Determining how much to spend on an engagement ring can be a hard thing. This is especially true due to there being many different engagement ring buying rules out there.
The most known engagement ring budget rule is probably the three month rule. This is where the engagement ring buyer determines how much to spend on an engagement ring based on what they make over a three month period.
So, if a person makes around $3,000 a month, that would mean that the engagement ring “should” cost around $9,000 according to the three month ring buying rule.
That is a ton of money for someone to spend on an engagement ring, especially when that’s just a total income of around $36,000 a year!
I am going to say OUT with this old ring buying rule.
Spending 25% of your annual income on an engagement ring just seems crazy.
Insane even.
I know I’ll probably get some flack for saying that, but I think busting your budget for an engagement ring is usually not a good idea…
Here are my tips to help you determine how much to spend on an engagement ring:
Create your own engagement ring budget.
When determining how much to spend on an engagement ring, you should first create a budget.
Throw out any rules that you have ever been given when it comes to buying an engagement ring and create your own budget.
Everyone lives different lives, and for there to be one single rule to apply to everyone just doesn’t make any sense.
When creating your engagement ring budget, you should think about:
- How much debt you have;
- How much your wedding will cost and whether you can afford it;
- How you want to start off your marriage financially;
- Whether you are making more money than you spend each month;
- Your financial goals; and more!
Save up exactly what you need before you buy an engagement ring.
Before you set out for the jewelry store, you should try to save up as much money as you can for it. This is so that you can skip the financing when deciding how much to spend on an engagement ring.
Financing a ring is something that you almost always want to skip, unless you know exactly what you’re doing, such as if you are given a 0% interest rate and you know how to 100% use it to your advantage (such as by already having that money saved up).
Financing is usually a bad idea because it can cause you to spend more money on an engagement ring than you can actually afford. When something is divided into monthly payments it may seem more affordable to a ring buyer, when in reality it is not!
Find an affordable engagement ring.
There are many affordable engagement rings out there. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on an engagement ring if you do not want to.
Also, if you want to spend a ton of money on an engagement ring, there is nothing wrong with that either! As long as it’s in your budget, you can do whatever you want to do. No one is going to stop you, but my piece of advice is to make sure that buying that expensive ring doesn’t stop you from reaching your financial goals in life.
Here are my tips for buying an affordable engagement ring:
- Buy less than a full carat size. For example, instead of buying a ring that is 1 full carat, you could buy one that is 0.90 or 0.95. This is because many diamonds are cut to the exact amount, and buying something that is slightly less means that the value has gone down. The difference is so insignificant anyways so it can be a great way to save money, and it’s not like anyone would ever notice.
- It’s not always about size. If your budget isn’t that high, it’s usually better to go for a more quality ring instead of focusing just on size.
- Buy diamonds which are eye-clean although possibly not internally flawless in order to save money on an engagement ring. Who is going to go up to the engagement ring with a magnifying glass anyways? As long as it looks great to you, I’m sure it’s still a good choice.
- Buy an engagement ring online. Buying online usually means cheaper prices and a greater selection.
- Go for something different. There’s MoissaniteCo (if I ever need a new ring, a moissanite ring is one I will probably get!) where you can get a beautiful moissanite ring for an affordable price. Or you could even go for a different gemstone and save money over having a diamond.
How do you think a person should determine how much to spend on an engagement ring? How much have you spent on an engagement ring or how much is the one that you’re wearing?
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I’ve always thought that 3 months worth was ridiculous. I made it super clear to The Fiance (when he was just The BF) that when he proposes to me, not only would I not want an expensive ring, but I would even get MAD if he got me an expensive ring! As long as it looks nice, I don’t really care how big it is or how many carats there are. That extra money can go towards something else.
The difficulty is that society pushes the idea of status as a material thing.The more expensive the ring the more he loves me. It is hard to escape this kind of ‘bs’ but I think a lot of people are moving away from being obsessed with ‘stuff’ and value experiences more.
That’s a good idea to look at the amount of money you have available before you buy a ring. As a woman, I agree that it seems a bit excessive to spend a quarter of your annual income on an engagement ring. You can get something beautiful without going into debt. Maybe I’ll ask for a ring with a different stone.
I have a moissante engagement ring! Everyone always comments on the sparkle since moissanite is more reflective than diamonds, but of course they have no idea!
Best decision my fiance and I ever made!
When my husband proposed and we went out to by the ring I specifically asked for the cheapest white gold diamond ring we could find. Mine cost £100. The ring is just a symbol to show to the world. I feel uneasy when people get hung up about the price of engagement rings as if they quantify the love of their partner for them.
I actually agree with you that busting your budget for a ring isn’t the best idea. I think you should spend a good amount of money for a nice ring, but still stay financially stable. Like you said, it’s a good idea to make your own ring budget.
Thank you for helping the dispel the old rule! Your goals and your priorities are so much more important than what you are “supposed to spend”. The salary rules for how much you should spend on an engagement ring actually came from a De Beers advertising campaign, although it feels like it comes from some sort of etiquette guide. They even managed to sway popular opinion that engagement rings should have diamonds. It feels like people have been using diamonds as engagement ring stones forever but in the 1930’s (before their ad campaign) only about 10% of engagement rings included a diamond. We ended up bucking the diamond trend and went with a sapphire as the main stone and haven’t regretted it at all.
For a budget-oriented person like me, I don’t really see the need in spending that much for engagement ring. I just want to be practical in all things. But of course it depends on each person or couple. 🙂