Broke on Valentine’s Day
Whether you’re in a relationship or not, being broke on Valentine’s Day is no fun. But that’s been my situation for the last five years or so.
It used to be because my and my husband’s birthdays are both within five days of Valentine’s Day, and my stepson’s birthday is in early March. So, we decided we’d rather spend money on our birthdays than spend a lot of money on Valentine’s Day. But now that we’ve gotten serious about paying off our debt, there isn’t much money for Valentine’s Day or birthdays.
So tonight we’ll be eating dinner at home and watching “The Wedding Singer.” We each bought each other a small gift and a card out of our weekly personal “allowances,” and my stepson is getting a card and a plastic heart with Reese’s Pieces in it. While it’s not very romantic, I’d much rather have a paid-for car than a piece of overpriced jewelry and a night in a crowded restaurant.
I think this is the case for a lot of people, but there is a lot of pressure to participate in Valentine’s Day. Luckily, I work in a small office where no one receives flowers on Valentine’s Day, so it’s pretty much just like any other day. But there is still a lot of pressure on men to make these kind of gestures, and even some unspoken competition among women about whose partner is the most romantic. So I feel bad (mostly for my husband) when people ask me what we’re doing for Valentine’s Day and I don’t have a “good” answer.
But, staying true to our long-term goals at times when I may have caved before is pretty liberating! So, happy Valentine’s Day to you, no matter what you are doing tonight.
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