% of salary - what's a reasonable amount to spend on engagement ring?

[sinniebunnie]

Go to my bunnys myspace.. i just posted her first video!


www.myspace.com/sinniebunnie

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Well... if he can not afford the diamond you want.. then just wait a few years and then do the deed =) i'm 22 hitting my 4th year together and have no plans on marriage just yet.. maybe in a few years when i am 25/26 then he should be done with school, stable job.. then maybe just maybe my diamond will come! till then i will be here drooling at everyone else

Yeah, I have *zero* attachment to inanimate objects simply because they're supposed imbued with meaning. I've sold off jewelry that ex-boyfriends have given me. I've returned jewelry while I was still with them also. Everyone is different, though.

oh yeah i pawned my promise rings from my ex and i asked for his back to pawn that as well

 

[VenetiaWanter]

I am kinda against upgrading. Because when you do so, the diamond he asked you to get married with won't be there. It kinda loses it meaning of an ering. It will be just be a bigger random diamond. Maybe i am mixing it up with the wedding band.. now that should never be upgraded

I guess so lol, but anyways, I still wanna tiffanys e-ring lol

 

[IntlSet]

Go to my bunnys myspace.. i just posted her first video!


www.myspace.com/sinniebunnie

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Well... if he can not afford the diamond you want.. then just wait a few years and then do the deed =) i'm 22 hitting my 4th year together and have no plans on marriage just yet.. maybe in a few years when i am 25/26 then he should be done with school, stable job.. then maybe just maybe my diamond will come! till then i will be here drooling at everyone else


oh yeah i pawned my promise rings from my ex and i asked for his back to pawn that as well

Oh, don't worry -- the longer we wait, the bigger my ring better be! It is increasing EXPONENTIALLY as we speak! Only half kidding... I'm in no rush, anyway, I'm only 23.

 

[sinniebunnie]

I guess so lol, but anyways, I still wanna tiffanys e-ring lol

Oh wow.. Tiffany.. i swear it must be the lighting but when i go in there i come out blind!

i love their simple 6 prong band though, its slightly lifted on the band...

 

[HauteMama]

That '2 months salary' notion is just some idiotic thing that deBeers came up with in their marketing campaign to give both men and women the idea that this is customary and expected. Spend what you feel comfortable with in your current financial circumstances. That's the only rule-of-thumb that should ever be followed!!!

I totally agree. DeBeers had the ultimate success in fleecing people with that ad campaign. People ought to spend what they are comfortable with and what fits their budget. If your budget allows for thousands to be spent, then great. But for people to start their lives together with debt (either from a ring or a wedding, but that's another subject entirely!) is simply foolish. People so often spend enormous amounts on an engagement and wedding with no thought to the MARRIAGE!

 

[IntlSet]

^^^
Great point, Haute Mama! I hope we will have a house first, or else I would feel a little foolish with a ring that's worth a downpayment. He's trying to buy a condo in the next couple of years -- he's working on a downpayment. I promise not to fleece that account for my ring.

 

[heat97]

intlset, that is exactly what I am doing. I'm 25, and it was very important for me to have a home first and ring second. I was just thinking logically what was a better investment at 23/24. We bought a condo together last february and I am anxiously waiting my e-ring. To me it was definitely more important to have a "home" first, ring second.

 

[elizat]

I totally agree. DeBeers had the ultimate success in fleecing people with that ad campaign. People ought to spend what they are comfortable with and what fits their budget. If your budget allows for thousands to be spent, then great. But for people to start their lives together with debt (either from a ring or a wedding, but that's another subject entirely!) is simply foolish. People so often spend enormous amounts on an engagement and wedding with no thought to the MARRIAGE!

I agree w/ this 100%.

Spend what you want and what is comfortable for the budget. I personally am strongly against any sort of debt for a wedding- including rings, like HauteMama.

 

[Danica]

Oh, don't worry -- the longer we wait, the bigger my ring better be! It is increasing EXPONENTIALLY as we speak! Only half kidding... I'm in no rush, anyway, I'm only 23.

