Jubilant appreciation just to be alive, to be able to run around, to be able to eat food, to be scratched on the head. To me, buying our pets $681 Million of stuff for Valentine's Day is a symbol of our skewed perspectives on the holiday itself. We shouldn't just show our affections one day of the year, rather we should greet each morning, each day with love and jubilance, much like our pets do.