With prices at historic highs, Valentine’s Day is likely to cost you extra this year. But if you’re up for a romantic night in, the bill may not be as bad as you think.
According to data from LPL Financial, despite decades-high inflation levels, the holiday remains “relatively affordable,” compared to inflation in the broader economy. The firm’s Valentine’s Day Index, which tracks the annual prices of four ways to celebrate — jewelry, a night in, a night out, and a vacation getaway — came in at 7%, near the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation of 7.5%.
But beneath the surface, certain components of the index cost much lower and may be better options this year, to avoid breaking the bank. The cost of a night in (a home-cooked meal, wine, flowers and candy) and a night out (dinner at a restaurant, a sitter, and theater tickets) were up 4.0% and 4.7%, respectively, below the broader inflation indexes.
“Thankfully, inflation hasn’t hit Valentine’s Day as hard as the broad economy,” Ryan Detrick, LPL’s chief market strategist, said in a note.
While prices for candy, a home-cooked meal, and flowers were mostly in line with headline inflation, a glass of wine has seen next to no price increase at all. LPL Financial emphasized that the Bureau of Labor Statistics does specifically track the price of wine for home consumption.
Menu items for the home-cooked meal portion of a night in could run the bill a bit higher, however, with meat, poultry, fish, and eggs up about 12% in 2021. Fruit and vegetables were up 5% last year, while the increase in prices for dessert was slightly lower at 2%.
Celebrating with a vacation getaway may not be the most cost-efficient way to tell a significant other you love them this year. LPL indicated in its data that the component came in at 11.9% on an annualized basis, a notable jump above the broader inflation index. Meanwhile, jewelry saw a price gain in 2020 and 2021 combined, at 4.1% annualized, LPL’s data reflected.
Although certain components of Valentine’s Day remain lower than headline inflation, each component is still at a 10-year high, Detrick points out. The Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which notched a steeper-than-expected 7.5% increase over the year ended January, marked the largest annual jump since 1982.
To add to that, the CPI posted an unexpected 0.6% increase on a month-over-month basis, while economists had anticipated the print to decelerate.
The National Retail Federation estimated that Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $23.9 billion this year, up from $21.8 billion in 2021 and the second-highest year on record, according to its annual survey.
And based on the metrics, that money could be getting a lot less amid elevated inflation.
“In the big picture, Valentine’s Day is the ultimate budget holiday since time spent together is really what it’s all about,” Detrick said. “Inflation can’t touch that.”
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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
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