It starts in January. The aisles of stores become covered in hearts and candies. A crimson tsunami that suffocates the eye. The pink plague has arrived. What once started as a holiday to celebrate Saint Valentine has lost all meaning and is now just an excuse for couples to buy each other overpriced merchandise. The holiday is a complete waste of money.

Prices go up during the holiday. Take roses for example; the prices rise up to five times more than usual during Valentine’s season. Factor in the price of chocolates, cards, balloons and jewelry, and the price can be upwards of ridiculous. The excessive spending associated with the holiday puts unfair pressure on couples and leaves both sides feeling disappointed. For those who are single, the marketing for the holiday can leave them feeling lonely and depressed. In fact, according to City Hill Press suicide rates are at a national high every year on Valentine’s Day.

The waste doesn’t stop with the spending. Whether it is the cellophane wrapping on the flowers, paper cards or mylar balloons, Valentine’s Day is a huge producer of trash. Even the “natural” flowers create waste. Smothered in pesticides and shipped in from halfway across the world, roses create an enormous amount of greenhouse gases.

Media markets Valentine’s Day as a day symbolizing love, but what consumers are really doing is fueling card companies, candy manufacturers and flower businesses. Nothing says romance more than consumerism.

Valentine’s Day is a waste of money, a waste of resources and a waste of a day. If you still feel like celebrating… well, have a happy, capitalism-filled, Valentine’s Day.