Id also be happier to be married in a modest ceremony than single or engaged and wishing to be married. Whether a ring is 10 dollars or 10,000, whats important is one, what it means to you, and two, what it means to the person you give it to. Carl has been involved in the jewelry business since his youth. Its sad that a proper announcement of engagement is with photos of the ring on facebook and showing it off to family.

And especially if it is the symbol of your love and commitment to her. According to Business Insider, the average American spends $7000 on their engagement ring (https://www.businessinsider.com/engagement-ring-average-cost-by-state-2018-2).

General Rule: You should spend at least 2 months salary on the engagement ring.

Shop for diamonds at James Allen, a CreditDonkey #1 recommended partner for the best online experience. A lot of My ring cost Super-X$$$, but if you dont have the money, thats ok, because I still have a more expensive engagement ring than youetc comments flying around. If symbolism and bling make you happy (and seriously, whats not to like about either one? My husband gave me a stunning, flawless 2 carat Moissanite solitaire that LIGHTS UP THE ROOM everywhere I go. I bought a ring for 5 dollars. Best decision ever. My boyfriend has never bought me jewelry for any occasion and Ive never asked him to because I really dont care much about it. You know, rent utilities That would be about $3000 on his salary. We dont remember who broached the subject of marriage in the first place, since it was a mutual agreement. What might be even more shameful than buying a $3,000 engagement ring, in retrospect, is that I bought in to the whole engagement tradition. I asked my betrothed to point out rings she loved and she picked a piece of estate jewellery. They are made using high temperature and high pressure inside chambers. Mine cost around $16K and is around 1.5 his salary, but he said the ring was to prove his commitment to me. We simply decided to get married, there was no big proposal and I didnt want an engagement ring. If your jobs pays you 35k annual salary. Thinking of popping the big question soon? According to The Knot, non-diamond engagement rings are more popular now than ever (https://www.theknot.com/content/non-diamond-engagement-rings). Either way, you want to know. Theyve created a false scarcity and limited the resale market to prop up their prices. By the time we tallied the cash gifts from relatives, it turned out that we made a small profit. He was due to get orders to his next duty station and the thought of us being so apart from each other was more then either could bare. We may receive compensation if you shop through links in our content. Honestly, I wouldnt mind a very simple wedding maybe even one at a courthouse. It should be noted, while I love my ring and it was my dream ring it was not the one I told my fiance to get. Thats over $3000 in savings! Financing a ring could be a smart move for some. We moved out of state and my wife gets her ring cleaned every 6 months at the jeweler. Ive always wanted one. People in South Dakota spend the least with an average of $3,005.

I have a lovely half-carat sapphire wedding ring, which I still love. There was a wedding band in a matched set. Weve evolved. I wish you both good health, good fortune and good memories. I also take it further and do not believe in a fancy wedding band. There are those who want to calculate their budget based on the size of the center diamond. I still do not have an engagement ring, he wants to go and buy one, spend alot on it aswell, where as i know im happy with just a lol ring with some pink or light blue stones in it, then again i really couldnt care if i ever got one to be honest. After all, it was invented to get you to pay more money to a diamond retailer. After so many years of people following this system, the 2 months salary has become almost a tradition. (no judgment) If they are you probably will need that diamond just to keep things happy, and more jewelry down the line. really did quite figure that one out. There is no right or wrong answer. Why not reconsider a diamond ring as an aspirational acquisition for a future wedding anniversary, if it is to be acquired at all.

First engagement ring bought at Service Merchandise. Most brides feel extremely sentimental about their engagement rings. I hate it, I think it looks stupid but I love my ring. You can then choose the final design on your own and plan the surprise proposal. Online retailers are up to 40% cheaper than local jewelers and many offer free shipping and returns. When he asked me to marry him he surprised me completely with the dream ring and I was crying and saying yes over and over. Our wedding rings came to a grand total of $60 all together. From lab-grown diamonds to purchasing online, well show you how to save money. By the way, this tradition didnt evolve until the 19th century and really didnt take off until De Beers discovered mines in South Africa that drove the price of diamonds down and the ensuing 1930s and 1940s advertising campaigns to convince the American public that every girl should get a diamond. YES- He is a gift from God. :S, Before you buy, think hard about the person you are withare they materialistic? Some people like to spend money on travel. Thats all we ever dreamed of spending on silly rings. My husband is very practical. All I had to do was buy a replacement diamond chip as one of them had fallen out. But dont follow pineapple around all day tell it how much you dont like it.. A lot of guys have no problem spending tons of money on nice cars and if they dont spend a lot of money on a nice car then they want a cool sports car. Most expensive traditions that have been adopted in this country have been born of or at least amplified by corporate interests Valentines Day, spending hundreds on Christmas gifts, having at least 2 cars per family, the diamond engagement ring, spending 3 months of salary on an engagement ring, every aspect of the traditional wedding, building a home, getting a 3-4 bedroom with a 3-car garage, the Disney World family vacation, taking out a mortgage on a home, getting multiple degrees and taking out student loans, even funerals! As for a wedding, I dont see myself getting married at city hall, but I might like a secular ceremony in a park or yard with a handful of closest friends and immediate family. Well, hes a Republican, supports Trump, Im a Democrat, Bernie is much more to my taste, and we are still together, because we respect each other as equal persons. You still need to choose one that fits within your budget. Based on the research weve seen, we estimate that the average diamond size in the USA is 1.10 carats. While a stunning Kim K ring may have caught your eye, is it worth the debt? My logic is I throw Holiday parties that would trump a midweek or backyard wedding, so shouldnt I have something more for a special wedding day? While I had roundly laughed off the two-month rule of thumb Ive often heard (honestly, its patently ridiculous and everything in that range for me was garish, ugly, and overly complicated/heavy) I was still considering spending a couple thousand on a serious rock. If you need any band at all, why not just make it a wedding band? Her engagement ring was twice as expensive as our entire wedding and our honeymoon combined. My husband picked out the diamond and proposed with it on a throwaway setting and we had our setting designed during our engagement. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. For example, if you earn $48,000 per year, you should spend $8,000 to $12,000 on the ring. Good catch. Sure I had the money stashed away, but she wanted to use that for a down payment on a house.

