This post from The Engagement Ring Checklist will help you decide what amount of money is right to spend on an engagement ring. Read on to see how much you should budget for an engagement ring and how to create a budget for an engagement ring.
One of the first steps to proposing marriage to the person you love is to determine how you want to go about getting an engagement ring, if you want to get one at all. Many couples these days decide not to symbolize their union with an engagement ring but for those of you who DO want to propose with an engagement ring (or who’s partners have made it known that they WANT an engagement ring), one major question you’ll need to answer for yourself is: how much should you spend on an engagement ring?
The Three Month’s Salary Rule
If you’re shopping for an engagement ring and trying to determine how much you should spend, you’ve probably come across the well-known adage that you should spend three month’s salary on an engagement ring.
This is bad advice.
Why is spending three month’s salary on an engagement ring bad advice?
Because it’s not consistent advice across the board. Let’s say you make a lot of money every month and that would equate to a hundred thousand dollars for an engagement ring. If that’s what you want to spend on an engagement ring by all means go for it, but the average cost of an engagement ring is about $6,000.00 (USD). Most people wouldn’t and don’t expect an engagement ring to cost upwards of six figures (though some celebrity rings do!), so you can see how the advice to spend three month’s salary doesn’t really apply here.
The same is true for someone who doesn’t make a lot of money. What is spending three month’s salary on an engagement ring will break your budget and cause financial stress? That’s a terrible way to start a marriage and you don’t want the thing that’s supposed to symbolize your commitment to one another (the engagement ring) to become the symbol of stress in the relationship.
So how do you determine what budget to you should use when deciding to purchase an engagement ring?
This advice has proven to be very beneficial when others have come to us looking for advice on how much to spend on an engagement ring.
Picture a number in your head that you feel is astronomical for an engagement ring, a ridiculous amount. Now take off 10% of that amount. Is the number still too high? Take off another 10%.
Keep reducing the amount in your head by 10% until you get to a figure that you’re comfortable with. The amount you spend on an engagement ring should make you think twice about the commitment you’re about to make but it shouldn’t be a number that causes you financial agony. Remember, an engagement ring is a symbol of your commitment to the person you chose and starting off a union with regret and tension over the cost of the ring is a surefire way to turn one of the happiest moments of your life into one of the most stressful.
We hope this article about how much you should spend on an engagement ring and how to budget for an engagement ring was helpful!
