A few weeks ago stores began rolling out their Valentine’s Day displays, so inevitably the topic of V-Day gift giving recently came up among my coworkers.
Brianna: “So Eric, what do you usually do for Valentine’s Day?”
Eric: “I don’t know. Spend too much.”
Brianna: “See, I don’t believe in buying things for Valentine’s Day.”
Eric: “Lucky man you got there.”
The whole Clark Howard team got in on the discussion and, while we disagreed on whether or not Valentine’s Day warrants buying a gift, we all agreed that people shouldn’t spend more than they would on any other date night. The point of the holiday is to demonstrate your appreciation for your significant other and that can be done without a leaving a dent in your credit card.
Once we agreed that modest spending on Valentine’s Day is the Clark Smart way to approach the holiday, we still needed to come up with some numbers. According to the National Retail Federation, the average Casanova will spend $126.03 this year on Valentine’s Day purchases. Last year, I spent $150 on a spa package for my wife and I don’t even recall what I spent on dinner, but that clearly puts me over the national average. And if I dare walk in my house on February 14 without a card, I’ll be doing a different version of “The Cupid Shuffle.” Now look who ISN’T saving more and spending less!
By the time our staff meeting was over, we decided that from the card to candy to dinner, $50 is a reasonable amount to spend on your special someone.
Jennifer Westhoven from Morning Express with Robin Meade swooped in to save me and gave me step-by-step guide to Valentine’s Day on a dime.
Join the conversation...