So today I went to Albertson’s grocery store to buy some things that I couldn’t get at WalMart (they had no asparagus..my Walmart is usually out of everything, they don’t stock it very well) or at Aldi (amazingly, Aldi was also completely out of asparagus). Albertson’s is one of your more expensive grocery stores here in Southern California, but you can’t beat the meat when it’s on sale. It’s great tasting, great quality meat. But when I walked into the store, it was like St. Valentine threw up all over the store. I don’t mind nice smelling stores, but the smell of all the roses wafting through the air along with the music (pretty loud) of Frank Sinatra made me forget for a split second that I was at the store to look for some meat on sale. There were more heart shaped metallic balloons then are usually at the Party Store store. It got me thinking, How much do Americans spend on Valentine’s Day and why do we spend money on Valentine’s Day?
Well, according to History.com https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2 other countries besides the U.S. celebrate this day by giving candy, flowers and gifts to loved ones. Ancient Christian and Ancient Roman tradition say there are several stories about how Valentine’s Day started but I like the one legend where Valentine is imprisoned and had sent the jailor’s daughter (who he loved) a letter before he was killed and signed it “from your Valentine”. How romantic is that!!!?
This year Americans are expected to spend a whopping $27 billion for this “holiday”https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/confident-consumers-and-broader-buying-lead-record-valentines-day. Do you believe it?
No, I didn’t get the BF anything for this day, except a Dollar Store $.99 card. I told him not to get me anything. To me it’s just another day that is made to waste money. I’ve got paying off my mortgage on the brain.
We will make dinner together. It will cost us way less to have 2 rib eye steaks with a baked potato and asparagus with a glass of wine and have candles lit on the table than it would cost us to drive someplace, wait for a table (especially on a Friday night) and order the same thing. For a bonus, we can both drink as much as we want because we don’t have to worry about driving!
To everyone who still has debt, forget Valentine’s Day and pay off a credit card.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Here’s to reading on!
American Senior Citizen 