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Don't break the bank on Valentine's Day
This Valentine's Day, love-struck Britons are set to spend around £550 million on chocolates, flowers, dinners, weekends away and other romantic gestures. Don't get sucked in. Here's how to avoid the great Valentine's Day rip off
To you and me, the 14th of February is St Valentine's Day. To the florists, gift shops, restaurants and hotels it's the final piece of the 'Golden Triangle' - the name retailers have given to the three peaks of consumer spending in the year: Christmas, New Year (sales) and St Valentine's Day.
In the last few decades this obscure saint, whose life and times no one seems quite clear about, has gladdened the heart of many a retailer and lightened the wallets of many more consumers. Find out how to cut back on the following:
Flowers
Interflora has a Valentine's 'shop' with gifts from £23 to £160 although you can get better value from Marks and Spencer flowers which has bunches of roses from £19.50. The home page of the John Lewis website is covered in Valentine's gifts, but do you seriously want to spend £80 on a bunch of roses in a box? How about buying the M&S roses, tying them in a bunch and popping them in a box from Clinton Cards for about £10? Even better, add a bit of matching ribbon for a few pounds and you're still £50 richer than if you splashed out at John Lewis.
Chocolates
Head down to your local farmers market to get your hands on some delicious hand-made chocolates for around the same price as those cellophane wrapped ones you can pick up at your local Tesco. The difference is the farmers market ones will be twice as tasty and may even contain a bit of a kick, like chilli or ginger, to liven up your evening. Local markets are also a good place to get cheap flowers from all over the world.
Romantic getaways
If your 'better half' fancies the idea of a night in a plush hotel, jump online to look for a bargain. Big hotel groups that need extra bodies contact websites like LastMinute.com to offload spare rooms for up to 80 per cent less in the weeks leading up to the big day.
For recommendations, have a nosey around the websites of big newspapers like The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. Their travel sections regularly feature great value hotels in major cities. But get in quick before the hotels click onto the fact that they're under-selling themselves.
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