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

5. Flowers

The Society of American Florists says 78% of flowers given on Valentine's Day are roses, with 224 million roses grown for Valentine's Day 2012 alone. That's a tough order to fill after Christmas, which sucks up 30% of the year's plant and flower purchases and gives growers only 50 to 70 days to work on the Valentine's Day supply. It doesn't help that Valentine's Day, which ranks third behind Christmas and Mother's Day, with 20% of annual plant and flower volume and 25% of sales, vaults to No. 1 when it comes to sales of fresh flowers. Roughly 36% of all flower volume and 40% of flower revenue comes from Valentine's Day sales.

With 37% of Americans planning to buy flowers for Valentine's Day, according to the NRF, the holiday lead-up becomes a bizarro Black Friday for flower sellers. A dozen roses that sell for an average of little more than $59 in early January suddenly go for closer to $86 the week before Valentine's day, according to Cheapism. That's a nearly 40% premium before you even step out the door.

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