Need some advice on how to spend less this Valentine's Day?  Stuck in the Midwest snow & ice storm and not able to get out and buy that last minute gift? 

 

David Bach provides some advice in his Yahoo Personal Finance column.  David is a well-known personal finance writer known for the "Latte Factor".  He is a regular guest on Oprah and has written several books, including The Automatic Millionaire.

 

For the article, see the URL listed below

 

 

The most striking statistic from the article is that on average, men spend $156 and women spend $85 for Valentine's Day.

 

Valentine's Day should be more about our affections for our significant others and not about how much we spend.  Hopefully, you have found an effective way to communicate your love for your mate that does not require large sums of money.  However you express your affection, hopefully it takes place more than once per year on February 14th. 

 

My spouse and I decided several years ago to stop celebrating Valentine's Day, Sweetest Day, etc.  In addition to the dollars saved that went straight into the pockets of the greeting card, chocolate, and restaurant companies, we managed to significantly reduce our stress.