5 Ways You'll Regret Spending on Valentine's Day

PORTLAND, Ore. (TheStreet) -- Valentine's Day is an immense waste of time and resources, but America seems bent on marking it anyway. Fine, but you may as well set the tip of one of Cupid's arrows aflame and shoot it directly into your savings.

The National Retail Federation is predicting an upturn in spending this Valentine's Day after its consumer survey showed lovestruck buyers planning to spend $130.97 this year just to keep up appearances. That's up from $126.03 last year, but it's easy to say such things when you're dealing with theoretical money.

Go ahead, tell the retailers and restaurateurs of America that you intend to spend $37 on flowers, $157 on jewelry and $77 for a night out. Get everybody's hopes nice and high just so you can grit your teeth through the inevitable markups and manipulative marketing.

We all really know you're just going to jam into the nearest drugstore at the last minute and pull the closest red thing within arm's reach off the shelf. The market research firm NPD Group knows it to be true, as its latest research found that 78% of Valentine's Day shoppers wait until the last week to pick something up. Keep in mind, stores began stocking Valentine's Day items approximately a second after the all-Christmas holiday stations started playing Call Me Maybe again.

About a third of women make their Valentine's Day purchases on Feb. 13 or Feb. 14, while a whopping 47% percent of men hold out until the last minute. Think that frenzied rush results in more than a few unfortunate purchases?

Don't worry, procrastinators: You're not the only ones joining the ensemble cast of Bad Decision Theater this holiday season. When just going out on Valentine's Day is a poor choice, anything that follows is bound to be a lead-footed skip through a sprawling minefield. Here are just five ways you can go wrong with Valentine's spending:

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