By Chris Persaud
Watch out, because showing your love on Valentine's Day can put a big hickey on your budget.
The MoneyWise team has tracked this year's prices for typical things people spend money on for V-Day, including chocolates, diamond jewelry, roses, champagne and a fancy dinner out.
Our Cost of Love Index finds a Valentine's Day filled with all of those traditional items would set lovebirds back by around $600! (To be exact: $596.56.)
Here’s a breakdown on the prices, plus our advice on ways to save.
Box of chocolates
Average price: $17.24
Want to put the sweet in sweetheart for Valentine's Day? Prepare to spend around $17 for the customary box of chocolates.
We averaged the prices of several name-brand, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates in the 8.13- to 9.5-ounce range. We found you could pay anywhere from $11.71, for a package of Lindt's, to $22.99, for Godiva.
A typical heart-shaped box of chocolates costs a little over $17 this Valentine's Day.
Candy tends to be the No. 1 most popular Valentine's Day gift, the National Retail Federation says.
Looking for a cheaper and more meaningful way to satisfy a loved one's sweet tooth? Consider baking a cake for your special someone instead.
Diamond earrings
Average price: $332.80
By far, the most expensive gift commonly bought for Feb. 14 is diamond jewelry.
This year's average price for a pair of diamond solitaire stud earrings — with princess-cut diamonds totaling 1/4 carat in weight and set in 14K white gold — is about $333.
Diamond solitaire stud earrings like these cost an average of about $333 this year.
We gathered prices from leading retailers and found this typical earring set runs from the $200s to $400. To give a couple of examples: Blue Nile sells a pair for $235, while the price at Kay Jewelers is $389.
About 1 in 5 Valentine's Day gift-givers gives jewelry, retail industry surveys show. But beautiful bling doesn't have to cost big bucks, so shop around and look at alternatives beyond diamonds.
Dozen red roses
Average price: $94.83
If you're one of those people who think it's just not Valentine's Day unless you're giving — or getting — a dozen long-stemmed red roses, understand that the tradition comes at a hefty markup!
The nationwide average price for that crimson bouquet this V-Day is $94.83. That's according to flower delivery service BloomNation, which works with more than 3,000 florists across the U.S.
A dozen long-stem red roses costs about $95 for Valentine's Day, about 30% higher than usual.
Note that the price at Valentine's Day is 30% more than what you'd pay for those same roses any other time of the year: $72.79.
Our advice is that you pick up tulips, orchids or another less expensive (and less cliche) alternative to red roses.
Bottle of champagne
Average price: $51.85
Planning to pop open some bubbly to celebrate with your significant other? Good champagne ain't cheap.
The current average price of a 750ml bottle of French champagne is $51.85, says the big market research company Nielsen.
French champagne for Valentine's Day costs more than $51, on average.
Note that if you really want to impress a date, you'll spring for the French stuff, from the Champagne region that gives the classic sparkling wine its name.
But really, you shouldn't have to try so hard. You can probably find a great bottle of domestic bubbles for around $10.
Fine dining for 2
Average price: $99.84
Fine dining restaurants typically offer special — that is, more expensive — menus for Valentine's Day, this year costing an average of pretty close to $100 for a romantic dinner for two.
That's up more than $5 from last year's average check (excluding tax) of $94.29, according to the market research firm NPD Group.
A Valentine's Day dinner for two costs close to $100, on average.
Valentine's Day is MASSIVE for the restaurant business. The National Restaurant Association says it's the second most popular holiday for dining out after Mother's Day.
Here's a tip: Avoid the crowd and cook something together at home. If you really need to gaze into each other's eyes across a restaurant table, wait until Friday Feb. 16 or Saturday the 17th, when prices will likely be lower.
Doug Whiteman