The Engagement Ring: How Much Should You Spend?

Matthew Paulson, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Mar 8, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Buying an engagement ring is like walking through a mine field blindfolded with your special someone on the other side. Chances are it's the first and only time you'll ever have to do this, and there are a lot of opportunities for you to get ripped-off if you don't do everything exactly right. Fortunately if you navigate this minefield properly with guidance, you'll pick out a very special ring for the woman you are to marry. One of the most common questions young men have about engagement rings is "How Much Should I spend?" Let's find out.

The jewelry industry has done a great job of subconsciously persuading us that "2 months salary" is the norm. If you made $30000 a year, chances are they would think that $4000 is an acceptable right after taxes. Most jewelry stores would try to sell him up to a $5000 ring too. This is just far too much money as a percentage of one's income to spend. Their standard "2 months salary" is 17% of your annual income. As much as you love your soon to be wife, that's just too much money! They'll say things such as, "you do want to get yourself the best ring, right?" It's almost as if they subconsciously link your wife's love to how much you spend on the ring. Don't fall for these myths, ever!

2 months salary is out of the question for practically everyone. You don't want to spend a huge chunk of money right before an expensive wedding, but you do want to get your special someone a very nice ring. Don't worry; you can get a very beautiful engagement ring for a fraction of what the mall and what other downtown jewelry stores have to say. You have to do the research though in order to get a good buy. Personally I read two different books on engagement rings and diamonds just so I wouldn't mess up the process. I highly suggest that any guy wanting to buy a ring picks up "Engagement & Wedding Rings" By Antoinette L. Matlins and Antonio Bonanno. This'll take you through all of the different aspects of a ring, and about what you should pay for them.

There's no hard and fast dollar amount as to what's appropriate to spend, but it's relative to how much you earn, and how much you can afford to spend. I was a Junior in college when I bought my engagement ring, and got a very respectable ring from Blue Nile that my fiancé loved for $1000.00, which was nowhere near 2 months salary for me. If you have a lot of debt and other things you have to pay for, you should tend toward a less expensive ring such as the one that I bought for $1000, or maybe even a little bit less. If you're well off and are making plenty of money, there's nothing wrong spending more on an engagement ring either, just buy what you can afford to.

Published by Matthew Paulson

I am a very busy undergraduate, I'm involved with nine different campus organizations and work five different jobs. Most notably, I am the editor-in-chief of DSU's Trojan Times. View profile

The Engagement Ring: How Much Should You Spend?

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