The usual Valentine’s Day staples will set you back an average of $512.03. That’s what Bankrate found after putting together its first “Be My Valentine Index,” a basket of goods and services associated with that one thing of infinite value: love.
The five items and their average prices are: a box of chocolates ($15.11), diamond earrings ($323.26), a dozen roses ($41.66), dinner for two ($80.46) and a bottle of champagne ($51.54).
The $512.03 total makes Valentine’s Day more costly than Halloween and Mother’s Day — holidays that cost on average $74 and $173, respectively, according to the National Retail Federation. And it’s close to the $806 people spent on Christmas gifts and decorations just two months ago.
That’s the brilliance of Valentine’s Day. While many consumers are still paying off holiday credit-card debt and, given the weather, would just as soon stay home, try telling that to your better half on the one day devoted to love.
As Bankrate astutely observes, it is “tough to scrimp on Valentine’s Day celebrations even when they may not be in the budget.” Fortunately, the consumer financial-services company offers some tips for curtailing the bill.
“What could be more romantic than a gourmet meal prepared at home — at a fraction of our cost for a fine-dining meal out,” says Bankrate analyst Claes Bell. And why splurge on champagne when a $10 bottle of Prosecco will do for all but a discerning few?
Bell also points out the 56 percent of men who buy Valentine’s Day flowers for their partners will pay as much as double on the day, with the price of long-stemmed red roses being “a matter of supply and demand.” This is why you need to listen to Valentines Day On The Cheap on www.blogtalkradio.com/cheap-cheetah
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