That's how I feel, and I'll be married for 3 years in the fall!!! (with no ring!!!) I keep telling him it's getting bigger and bigger. But honestly he makes more in two months then I would expect him to pay for an e-ring. I have a price point in mind and I'll be able to have a lovely, beautiful ring for that amount. He of course thinks my price point is too steep. haha I think it's more than fair considering.... I believe it's really a personal choice and what your taste is.

 

[sinniebunnie]

weddings.. i don't even know how much they run from simple to medium.. I am guessing its either fancy wedding or rock? I'd take the rock. Maybe i will just go to city hall and save the trouble hehe

 

[Swanky]

-- My opinion.. Spending more than 10k on a ring is crazy to me.. My ideal size is a 1.0 maybe 1.25 max ct weight and i am fine with a G SI, which is about 5-7k for me. It really depends on do you want top color, clarity and size?--

I'm happily insane!

I am kinda against upgrading. Because when you do so, the diamond he asked you to get married with won't be there. It kinda loses it meaning of an ering. It will be just be a bigger random diamond. Maybe i am mixing it up with the wedding band.. now that should never be upgraded

Actually, a lot of people don't turn their original stone in when they upgrade, so "it not being there" isn't true for a lot of gals.
Not me though. . . my princess cut was no longer a reflection of my style or personality, and although it's the original stone DH proposed w/, he just knew I wanted Princess and got it. . . it's not like he labored over what to get me and chose it himself. Neither of us felt any powerful sentimentality towards it.
KWIM?
That said, I am TOTALLY w/ Annie on this:

Yeah, I have *zero* attachment to inanimate objects simply because they're supposed imbued with meaning. I've sold off jewelry that ex-boyfriends have given me. I've returned jewelry while I was still with them also. Everyone is different, though.

it's not the stone that holds the symbolism for me. . . it's the whole thing, it's the thought that goes into how he proposed and the feelings we felt. . . not about a piece of carbon on prongs
I got an upgrade and when I look at it, it's still a "ring" to me, a circle and the symbolism that goes w/ that.

I agree, to each their own

 

[sinniebunnie]

Diamonds are carbon? News to me.. I guess i am more like its the pebble he used to ask me to marry him.. (pebble and the penguin) Steal the deal? Token of devote-ment (yeah thats not even a word)? The size of the "carbon" isn't what i am after, its just getting the ring in general. I always put ering and marriage together. Its sad how guys don't get big diamonds like us. I'm sure some part of them wants one too, or maybe they prefer a big screen TV.

If i am unhappy about its size i will just throw a halo on it i've seen some really really nice halo's in the ering pictures and i might just be in love.

Oh and swanky, if i had your ring.. i wouldn't take my eyes off it.

 

[IntlSet]

I'm happily insane!

Umm -- if you're insane, can I also be insane???

 

[x joie]

I admit, I have high expectations for the ring... We have very, very different view points about luxury items like engagement rings. He's the kind of guy who makes a decent amount of money but refuses to get himself anything better than a used $30 bike to ride around. His biggest indulgences are math and physics books. The only thing he really spends a lot of money on is me.

He thinks it is positively idiotic to have anything more than the bare minimum to indicate that you're engaged.

I can totally relate to this. My bf is the exact same way- I am pretty much his only indulgence. I mean, the guy eats $2 subway sandwiches everyday-- and is thrilled with it! I am usually glad I am the only materialistic one in the relationship.. but with certain items, like an e-ring, it makes for a potentially difficult talk. I have always wanted a specific ring and he respects that.. we kid that we are waiting until his three months = my ring's cost!

It is such a personal decision.. My bff died when I casually mentioned how much my ideal ring cost. Apparently, mine was about 8 times what she had envisioned her own to cost. That was a bit of an awkward conversation as well..

 

[ilzabet]

my brain keeps coming back to my rings should not cost more than our cars are worth. i don't know why that is (i'm not a car person)....but i feel like even if we made boucoup bucks i wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a brand new midprice sedan on my hand in any circumstance.