View Full Version : Poll: How Much $$ Should Guy Spend On Engagement Ring??
MissDewdrop
07-09-2008, 02:46 PM
I'd want a small, vintage, cute ring. It needn't have diamonds in it. Rather, I'd prefer something with sentimental value that looked pretty to me. I'd rather put the money towards an awesome honeymoon than a ring.
Paris
07-09-2008, 04:42 PM
The only answer is: Whatever she'll like wearing for the rest of her life.
The old fashioned rule was TWO months salary for anyone middle class or below. But that is a very old rule.
crazybeautiful28
07-09-2008, 04:47 PM
Having worked in a jewelry store, I know the ring/salary debate is a common one.
The norm is 2 months pay, and that is the average, but being generous is 3 months pay.....and let me tell you, if you are spending 50+ years with a woman, I would suggest being generous. So I guess you could say, "generous" is the "norm"
Anything less than a month salary, I say forget it. Unless you put a nice DP on a house...or take me somewhere REALLY FUCKING AWESOME for the honeymoon. And no, six flags does not fall under that criteria.
xdamage
07-09-2008, 05:23 PM
My SOs family was pretty broke. They sure didn't save anything for their daughters wedding. 95% of the bill was paid out of money I had put aside in a credit union on a $9 an hour job which I eventually worked up to $15 an hour. On that I paid my rent, food, school, a crappy car, insurance. I lived very frugal for a lot of years, but still saved a little. She got a very basic ring. I got a very basic ring. Everything about the ceremony was carefully priced to meet a budget.
If at any point she had said you are too cheap for me it would have been instantly over.
How much? If it's about love, it depends on how much you have. If it's about money, then the sky is the limit. If someone tells you it's about both, they need a serious reality check because having a lot of money and being in love are very VERY separable things.
RoseLeigh
07-09-2008, 06:36 PM
I honestly don't care. I want a green diamond anyway. not like a green colored diamond, but something that doesn't have blood in it's past. White gold setting please. LOL
THe most romantic thing I had ever seen was my best friend and her then fiancee. He scraped, sold, and busted his ass and could only afford a very small diamond ring. Like "godDAMN that's tiny" and the clarity wasn't that good...but he worked HARD for it and it was what he could afford. He took her to dinner and proposed to her...and it was the fact that she knew he busted his ass, sold some very precious things of his, etc to get that ring that made her bust down and cry, then accept. They make a fair amount of money now, and he's offered to replace the ring (since the quality is so poor) but she vehemently refuses. She says it reminds her how much he loves her and what they came from.
That's so cool.
I really think 3 month's salary is pushing it, unless they really have that much saved. Debt for a diamond is kind of dumb. For 3 month's salary, get me an engagement CAR. :P
Pretty_Penny
07-09-2008, 06:41 PM
I think engagement rings are a waste of money. Why not put it towards a down payment or pay off debt? That's better for the marriage in the long run........
My cousin is fucking broke, and her boyfriend (who lives in his car) just bought her a 3k engagement ring.
see, that's my thing too. i'd rather put the money toward good use or at -least- something really fun, like a vacation.
but i would feel the -need- to have a ring. i just know everyone would ask/wonder/whatever why i didn't "get one". i mean, i really shouldn't care what anyone else thinks, but it's more wanting to avoid akward conversation than caring. you know what i mean?
i guess i WOULD like a ring if a guy proposed.. but nothing super expensive. just simple and classy.
hardkandee
07-09-2008, 06:42 PM
It isn't about a dollar amount, but I don't know why everyone thinks that debt is necessary - SAVE people, SAVE!!
;)
MeanGirl
07-09-2008, 06:55 PM
fuckit, get a tattooed wedding band and engagement ring! you wont lose that down the sink....i hope!
My husband lost his wedding band and just tattooed my name on his ring finger.
My first wedding ring (at age 19) was 2 months his salary, which had nothing to do with our calculation it was just was we could afford. I lost it and got an identical one , a year later and the cost was about 400 dollars more that time. Then i thought I lost it again , like 5 years later but he traded it in for an upgrade that was more than triple the value and reproposed. I never expected that or needed it. He is more important to me than the value of my ring, but I think you should get the nicest ring within your budget, as it is impostant.
MeanGirl
07-09-2008, 06:58 PM
i voted as a man by accident, lol.
Sveta
07-09-2008, 06:59 PM
I wouldn't care how much was spent; what matters is just that it's pretty and is my style.
