Valentine’s Day spending

Spending is expected to be lower this year

In today's Consumer Watch, "spending is expected to be down more than $5 billion compared to last year," according to the National Retail Federation.

Matt Schulz, Chief Credit Analyst at Lending Tree states that, "a survey found nearly 40% of Americans plan to skip celebrating to save money this year."

Schulz also said that, "if you usually set a budget of $100 to spend on each other on Valentine's Day and you need to dial it back to $50 or $25, it's ok. Just talk about it."

Most surveyed women who did plan to give gifts said they planned to spend about $94.

Meanwhile, most surveyed men said they planned to spend $181 .

Making a special homemade dinner, writing a poem, or painting something is great way to save money.