Amy Wiggins: Money should not buy you love

Valentine's Day should not be about how much you spend or what you do, but rather the thought that goes into it.

To me, Valentine's Day has become just another commercial celebration designed to get you spending money.

Like Christmas and Easter, it's meaning seems to have been lost.

If you're in a relationship, it's just another cost you are expected to work into your budget.

For many singletons, it's a reminder that they have no one to celebrate with.

It's not something my husband or I make a big deal of.

If it wasn't for the endless advertisements for gifts, February 14 would pass without me realising it was Valentine's Day most years.

Sure, it's a good excuse to do something with your significant other but, to me, it often lacks meaning - it's just something you are supposed to do.

It also seems the prices of traditional Valentine's Day gifts like flowers seem to creep up in mid-February.

It shouldn't be a competition to see who got the most extravagant gift or was treated to the most lavish night out. That's just more unnecessary pressure put on a relationship.

Personally, I'd rather be surprised by a box of chocolates, a bunch of flowers or a night out some other day of the year.

That, to me, seems to carry more significance.

That way it's a gesture done, not out of obligation, but out of love.

Whether you celebrate Valentine's Day or not, the principle should be the same.

It should not be how much you spend or what you do that counts - it's the thought that goes into it.

- Amy Wiggins is the chief reporter at the Bay of Plenty Times