$1,626,770.00
...has been saved by our readers. How much have you saved?
[Update, 2/19/08: This survey is now closed. Check back for the analysis in a few days!]
Fill out this survey and I’ll put up an analysis of the results next week.
60-second survey: How much did you spend on Valentine’s Day?
Thanks in advance to Rob from FindABetterBank. See my other survey results here.
I am very interested to see what you come up with.
$30.00. Nice chocolates go a long way. She spent $15.00 on good hot chocolate and hand made marshmallows. Perfect. Eff dinner and jewelery.
Hi Ramit -
In true Ramit style, my husband and I spent $0 on Valentines day this year, choosing instead to make money by shooting a Valentine’s party (we are photography hobbyists). We made $400 and scored two free gourmet dinners that we gave to our mom and grandma.
Where other people spend, holidays, sporting events, comicons, vacation, my h and I usually make money, Valentine’s day included.
Also, we do things and buy things for gift giving occassions that are nice-to-haves for our business, and therefore, tax deductible.
- Ada
P.S. I thought of you the other day when we purchased a new sheet set, buying ONLY flat sheets one size too large for the bed. It was glorious AGAIN. If you haven’t banished fitted sheets yet, you really should.
Singapore $ 110.. for sending a gift. I know, I should have booked it online & done it with *HALF* the cost.. but I was lazy & have promised to correct myself.
Ramit, on a side note can you please cover insurance plans?
Ramit, my husband and I don’t buy each other gifts for any occasion. We also don’t buy for other family members. It’s been a long-time tradition. For example, we celebrate Christmas with pot-luck dinners, family and friends all together in one house. That’s it. We don’t need society’s imposition of a *special* occasion to buy each other anything. We tell each other “we love you” every day and we’re happier and stress free!
I tipped my husband off to the two dozen roses for $28 at Sam’s Club, so he got me those and a card and a peanut butter cup, so about $35 from him. I made dinner for him at about $20 for the ingredients.
My husband together spent about $40 for a 1/4oz of shrooms. We own a restaurant, and just ate there, otherwise would have spent ~$30 on food.
$21.50 for pizza and a generous tip for the driver. $0.50 for a bag of microwaveable popcorn. $0 for The Simpsons’ Movie from the library.
(put it in the survey as well…under restaurants because I didn’t know what else to say.)
What’s wrong with spending money…
My boyfriend and I spent a total of $12 on tip at a restaurant ( we had a gift card). Neither one of us is a fan of the holiday, because of the buying frenzy it creates and the corporate nature of it.
I put that I spent 60 on restaurant bar nightclub because there wasnt an option for buying food, etc to cook at home. I bought a bottle of champage and ingredients to cook my girl dinner at home.
Hey Ramit,
This is my first on your site. Well, I wanted to get my wife a bouquet…but the local flower vendor was charging 25 Rs/Rose (His regular rate is 8 rs). So, I took the trouble of going to a little low-key area around 3-4 kms away and got better quality roses @ Rs 5 per piece. 
.
-Ankit
The question about who you bought for doesn’t work right. It says “check all that apply” but it only lets you select one.
Also, I got my wife a gift card to a local spa and there wasn’t a category for that.
I didn’t spend a single dollar on any of the categories you listed. There were no groceries/liquor store options, but I spent about $17 for a bottle of delicious semi-dry sparkling wine from spain and chicken, garlic, and parmesan to make garlic parmesan baked chicken. Delicious.
$200 for a coach handbag
$4 on chocolate.
We spend $0. I made some great dinner with things that I already had in my pantry, drank some good wine and enjoy each other company.
I actually wanted an Orchid plant, but I told my husband not to get one yet since the selection at Home Depot was not that great last time I was there. Orchid plants add such a great touch and last a lot longer than flowers and are cheaper.
I spent on 3 grandkiddies $10.00 cash each, small box of candy that cost $1.00 and computer card the probably cost more than the candy because of the ink.
