“Life without love is like a tree without blossom or fruit,” said the legendary American poet of Lebanese descent, Kahlil Gibran, in his book The Prophet (1923).

Love is in the air this February, specifically on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. This special day might not be rooted in our Indonesian culture, but the young cheer the day joyfully.

Valentine’s Day is good news for sales and economy. A survey of “Pola Perilaku Belanja untuk Valentine—Valentine’s Day Shopping Behavior” in Indonesia in 2018, a research conducted by Shopback that cited by the Marketeers, revealed that 54.9% respondents bought gifts and spend an average Rp456.000 for their Valentine. So sweet!

Millennial’s increased spending habit also appears in the US, even if it’s not only in February. As mentioned in Businesslogics, millennials spend a total of around 200 million US dollars (equivalent to 2.7 trillion rupiahs) in 2018. They splurge money for holidays, concerts, hanging out, and fashion. It means, young people spend more for the sake of experience, impressive poses, and content of Instagram stories—especially if they do it with their significant other. Yup! But, until when?. You can keep on doing those things—you may call it as a social currency—but just don't go too far. Your spending habits of whoever you’re dating can rub off on you. Watch out for red-flags when it comes to money in your relationship and don’t be afraid to ask yourself, “Is it a bad investment?”

Indeed, love is a basic need. You cannot use a calculator to assess your loss or profit in a romantic relationship. However, you don’t want to spend the rest of your life paying off the debt, right?

But then, can romantic relationships be rational? Here are things to consider, lovebirds. Firstly, the consumption behavior of your partner. You have been together with this person for a long time, but now you can see yourselves as spendthrifts. This is the time to evaluate and assess your relationship. Can both of you manage the money wisely?. Secondly, career. Couples support each other. Encourage your significant other to learn and perform in her/his job so both of you can be financially independent together. Thirdly, investment. It’s important to start investing early. Choose investments that are fit your financial capability as all types of instrument investments would entail both benefits and risks. It will be beneficial to identify your character as investor.

Conservative investors can choose the very low level of risk assets as a safe haven, say in gold or money market fund—a fund that invests 100% in money market instruments such as Sertifikat Bank Indonesia (SBI), deposits, and bonds with the remaining maturity less than one year. Moderate investors can choose Retail Government Securities (SBN) issued by the government. The SBN is also available in fixed income funds—mutual funds that contain 80% of the securities in the form of shares, either government bonds or corporate bonds.

There are a number of options in SBN, namely Indonesian Retail Bond (ORI), Retail Saving Bonds (SBR), Retail Sukuk (Sukri/SR), and Sukuk Savings (ST). These are also offered in mixed mutual fund, which contains a combination of money market securities, bonds, and stocks. And for aggressive investors who have the guts to take the risks, you can invest more in stocks and equity fund. Equity fund represents 80% of shares in its portfolio.

Then the normal question is: are stocks too expensive?. Today, with only Rp100.000, you can be a capital market investor by purchasing shares or through an equity fund. The minimum purchase to buy stock is 1 lot equals 100 shares. Let’s say, price of shares of PT Bank A Tbk is Rp1,000/share. Multiply the price by 100, and with Rp100,000, you own 0.000001% of Bank A. Benefits of shares are capital gains (rising stock price) and the distribution of dividends as part of the company's net profit. But remember, stock is a high-risk investment—and high return. Equip yourself with extra knowledge of basic stock analysis and technical analysis for your guideline in investment. In short, you have to be very knowledgeable about the company you want to invest in.

Mandiri Sekuritas is a one stop financial service that also facilitates stock and mutual fund transaction. You can access it on www.most.co.id. For those who want to learn investment, Mandiri Sekuritas provides an online learning facility at learning.most.co.id.

SBR-009 is one of the retail bonds currently being offered by the government and distribution partners, including by Mandiri Sekuritas. It was offered until February 13, 2020. Prepare yourself as the government will also offer SR-012 on February 24.

Visit https://sbn.most.co.id, complete the column, and enter your transaction PIN. Now you are ready to order SBR-009 with a minimum purchase of IDR 1 million.

February is a perfect time to tie your love with investment plan. You can still be as romantic as Kahlil Gibran and buy your Valentine a box of chocolate plus a shares purchasing voucher, for example. You can also buy mutual funds together. Ensure that you have a smart, healthy, and beneficial romantic relationship for your bright future.

Enjoy Valentine with Benefits!