It’s that time of year again. Full of hearts, roses and lonely people. As you see your friends receive gift after gift, just how much money did that all cost? Also, where are my gifts?!

Lovebirds spend around $13, 290, 000,00 a year on Valentine’s Day. 180 million cards are exchanged, 198, 000, 000 roses are produced and the average person spends $116 on presents. That is a lot of money spent (some say wasted?) for just one day to show affection toward someone. Companies are earning a lot of  Valentine’s cash. But is getting someone a box of chocolates and a dozen roses on a day full of supposed love really worth it?

Let’s be honest here, if you love someone, do you really need to wait for that one day on the calendar to demonstrate your affection? You do have 364 other days to show your love.  Not to mention the prices for gifts, especially roses, that increase during this time.

Now let’s talk about those who don’t get anything on Valentine’s Day.  Is it really healthy to surround them with heart-shaped chocolates, red roses and sappy poems? For some, February 14th brings pressure to find their ‘other half,’ which brings some negative emotions like jealousy, and wondering why you aren’t good enough for someone else. Which by the way, isn’t fair … because you’re are fine the way they are. Patience is virtue.

Also, for all of you lonely people out there, there’s actually a day for you:  National Singles Day, or Singles Awareness Day (S.A.D. That’s a sad acronym, isn’t it?). It’s a day to acknowledge all you ‘single pringles’ out there.

In the end, Valentine’s Day still makes many people break the bank and has an equal amount of pros and cons. Even though it is fun to have a day dedicated to love and heart-eyed couples, maybe it’s better if we don’t make it as big of a deal. All I know is that most of us will be spending the evening watching Netflix.