I am proud of my Vday expenditures this year so I thought I’d share — I was given free box seat tickets to a sporting event from one of the firms I do consulting for ($20 gratuities for the free parking, open bar, catering etc) and then on the way home, stopped to do a price adjustment at a department store I had purchased $400 worth of work clothes, a spring coat and a watch the week previous — all on clearance. (They had sent me a coupon in the mail the following day) They had to return and re-ring the items I had purchased and everything rang in substantially lower the second time around PLUS the coupon saved me about $160. Yay! Then I stopped at the jewelry counter to get the watch sized and I was looking at other jewelry while waiting. The short story is I found a 1K diamond ring, set in white gold on clearance. Ticket price $2K. Clearance price $900. Then there was a sale for 30% off clearance. There was a current special for 25% off anything at jewelry. Then I used my 20% off coupon.
Final price? $140.
So for my efforts of price adjusting, I netted a diamond ring and $20 in green.
I promptly went to the jewelry district to have it appraised and whilst the diamond quality is poor, (expected at department stores), gold is currently selling at $27 or so a gram……so now I have to decide if I want to keep my valentine’s spoils or sell it to net a gross profit on the holiday. -grin-
I actually spent more than usual this year. I got her a second gen pink ipod…def worth the 100 bucks. Then dinner at my weakness (melting pot) which was as much for me as her. So grand total, $250.
$29 for 2 dozen roses at the grocery store. $16 for ingredients for dinner which I cooked myself. $3 for a card. $26 for Godiva Chocolate Strawberries which we shared. $50 for Godiva truffles just for her. So about $124 total. I would have spent more but April 15th is coming to get me! I generally like to splurge on occasions like this when I can afford to.
Spent $20 on a home-made shrimp dinner (though I guess I should have subtracted what a regular dinner would have cost). I don’t like shrimp so I don’t make it too often (the hubby loves it).
The hubby got me roses and chocolates. Plus he borrowed romance novels from the library (manly man picked them out himself). Didn’t ask what the damage was but couldn’t have been much (my hubby makes Ramit look like a spendthrift).
We each bought each other small gifts:
Book for him (Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks) $17 (with my bookstore discount)
Bubblebath for me – I’d guess about $9
We went to the city for drinks and dinner
Toll: $4
Drinks at Absinthe: $36 plus tip = $42
Dinner at Essencia with full glass wine pairing and tip: $317
HA! $389
I actually dropped a lot of money this year because my girlfriend and I got engaged. Even though I had to put myself further into debt, the look on her face was worth it.
Jennifer B…. you guys spent $317 on dinner?!?
I don’t think ‘I Will Teach You To Be Rich’ is a site that does you much good….
I bet it was delicious though
0…..i don’t have a valentine, heh..
btw, i really enjoy this reading this blog. Thanks a lot for posting all these ideas!
had valentine with mrs palm and her 5 daughters,
spent $0 because it was at home.
andy j. dont be alarmed at what jenniffer B spent. it is all relative to what u make.
a $20 meal sounds ridiculous to a beggar on the street when it can mean 20 items of the dollar menu.
Rather foolishly, my better half accidentally booked us to have dinner with her best friend in her brand new house without realising the date. Later on she told me by way of justification that she didn’t like reminding her friend all the time that she (the friend) was single!
Hopefully she won’t read this, so I can say that this sort of silliness only makes me happier to be with her. (She’s a high-flying academic, in case this sounds patronising — classic half genius, half scatterbrain).
So anyway, our lovely three course Valentine dinner was free, though we did Bring Our Own Bottle. And I smuggled a few secret presents into her handbag between courses. (My girlfriend’s handbag, that is, not the friend’s! Buying presents for two is terrible for financial planning, I wouldn’t go there!)
$50 – gifts
$35 – shipping charges to India
Total : $85
$0 I woo my wife the other 364 days of the year
We spent RM 60 (1USD = RM 3.5) on dinner, no flowers etc. Never bought flowers on Val day. It was Italian treat for us and worth it.
$0. We considered going out, but then decided it was just not worth it. Besides the weather was dismal. We went over the idea that was it really necessary to have a “day” to express our love to each other? Probably not. Everyday being together is special.
I'm the New York Times best-selling author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich. I co-founded PBwiki and graduated from Stanford.
