Everything comes with a price, whether it’s vacations, health care or even education. No matter what we’re after in this life, we are faced with a price tag and it is up to us to decide if it’s worth the asking price. It’s right there in black-and-white, so we know what we’re getting ourselves into from the get-go.

But what exactly is the cost of a relationship?

The dollars and cents involved with dinners out on the town, elaborate gifts and oh-so-many apology bouquets add up. But the personal tariff counts for a whole lot more.

It’s easy to go back over our relationship histories and label each mile marker a heartbreak, but the bumpy roads of our pasts is not all just smooth pavement and gaping canyons; there are series of small potholes and flat tires along the way that contribute to the costs of repairs.

With our busy college lives filled with classes, co-ops and extracurriculars, making and breaking plans is par for the course. There are also missed calls, nary-replied e-mails and even the occasional “I was so drunk, I swear I didn’t mean to kiss that other person!”

While in hindsight, we glaze over these little developments for the sake of simply stating each relationship’s success or failure, they come at a heavy emotional price.

Unfortunately, no one has devised a system to measure the severity of the flubs and foibles of a blossoming romance. And so we are sent back to the ancient marketplace to haggle the worth of a missed date. Is it worth a full-blown apology? Should I call? Should I wait for him/her to call?

Do I have a right to be angry?

And that is truly the imperative question. With each romantic grievance, we all need to stop and essentially ask ourselves: How much is this worth?

Each person has their own emotional budget, just how much we’re willing to spend to stay with our respective partners. What may seem like a bargain for some may put others on relationship welfare, changing the prices with each new romance.

If you do weigh the worth of a wrongdoing, are you then owed any dating compensation? If your partner consistently cancels plans, should they be obliged to double phone calls to make up the difference?

Even if you can settle on an appropriate charge, it is unlikely your partner will agree to the expense. It could lead to a financial negotiation not even Time Warner could successfully navigate. What happens if you can’t pay off your tab? Do you default on your relationship?

Without the help of an ATM slip to tell me where my own emotional balance stands, I am forcing myself to conduct a sort of heart audit. For every deposit (nice birthdays, romantic dinners, endearing proclamations, etc.), there seems to be at least twice as many deductions (lonely nights, missed connections, emotional detachment). I fear I may soon be overdrawn.

But before I start worrying about falling into the emotional red, it’s worth considering maybe I’m actually to blame for putting myself on the fast track to relationship bankruptcy. Perhaps I’m placing too much value on the small stuff and not seeing the greater good I’m funding. And in the end, isn’t that what I’ve been saving up for?

Successful relationships are expensive. Like anything else in today’s consumer market, you get what you pay for. At one point or another, we’ve all had experience saving our allowances for a shiny new bicycle or putting aside money for holiday shopping. It’s great to budget, but you can pinch pennies your whole life. What good is it until you eventually splurge?

Maybe the best bet is to find someone worth all the money in the world, accept all the past charges, break out the piggy bank and put your money where your heart is.

– Contributed by a member of The News staff.