Some single people I know hate Valentine’s Day because they’re single and they think that the occasion only serves to remind them of their singleness. I call that a lot of hogwash: it’s not like they weren’t aware they were single on February 13th, and it’s not likely they’re able to forget they’re single by February 18th or so, either.
Others try to turn February 15th into “Singles Awareness Day,” where people who are single are supposed to celebrate their own day after all of the couples get out of the way. If you’re part of a happy couple, this “Singles Awareness Day” must surely seem like some sort of “parade of losers” on one level or another.
But I guess it’s all in how you look at it.
If you’re single and not happy about being single, you can take consolation in looking at the expenses you didn’t have to shell out. And in this economy, saving money is definitely something worth being happy about. A study suggests that the average man spends $176 on his valentine. The average women, however, will spend about $89.
So much for equality, right? Maybe it’s more a case of the man trying to overspend every February so that he’ll stay out of the doghouse for a while. Who knows?
But if you’re single, that’s either $176 or $89 that you aren’t obligated to spend.
Even if you decide, as I typically do, to go have dinner somewhere on Valentine’s alone (or a day or two later), you can still treat yourself to a nice dinner somewhere and not spend $89…unless you have really expensive tastes, in which case you’d probably have ended up spending more than $176 on a Valentine’s Day dinner date. You big spender, you.
Another way a single might be fortunate on Valentine’s: he won’t have to worry about buying the wrong size, wrong style, wrong color or wrong something else and have to worry about returning it on February 15th.
That might be worth being single, too!
Your Turn:
How do you spend the day? Do you celebrate with your significant other, celebrate alone, or ignore it altogether?
Patrick is a television producer, writer, Mac lover, and Christian, though not necessarily in that order. He has a natural dislike of double standards and poor grammar.
