Mainers among the most frugal Valentine’s Day spenders in America

Seriously, Kansas? Why do you have to make us all look bad?

A recent finder.com survey found that Kansans spend more on Valentine’s Day gifts than people in any other state, spending an average of $117 apiece on their significant others on the upcoming romantic holiday.

Kansas was one of five states in which people each blow more than a Benjamin Franklin on Valentine’s Day, which presumably means they’re buying more jewelry than chocolates.

The other most-generous Valentine’s Day states? Those are Nevada ($112 per person), Idaho ($111), North Dakota ($108) and Hawaii ($102).

Another six states have residents boasting holiday receipts topping $80 each, including Arkansas, where people spend $93 a pop on lovey dovey stuff.

Here in Maine, we’re… er… frugal. Mainers will spend on average $36 on their special someones this holiday, according to the survey figures.

That’s not even quite dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.

Only one state has residents who spend less on Valentine’s Day gifts, and that’s neighboring New Hampshire, where $31 is the going price of the holiday.

(Interestingly, Maine’s divorce rate is second highest in the country. Although any perceived correlation between Valentine’s Day spending and relationship durability breaks down quickly when you note that the highest divorce rate can be found in Nevada.)

We can put a positive spin on this and say that Mainers aren’t preoccupied by material things, and that we refuse to fall for the corporate marketing gimmick of Valentine’s Day.

So there.