Since the Middle Ages, giving flowers has been a well-respected custom of our society. Back then, lovers would send messages with a bouquet to communicate privately when public displays of affection were prohibited. In the 1700s, Charles II of Sweeden created The Language of Flowers, which became widely used in Turkey to send secret messages to the military without raising suspicion from the enemy. Books have been written and research has been conducted about the effect of flowers on happiness and relationship status. But, why has this tradition stuck around for so long!?

While all of this may sound wildly romantic and fantastic, the modern world has texting and social media to relay messages and publicly profess love. Sure, receiving flowers is certainly a nice gesture from a loved one; however, in a week those flowers will be wilting and leaving pedals all over the kitchen counter.

Based on the prices of a variety of online floral shops, the cost of a dozen roses can be anywhere from $30 to $100. To put that into perspective, that’s at least three months of Netflix, Six foot-longs from Subway, or 30 rodeo burgers from Burger King. In short, there are plenty of other valuable gifts that could be purchased instead of flowers.

Here are just a few:

1. Food

Did you know that some floral shops do candy arrangements?! Instead of pedals falling to the ground, take a bite out of a snickers on a stick. Even fruit bouquets from Edible Arrangements sound more useful and far more delicious!

2. Movies

Take your girlfriend or boyfriend to the movies! You get to snuggle in the dark and it’s still less expensive than buying a flower arrangement. You could even splurge on some popcorn!

3. Money

Rather than spend your hard earned dollar on rotting flowers, why not just give them the money you would have spent on flowers. Even if it’s just $20, anyone would rather take the cash to put toward something else than let money go to waste.

4. Clothes

There is an article on Stylecaster about four men who bought outfits for their girlfriends to take them out on a date. It’s a fun date idea, PLUS you can wear the clothes again.

Check out the article here: http://stylecaster.com/my-girl-guys-dress-gals-dat...

5. Booze

Nothing is better than going out for a night on the town. Flowers aren’t going to get you drunk, but the drinks you can buy with the money you would have spent certainly will!

6. Vacation

Gas is pretty expensive. But if you have the right car, $30 worth can get you around 300 miles. You could go to the nearest amusement park, explore a town near you, or just go where the highway takes you.

7. More Food

Let’s be real, a girl’s gotta eat. And when it comes to flowers, only bees and rabbits can be satisfied.

Sure, getting flowers after a show or before a date is a nice feeling. But when it comes down to it, those feelings fall away faster than the pedals on those roses. So next time you’re thinking about buying flowers for someone, remember that once they die, the money you spent on them is forever gone.