Is Valentine’s Day Worth the Cost?

Each February 14th, millions of men across North America shell out billions of collective dollars to buy everything from flowers to romantic getaways for their girlfriends, wives, and crushes.

On the surface, Valentine’s Day looks like a cute holiday which gives couples a reason to be nice to one another. In reality, it’s morphed into a terrible parody of itself, where men who don’t give their ladies expensive gifts are chastised and where women are secretly disappointed when their box of chocolates or dozen roses aren’t the kind of elaborate schemes concocted only in the mind of a Hollywood romantic comedy writer.

Many of our holidays have devolved from reasonable beginnings into something where dipping into our wallets to buy some forgettable item not only expected, but needed to maintain a relationship. Can you imagine what would happen to the average relationship if a guy decided not to partake in Valentine’s Day? That poor man.

While there are plenty of women out there who get their men something for Valentine’s Day, the sad reality is that our society and traditional roles have played it up as a time for men to “provide” for their women.

Think about a world without Valentine’s Day for a second. Guys still have numerous opportunities throughout the year to make their ladies feel special (like Christmas, her birthday, your anniversary, Mother’s Day, and any random time you think about it), and we’d save all that money spent on overpriced flowers (these see a major price spike in February) and romantic dinners. Absolutely nothing would change, and we’d have more cash in our wallets.

We’re not talking about a trivial amount of money either. In 2015, it was estimated men in the United States spent nearly $19 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts, which works out to approximately $190 per person. And for what? So our ladies know we love them? Is Valentine’s Day worth the cost, really?

Fellas, let me tell you a secret. If it’s really a $200 Valentine’s Day present that’s making a big difference in your relationship, you’re doing life wrong. Women are not nearly as demanding and shallow as your single friends make them out to be. Treat your special lady nicely throughout the year, and she won’t mind when her Valentine’s gift isn’t as big as her co-worker’s. Trust me.

How to make Valentine’s Day worth the cost

As much as I think Valentine’s Day is a waste of time and money, I’m the first to admit that making a stand and refusing to get your lady anything at all is a relationship killer, especially if you’re only at the dating stage of your relationship. There’s no way you win if you do that.

Instead, be smart about it. Rather than shelling out hundreds of dollars on flowers, a dinner out, or a weekend away, do stuff that is truly thoughtful and won’t cost you much.

The easiest choice is to make her a romantic meal. You don’t need to be a good cook to prepare a nice pasta sauce or open up a bagged salad. If you never cook and you make the sacrifice to make her a meal, she’ll appreciate the effort more than the meal itself.

With just a few minutes of effort, you can do a quick Google search and find dozens of easy recipes even a cooking newbie can successfully pull off. Following most recipes is as easy as following the instructions to take care of any common computer problem. If you’ve ever successfully cleared your internet cache, you can cook.

Top off the meal with a nice dessert and you’re in business. Twenty dollars’ worth of ingredients and a couple of hours of your time will make your lady quite happy.

There are dozens of other thoughtful things you can do what won’t cost an arm and a leg. You can rent the movie you watched the very first time you went on a date. If you’re good at building or making things, spend some time on something you know she’ll love. Or just go to the store and load up on the coffee she likes.

If you start looking at Valentine’s Day from outside the box, you’ll realize how silly it is to drop serious money for the occasion. (If you do drop serious money, at least consider paying with a rewards credit card to recoup some of the cost.) Minimize the pain by coming up with an inexpensive, innovative gift idea, and everyone’s happy.