It’s that day where we all share our love. Well, not all of us. According to stats, one in three Brits have no love. Awww, I’m sorry. Having said that, if you do have a partner, then what do you do today? It may be nothing - after all, money can't buy me love - but most of us will spend around fifty quid (£50/$60). The question is: is it worth it? and, even if it is, is it enough or too much?
Flowers, dinner, a trip to the sea of even a short holiday. How much should you spend to show your love?
That's a tough question and we need to remember that, like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and all those other days, Valentine’s Day is created as a commercial platform to encourage you to spend as much as you can on showing your love.
Oh dear, have I just ruined the party?
If I did, then please have a wonderful day for the 65% of people who celebrate. Finder.com reckons that UK folks will spend over £1.5 billion today, with millennials the most likely to celebrate (4 in 5). I guess that’s pretty obvious as if you’re in your 30’s and 40’s then you’ll be more likely to have a partner than those in their teens or OAP’s.
According to Finder 73% of millennials will be spending an average £61 on each other and Generation Z is not far behind, as three-quarters of them will be celebrating and 72% spending money. They have a higher planned spend than millennials, at £67 each because their relationships are younger and in fuller bloom. Meantime, the not so OK Boomers, who are mostly divorced I guess, won’t be celebrating so much ... or maybe it is a reflection of how society is moving. After all, there is even a dating app now that asks for your credit score before you can go out on a date!
Years ago, we were talking about how generations have shifted from marriage and children to singularity and just being whoever you want to be. Today, that has moved even further to be whatever gender you want to be. Time moves on.
Having said that, and consistent with the valentine’s numbers from Finder, the UK government statistics office confirms that there are just over 28 million households in the UK and that most, two out of three, are families where many (57%) are living together rather than being a single parent.
Anyways, for the rest of you (8.3 million) who are living alone, I wish you a wonderful day as you’ve just saved yourself fifty quid or thereabouts. Meanwhile, why not watch this video that tells you why it is called Valentine's day and why we celebrate it today ...
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... and the Beatles may have said that money can't buy me love but boy oh boy, it sure does help.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
