How inflation is impacting Valentine's Day

The Balance Editor-in-Chief Kristin Myers joins Yahoo Finance Live to explain how rising inflation will affect Valentine's Day from chocolates, flowers, diamonds, and dining out.

Video transcript

KARINA MITCHELL: It's time to think about Valentine's Day, but rising prices mean you're probably going to end up spending more. And here with advice on how to keep costs low, let's bring in Kristin Myers, the Balance editor-in-chief. Kristin, thank you so much for being here. So last year, the National Retail Federation said about half of all Americans would celebrate the holiday and spend about $21.8 billion. And there was a lot of pent-up consumer demand last year after the pandemic, so people were in the mood to spend. But this year, prices are just so much higher, starting with things like chocolate.

KRISTIN MYERS: Absolutely, Karina. So we just decided to see, you know, how much inflation is going to impact the holiday. And as you are mentioning, the price of just about everything is getting way more expensive. So as you mentioned, as we saw, chocolate is going up 5%. Diamonds are also on the rise. Sorry, ladies-- or sorry, fellas, I should say. If you're out there trying to buy diamonds for your girlfriend, that's going to cost you 15% more, and even roses. So I mean, just a dozen roses up over 20%.

But the real cost, I think the real thing that at least we were surprised by-- you know, for Valentine's Day, a lot of people say, hey, you know, maybe I'll make a really nice dinner. I'll splurge on some filet mignon, get some lobster tails. That's really going to set you back because everyone can see there, filet mignon is 154% more expensive, Karina. So I think everyone's going to be looking at their wallets this year and really going to be feeling the pain. Love hurts financially, at least in 2022.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Nice, nice. OK, so what about jewelry? 'Cause I never have a problem with getting jewelry for the holidays. What would that set us back? I'm thinking a little diamonds, a little gold. How are we doing there?

KRISTIN MYERS: All right, well, your husband's not going to be liking it too much, Alexis. Those diamonds, 15% more expensive. But I will say this. We saw that in 2020, the price of gold and silver absolutely jumped, so surprisingly, the prices have come down a little bit, actually, from some of those highs.

So gold and silver actually dropping right now. We have gold down just about 1%, so not too much when it comes to savings. But silver is actually down 10% from the same time last year. So perhaps your husband can get you an all gold necklace and skip some of the diamonds, or he's just going to have to shell out and pay a little bit more for it.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I think he's just going to have to shell out and pay a little more. Aren't I worth it? Aren't I worth it?

KRISTIN MYERS: I like it. I think you're worth it. I think you're worth it, Alexis.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Thank you.

KARINA MITCHELL: OK, so to keep the relation going-- not everyone's husband is like Alexis's-- how do we work it out so everyone's happy and you get to go out and have a good time? What are some tips that you have?

KRISTIN MYERS: Yeah, well, everything is practically more expensive. So this might be the year that you go out and purchase perhaps an experiential gift, tickets to a show if we're allowed to go see Broadway shows or maybe a little bit of Beatles memorabilia in the form of an NFT. That's the gift that keeps on giving, guys. If you buy stocks or an NFT or something, you know, it might be worth more next year than it was this year. But you are definitely going to have to get creative because those gifts are going to be more expensive.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Oh, so I see you listened to our Julian Lennon interview, I guess. He was on earlier talking about how he turned some of his dad's memorabilia into NFTs. So I'm curious how you are spending Valentine's Day, Kristin.

KRISTIN MYERS: I should ask my boyfriend. I'm waiting to be surprised, Alexis. I, too, am worth it. And I also will be asking for some of those diamonds. Or at least, perhaps, you get a little bit of those goods that might be worth a little bit more next year. I like receiving investments as a gift personally, especially--

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Wow.

KRISTIN MYERS: --with the way--

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: That can be romantic.

KRISTIN MYERS: I mean, the markets are going up. And I think we should all be taking advantage.

KARINA MITCHELL: You know what, guys? This poll that I read was pretty interesting. I want to hear what you guys think of it. So according to YouGov, 18% of Americans would rather not get anything for Valentine's Day. They don't want a gift. Of those that do want a gift, 33% say just giving them a card is good enough.

So I mean, you might be able to get away with doing less this year. I know for me, I'm very happy if I get a card and, you know, maybe something small, maybe a quiet dinner or something, nothing to break the bank. And my husband always sends me flowers the day before or a couple of days before because then you're not, you know, shelling out on the roses the day of when you pay, like, double or triple price.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Yeah. I know your husband too. He's a--

KRISTIN MYERS: I'm not in the same camp.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I'm glad to see that Russ is doing that. But, you know, for me, it's just acknowledgment of the day. It doesn't have to be anything big, but I'll tell you what, the price of cards, have you checked them out lately? I'm not talking about digital cards. I know you can-- I mean, like the physical card.

KRISTIN MYERS: They're very expensive, very expensive. I mean, it's like $5 for a card now. I mean, $5 or $6. And gone are the days when you could buy a card, I think, for, like, $0.50 or $1. Honestly, the price of everything is going up. I mean, look, we got some of those personal consumption figures out today, right, up 4.9%.

So that just shows that, frankly, if you are going to be a consumer right now, you are going to have to shell out more money. I mean, just last year, those inflation figures, 7% for the entire year in 2021. So I mean, everything is getting more expensive. However, unfortunately for the men in my life, I am not like Karina. I still want a gift this year, ladies.

KARINA MITCHELL: My gift is just asking for a day of quiet and peace. Maybe just give me the remote control for a change. That's enough for me. So I'm a cheap date. What can I tell you? Anyway, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much, Kristin Myers, the Balance editor-in-chief, for that report.