WE LOVE our mums - but we don't spend as much money on them as our spouses.
New research by comparison website finder.com.au has found that while Australians are tipped to spend a whopping $733 million on mums this Mother's Day, it's still 25 per cent less than what was spent on Valentine's Day presents earlier this year.
Adult offspring will spend an average of $60 to celebrate their mums. By contrast, Australians spent an average of $75 on their beloveds on Valentine’s Day.
Sons are the most generous, shelling out $66 on their mothers on average compared to $55 by daughters, according to a survey of 2,085 people.
New South Wales tops the spending, forking out $68 on mothers, followed by the ACT ($65). Tasmanians will only spend $36 dollars on their mums.
The website's money expert Bessie Hassan said she was surprised the amount consumers spend on Mother’s Day trails behind Valentine’s Day.
“It’s unusual to see more emphasis on Valentine’s Day, but to some extent, wrong or right, mothers are often happy with less tangible tokens of appreciation,” she said.
“They generally don’t expect anyone to feel an obligation to buy material items for them.”
Ms Hassan said Mother’s Day is meant to be a day when children can show their appreciation for the sacrifices that mothers make.
“Motherhood is a demanding – largely thankless job – so having a dedicated day to commemorate mums is important.”
Over a quarter (28%) of Aussies don’t celebrate Mother’s Day while 8% choose to spend time or talk on their phone with their mums instead of buying gifts.
“While not everyone buys into the commercialisation of Mother’s Day, there are plenty of ways to show your gratitude.”
“From family reunions to flower bouquets - saying ‘thanks’ doesn’t have to break the bank.”
