How you should spend on your valentine

You might be one of those who considers Valentine's Day as just a day imported here in Bangladesh by the rich urbanites and believe it to be a cultural invasion.

Or one of those who now dubs it to be 'the day of the year' and goes all in to celebrate it.  

The fact that remains is: Valentine Day, like any other major occasion here, has started foraying in people's wallet and generating economic activities surrounding it.

So here are our tips on how much you should spend on Valentine Day for your loved ones. And by loved ones, we mean the ones with whom you have non-platonic interests. You have Father's Day, Mother's Day and even a Friendship Day to celebrate your platonic love. V-Day is for your 'loved ones'—with a literal meaning.

First Date on the Valentine Day:

Valentine's Day is usually a date reserved for existing couples, not for two people who have never met in person. However gone are the days of blind landline dates. Those ended with the millennials. Members of generation Z now can have a pretty good idea about their potential dates prior meeting them in person for the first time.

So it's better to sneak in to his/her social media profile. If that's private, go to google and type 'How to get more information from a private social media profile?' It will show you some hacks that work.

And when you first meet your date, assure him/her (the tip goes for the initiator) that you do not make a habit of going on first dates on Valentine's Day, but rather it was something that you decided to do in this one specific instance. The 'meeting thing' can be arranged in one of countless new restaurants mushrooming in every nook and crannies of Dhaka. As this is the first date, make sure of bringing roses. 

Around Tk 2,000 would do (for both food and rose) but if you feel it to be a love at first sight then go for full monty in spending. So have some money in your socks.

For long-time love birds:

You already have spent a number of valentine days together, so you know the drill. Considering the context of Bangladesh, if you spend five valentine days together, the sixth might have the possibility of having two situations: one of you (here, mostly the boys) asking the other for getting married or one of you (here, mostly the girls) informing the other that the her parents have already found a suitor for her, so get a job or get lost.

Now for the first one: It's a big day for you guys. So get the ring right. Go for diamond. Go for a restaurant where you can bring out a diamond without getting mugged. In Dhaka, you will find those aplenty inside the tri-state area. Budgeting your special day would be hard, so you better decide.

For the second one: Girls, before planning to give the 'big news' to your partners for a long time, watch 'Boro Chele' on youtube.

Nevertheless, if you still decide to give it, go for a good restaurant where they serve Bangali comfort food like 'kacchi biriyani'. Make sure you pay the bill. It's not going to be much though.

The married couples:

If you have kids, send them over to Nana-Nani or Dada-Dadi's house. If you have credit cards from those commercial banks that have the offer of 'buy one get one free' dinner in the city's five star hotels, go there. For the married ones, 'buffet with lots of choice' comes as a blessing in disguise. 

If you don't have the credit cards, then keep an eye on social media. You will find a number of restaurants serving special discounted platters on the V-day; pick one. In married lives, availing a 'buy one get one free' or 'a discounted offer' together is the best gift that you can pick for each other.