Job first, love can wait

VALENTINE'S Day may be just around the corner, yet I cannot even fathom its significance, having neither a significant other nor a full-time job.

Socialising is expensive in this downturn, particularly on a part-time salary of around $50 per day. For instance, dinner at a French restaurant in the CBD area could set one back a good $40.

This is not even taking into account the annual Feb 14 price hikes on the day itself.

Thus, come Saturday, I will be working. Why waste good money when you can earn it instead?

Right now, I would rather St Valentine give me a full-time, well-paying job than a soulmate. After all, I have a whole lifetime to find the latter, but not the former.

Aisha Mostafa, 23, is an honours arts graduate from the University of Huddersfield

No splash, just sincerity

ADMITTEDLY, I have never been one to splurge on Valentine's Day, and with the economy as it is, I have less impetus.

My savings, or what little there is of it, have taken on added significance in these uncertain times - I'll need to live off it should I fail to land a job upon graduation, a scenario which is looking increasingly likely.

Still, the celebrations must go on, albeit on a smaller scale.

For Feb 14 on a budget, creativity will be the order of the day: no lavish gifts or top-end restaurants, just a whole lot of fun and sincerity.

It is about making the best of a tight situation, and I'm confident that my efforts will be appreciated.

Wiliam Tham, 24, is a final-year business student at Singapore Management University (SMU)

Guys, be imaginative

GUYS might be under the impression that the current downturn will dampen the demanding nature of their female counterparts on Valentine's Day.

Better watch your step, though - expectations haven't changed at all.

While we're not dying for a candlelit dinner on Dempsey Hill or a trip to Paris, one friend puts it like this: 'As long as my boyfriend puts in the effort to do something sweet, nice or romantic for me, I'll be happy.'

Money isn't everything, and this is the perfect time to see if you can adapt and deliver.

Nothing is impossible.

Buy a photo album and fill it up. Get a blank notebook and write something you love about your other half on every page. Draw your feelings. Paint your love. Most importantly, use your imagination. Make it something to remember.

Bernice Leong, 16, has a place to study mass communications at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

When fun can be cheaper

THE dire economic situation has had an impact on prices and pay slips, but certainly not the mood for love.

For Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I have turned gift exchanges into a game, where we take turns choosing presents within a certain budget. It's fun and we help each other save money too. Adjusting to an economic downturn in the middle of a relationship is not that hard if we think of new ways to celebrate.

Stephanie Song, 22, is an honours student in psychology at the National University of Singapore

Who's laughing now?

I'M single, happy and contented.

Okay I lied, I'm contented most of the year.

Every February though, Valentine's Day rolls around all smug and self-righteous - thanks to excessive in-your-face retailing and unabashed fluff mongering. Restaurants and clubs plan theme events favouring couples. Gift shops vamp up their window displays.

Singles are repeatedly reminded that they lack intimacy and are provoked into feeling inadequate. Some cave in at the last minute and find a date, and retailers get to laugh all the way to the bank.

But with the current downturn, they won't be getting as much a revenue boost as they would usually expect from the Valentine's Day season, because my peers will be scaling back on how much they are willing to spend on extravagant declarations of love.

I say, serves the big marketing machines right for making us singles feel bad about, well, being single.

Eef Gerard Van Emmerik, 20, has a place to read law at SMU this year

Get in the spirit

THE global economic downturn has received extensive coverage in the media. But a trip to Orchard Road during my summer break last December confounded me: designer shops were filled with customers, even with queues outside.

So much for a slowdown.

Given the rampant consumerism, this Valentine's Day should not fall prey to the economic downturn. Compromising on the quality of dates or presents is unacceptable.

Regardless of situation, one should always consider his or her financial status before deciding to invest in a relationship. We cannot alter our expectations and investments as and when the tide changes.

The spirit of Valentine's Day is priceless. Let us not cheapen it by pinching pennies.

Tabitha Mok, 22, is a fifth-year medical student at the University of Western Australia

This article was first published in The Straits Times on February 09, 2009.