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Ben Coakley w/ WayPoint and Joe Casselman talk about V-Day: Average spending on Valentine's Day is expected to be a record $161.96 per person this year despite fewer people celebrating the holiday.

That's a total of $20.7 billion as consumers buy more cards and candy for friends, family, co-workers – and pets.

6 Tips To Reduce Valentine’s Day Spending

Here are a couple of ways on how to spend Valentine’s Day without spending too much money.

1 . Create your own version of a fancy meal.

Thought of making reservations in one of those fancy restaurants and pay half of or full paycheck in just one sitting? You may want to re-consider your thought.

2. Customize your gifts.

Want to be on the budget and still give a gift that your partner will appreciate?

Try to customize your gift by creating picture collages, printing your best picture as couples and putting it on a frame, compiling videos of both of you together, and others. You can never go wrong with gifts that showcase your memories as long as they are good memories.

With so many DIY projects and websites like Pinterest, there are ways to be creative and make gifts that your loved one will appreciate. Really, the possibilities of customized gifts are endless.

3. Personalize your Valentine's Day card..

Personalizing your Valentine's Day card is one way to reduce Valentine’s Day spending. Ever given your significant other gifts on Valentine’s Day without including a card? Probably not, right?

Valentine cards have always been part of the gift giving tradition during Valentine’s Day. Instead of buying those fancy Hallmark and American Greeting cards, you can design and print your own card.

You can always customize your card to reflect what you really want to say to your partner. Do not worry if creativity is not your best skill.

You can always cut out pictures, write quotes that come directly from you or something you read. A personalized valentine card means more to a person than the Hallmark card you buy.

Just remember that personalized gifts are a fruit of labor (and budget) and buying cards from the shelves is a fruit of convenience.

4. Bring entertainment.

Entertainment doesn’t mean spending money on concerts or on movie theaters. You can stroll at the park and go to museums or art galleries that don’t charge any fee.

5. Go on a group date.

Going on a group date is one way to reduce Valentine’s Day spending. If you and your loved one don’t mind going on group dates, then, do it. You can invite your friends and share the expenses on meals, gas, among others.

You can also skip the dinner and go to bars. You can also stay in one of your friends’ house, cook together, play games like charade or watch movies together.

The company, the fun, and the talk you and your friends will have won’t break your bank.

6. Bring coupons.

If you happen to really like to take a dip into the world of Valentine’s Day spending, always remember to check for coupons and promotions.

Valentine ’s Day is a big day for many and companies take this opportunity to market their products and/or services. You can check Living Social and Groupons for massive discounts. Coupons will help you reduce your expenditure during that day.

Final thoughts:

Regardless of what you both do or do not do, it is always best to remember that spending time together is the best thing to do during that special day.

Valentine’s Day is about spending your time with the person you dearly love and not about cards, restaurants, and flowers. It’s always the thoughts that count and so, Valentine’s Day will always be a more meaningful day even by just adopting simple yet memorable actions and activities.