Best part is -if they ever get lost or stolen , no loss. What one person can afford to spend (on whatever) should not be compared to another person that cannot afford the same expense. I would just like a small wedding band after we are married. I love that all of the ads on the page are for diamond rings. ITs a big deal to a women to have the perfect engagement. Five years later, and we upgraded it to a $6500 ring (she still have the original one in a jewelry box). This is less than 10% of your annual salary. You can use this engagement ring budget calculator as a guideline, but only you know your own financial situation. Click here for engagement rings between $1,000 and $8,000. For example, a 1.10 carat, round, D color, flawless diamond will cost approximately $19,000 and a 1.10, round J color, SI2 clarity diamond will cost approximately $4,200. Please note: This calculator generates a projected budget based on our 30+ years of experience in the market. But some women like, and prefer, the diamond ring and they shouldnt be judged on that by personal finance snobs (I include myself in that group :P ). They have been together for 2 years and we all knew that they would eventually get married. I can tell from previous comments that some women are put off by the notion that a ring shouldnt cost 3 months of salary. Hold your hair if you are sick and throwing up? For some people, it is easier to display affection only privately. I dont honestly know if my boyfriend will ever marry me as he was seriously burned by his ex-wife. ! That was our engagement ring. But youll need to do your research on reputable brands. We got a very good price because we were friends with a jewelry store owner. I full intend on still wearing the ring I have on now because it is special to me and I would like to one day hand it down to one of our children. Was it a sign? In fact, Ive seen the value of the modest collection beat my investment in the stock market over the time Ive been married. The data (without using any personal information) may be used in our engagement ring research. Still havent told her the price after 5 years. Online retailers offer good quality, usually for much cheaper than a local jeweler. She is much like me in that his love and commitment is all that matters but he is putting off proposing because he wants her to have a billboard ring.

So funny, I kept remembering all the old De Beers advertising campaigns from the 1980s and 1990s, which were no doubt spurred on by the efforts to mitigate the emerging markets discussed in the article. Its more important to spend money on the things you do together rather than a piece of metal that is worth nowhere near as much once it leaves the store. She thought it was stupid to spend a lot of money on a ring when we barely had anything. One reason people view weddings, and engagements differently comes from what they were taught at home. That is it, I also showed him other options that were far far far less expensive. wedding costs, at our house about 300.00 with the minister fees included. But it still was at that time as it is for any person who gets engaged. This is an important thing to remember about rings or any jewelry for that matter. I just got married about four months ago, and my husband actually spent more than 3 months salary on my engagement ring. This will leave you with enough money for a simple ring setting. If you really have no clue what kind of style she likes, then it's even a good idea to let your girlfriend pick out her own engagement ring. My brother bought his bride a plain old ring with a rainbow of non-precious stones in it, not a single diamond. Get a Beautiful Engagement Ring Without the High Price, most people get married in their late 20s, comparison review of James Allen and Blue Nile, Visit James Allen, our recommended online jeweler>>, spend 3 months salary on your engagement and wedding ring, Save 25% on Engagement Settings + Free Shipping, Brilliant Earth vs James Allen vs Blue Nile. I get the point that the tradition has its history in marketing and there may be better things to do with the money. You do not have to use our links, but you help support CreditDonkey if you do.

Some of us have a lot of family, so well be spending a decent chunk of money on food and booze for them. The excellent cut will make the diamond more brilliant and hide flaws and tints, so you can go cheaper on color and clarity. But that might not be possible, especially when you have other loans to deal with. Hopefully, after using our calculator, there wont be anyone still asking, How much am I supposed to spend on my engagement ring?. From hearing countless speculations like "your engagement ring must equal the value of your three months' salary" to wondering if you were underspending, you are simply confused. Love love love that man and we will never be into date nights and sparkly things and I can't even imagine judging his love based on the 'stuff' he gets me. But when he spoke to me about the ring after, because I felt badly for even liking it. That and not edible. Keep sporting your glorious ring on your finger cause with a ring that big, 5 boys in Africa died to mine that for you and another 5 children will starve in America cause you havent sold it to help a fellow American down on his luck in these Horrible Economical times! They will love and appreciate the fact that you spent the effort to find the perfect ring. Today the diamond itself is worth about $35K. It is the most important gift you will ever give, so you should both feel happy and comfortable with the decision. However, I look back upon the engagement and proposal process with a bit of embarrassment, even shame. But be careful because they could have some tricky terms. Dont let it stop you from being with the one you love.