Then again, I'm not the best person to ask, since rings make my fingers itch so badly that I end up wearing them on necklace chains. :P
Perry
07-09-2008, 07:16 PM
I agree with the girls here. I'd like the small rock, big cock package, please. ;D
vivianbear
07-09-2008, 08:16 PM
I didn't vote. None of the options applied to me. After five weeks of dating my husband proposed to me by giving me his Navy SEAL Trident pin. He couldn't afford a ring at the time and I told him I don't like diamonds anyway. He didn't want to give me something I hadn't picked out myself. We found really nice bands at Tiffany's, though. A few months later, I ended up finding a really lovely ruby/diamond ring at a warehouse in Thailand. I wear that along with my band. Its subtle but its perfect as rubies are his birthstone anyway. Its all about the symbolism, for me.
glambman
07-09-2008, 08:19 PM
giving me his Navy SEAL Trident pin.
He gave you a beer? :P (you should get the meaning.)
CKXXX
07-09-2008, 08:21 PM
i think if the ring means more then the marriage you have issues
LoveComesFromWithin
07-09-2008, 08:24 PM
my promise ring cost more than a weeks salary...
AudreyLeigh
07-09-2008, 08:26 PM
I still dont have an engagement ring and Ive been married since November! I have a $40 white gold band.... I know he wants to get me a diamond - my aunt has a ring that appraised at $9200 shes willing to sell to him for $3,000 but honestly, weve got debt to pay and a downpayment to save. I'll get my ring... someday....
Thump
07-09-2008, 08:47 PM
2 months salary
Bunny
07-09-2008, 09:54 PM
he should spend a whole hell of a lot, that's how much! If he wants me to devote the entire REST OF MY LIFE to him the least he can do is buy me a big huge fucking rock for my finger.
PuertoRicanPinup
07-09-2008, 10:09 PM
I think it depends on the situation. If I dated a guy who was just starting out in life getting financially stable, buying a house etc. and I was completely head over heels in love and wanted to get married, then I wouldn't care about a fat rock. It would just have to be something nice to symbolize us. My bf *is* financially stable, older (46) and has never been married, so all those things combined, I think 2 carats is good. :-)
JDanielle
07-09-2008, 11:10 PM
Engagament rings are a waste to me too. Get me some lookalike from Claire's for $10, and let's go put the moneyt owards a downpayment or savings.
Agreed. Our first rings were 25 cent baseball rings from the prize case were we worked. They broke of course, and we went without for a long time. Recently one of our friends made some custom rings for us with our favorite animals on them. They mean a lot more to me than a jewel would, and are %100 one of a kind.
threlayer
07-10-2008, 02:15 PM
i think if the ring means more then the marriage you have issues
This is exactly what I was trying to say. Who said that a RING is even necessary for marrige, let alone a quarter year's pay. I mean that is just ridiculous. It's just an outdated tradition from the 6th century or something, when they just did it, not think about their future in competitive times. Yeah, I know it is a sign that men with integrity will obey and leave you alone, but even that mostly doesn't work.
You got money to burn and want to impress that wench? Yeah, spluge on some pretty colored stone and a few grams of gold. Then buy that BMW and forego on the Bentley.
jessica_rabbit
07-10-2008, 02:23 PM
As a general rule I'd say 1 month salary is about right. However... jewelry is not really my thing. I'd prefer my guy to spend the money in other ways. But I think the idea here is for a man to put his money where his mouth is and pony up a sizable chunk of change for your benefit. It shows he's serious about the commitment. So even though I don't want a huge rock, I'm not letting my man off THAT easily.
NinaDaisy
07-10-2008, 02:24 PM
Diamonds are inflated in value, massively.
Theoretically, they're expensive because they're "rare". But every mall with a Zales and even Wal-Mart sells diamond jewelry.
The whole industry is basically run by DeBeers, the fine Dutch cartel (and they ARE a cartel, do a little research to read up on their so-called business practices) that makes those sappy commercials that make us cry when we're PMSing.
So yeah, I guess I have mostly conscience issues with the expense related to it.
I'd be fine with just a wedding band. I don't need to walk around with a rock stacked on top.
Plus, I think I'd be worried pretty often about losing it or having it stolen, especially if flashing some big rock.
On, and BTW, I believe Moissanite is molecularly identical to diamonds. They're way better than CZ's and have the "fire" that makes diamonds sparkle the way they do.
UltraViolet
07-10-2008, 02:35 PM
I'm curiouse, would anyone considered using an heirloom ring or diamound (mom's, his mom's, grandmother's) from a marriage that ended in divorce? It would save money, but maybe have bad memories or - eep! - bad luck attached to it??
I'm a bit superstitious that sort of thing.
Not a female wedding ring but....
R wears his wedding band from his previous marriage for this one. He didn't have it when we first got married, but found it afterwards. At first I didn't want him to wear it because it was from his previous marriage. But I finally decided I was fine with it. It doesn't matter where the ring technically came from, it matters what it symbolizes now: marriage, and in the present sense and hopefully the long distance future to come, to me :)
That and we can't afford another ring for him right now.
LadyLuck
07-10-2008, 02:38 PM
fuckit, get a tattooed wedding band and engagement ring! you wont lose that down the sink....i hope!
A good idea for those into ink for sure!