If I have learnt one thing in life, it’s that men aren’t great fans of February the 14th. The usual excuses about it being a soulless, commercial holiday hijacked by Hallmark and fuelled by psychotic women have been worn rather thin by now, and so this year men all over the UK are rejoicing at finding a new excuse to forego flowers and dinners out:
“It’s not you darling, it’s the economy – if the current climate wasn’t quite so financially unstable of course I’d whisk you away to Paris and shower you with gifts, however with the pound so weak against the euro and consumer confidence at an all time low, not to mention rising unemployment and repossession rates…. well we best just stay in and order some fish and chips, hadn’t we?”
Who would have thought that what started as risky sub prime mortgages in the States would not only filter down to the real economy but to the heart of British relationships?
Since the onset of the credit crunch, various sets of statistics have emerged linking the economic doom and gloom to relationship traumas. According to a survey by Skipton Building Society carried out late last year, 90% of British bachelors said they would sacrifice romantic commitments entirely due to the current liquidity squeeze.
Furthermore, one in six couples stated that breaking up in 2009 is “likely” with financial woes cited as one of the main reasons, states research by Harris Interactive. In the same survey, 11% of people said that money worries sparked the majority of arguments and 35% of couples claimed to be eating out less.
Meanwhile, relationship counselling service, Relate, reported recently that they had seen an almost 60% rise in the number of couples seeking counselling in October and November 2008, compared to the same time in 2007. Growing fears of redundancy and financial insecurity have been blamed for the increase.
Now the Cheshire Building Society has issued advice to couples feeling the financial strain this Valentine’s Day, suggesting that instead of expensive gifts, they could cook instead of eat out, go for a walk, visit an art gallery or talk to each other as hey, it’s free!
One last, and very important, Valentine’s tip if you’re on a budget this year would be to not, under any circumstance, utter the classic words: “What’s the point of just doing romantic things on one day of the year when I can do them every day?”
Because you don’t do romantic things every day, do you?
Louise Fernley
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