To all the ladies in the house, you’re in for a real treat! To all the fellas thinking about proposing, maybe not! It all depends on how materialistic you are in the first place. Even if you are already married ladies, point your hubby to this article about the new rule for engagement ring buying. If you do, you might just get a ring upgrade!
So what’s the new rule for engagement ring buying you ask?
Well before we get into the most obvious new engagement buying rule all of society should follow, let’s discuss some of the current ridiculous engagement ring rules that must be thrown out the window!
Current Engagement Ring Buying Rules
The following are the present engagement ring buying rules that seem outdated today.
1) The Three Months Gross Salary Rule
This rule stipulates that if a man makes $80,000 a year, he should spend $20,000 on an engagement ring! What kind of nut came up with that idea?
There’s really no rhyme or reason why a man should spend three months of his gross salary on an engagement ring, let alone two months. After taxes, three months gross is equivalent to about 1/3rd his take home pay.
Imagine if the man makes $480,000 a year, a top 1% income. Is he supposed to buy her a $120,000 Harry Winston pink diamond? That’s ridiculous. People don’t get to top income and wealth levels by spending so frivolously.
Here are some variations of the three months gross salary rule:
A) The Three Months Net Salary Rule. Crazy!
B) The Two Months Gross or Net Salary Rule. Nuts!
C) The 1 Month Gross or Net Salary Rule. OK, not so bad as it’s under 1/10th a person’s annual gross or net income. I’m OK with spending one month’s gross salary on an engagement ring.
2) The Age Rule
Another crazy engagement ring buying rule is to buy a quality ring whose size is equivalent to the age of the woman. For example, if the man proposes to a 32-year-old woman, he should buy a 3.2 carat diamond engagement ring! Wow! Even if he proposes to a young 18-year-old, that’s still 1.8 carats.
What if you’re a late bloomer, or are simply into older partners? Is a person supposed to buy a 50-year-old vixen a 5.0 carat ring? Forget it! Those diamond engagement rings are unaffordable to most people.
A very rich woman in the investment industry told me about this Age rule one day. She showed me her 3 carat, E color, VVS1 princess cut diamond as proof. Poor guy.
Related: The Best Age To Have A Baby
3) The Beauty Rule
This could be the most dangerous rule as it is all-or-none. Essentially, every man before proposing will say how beautiful his girlfriend is. The problem with showering her with praise such as, “You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” or “Your beauty makes the stars look dim” is that you are setting expectations incredibly high!
Your fiancé will rightly think that if she really is the most beautiful woman in the world, she better get the biggest, most beautiful rock in the world! If I am a 10/10, then you better give me the most luxurious engagement ring among all my girlfriends.
If her best girlfriend has a $50,000 ring, you best get your fiancé at least a $51,000 if she is truly the most beautiful person in the world.
Women will pretend to tell you they don’t care what ring you get. But don’t listen, not for one second, unless you want to start sleeping on the couch.
Therefore, if you want to save money on an engagement ring, you may want to tone down your lavish praise on beauty and focus more on other attributes. Some suggestions include:
- You are a multi-tasking warrior! I love you!
- You really know your sports teams. I love you!
- Your meatloaf is the best. Will you marry me?
The Solution: The Car Rule For Engagement Ring Buying
Now that you understand the various outdated engagement ring buying rules for guys to follow let’s talk about the new rule for engagement ring buying. It is called: The Car Rule For Engagement Ring Buying.
The Car Rule For Engagement Ring Buying simply states that a man should spend up to, but no more than the initial purchase price of his car!
Most guys like cars. The more obsessed he is about cars, the bigger and better your potential ring. We all realize that buying a car hurts our finances because it’s a depreciating asset. Yet, guys still overspend anyway, and in a big way.
If a guy making $80,000 a year is dumb enough to buy a $50,000 Cadillac Escalade, you should most definitely demand he spend $50,000 on a 2 carat, Tiffany Novo ring that is an E color with VVS1 clarity! Blow up his finances with glee!
Conversely, if your man is fortunate enough to make $300,000 a year, but drives a 10 year old Honda Civic he bought for $3,000 8 years ago, then all you can really hope for is that he buys you a nice 0.25 carat, H color, VS2 ring from a generic store.
Starting your marriage off with financial equality and financial discipline is the right thing to do. Money consistently ranks up there as the top reason couples fight.
Unless you live in New York City, San Francisco, or Los Angeles where the average carat size is about 1.5, forget about keeping up with the Joneses. The national average carat size is around 1 carat, so stop being greedy!
Finally, if the man so happens to be the biggest nature lover on earth and takes the bus and rides his bike, well, you’re out of luck! There is no way you can demand anything more than a Push Pop ring!
Be Practical With Your Engagement Ring Purchase
Cars are to men what engagement rings and are to women. If your man can’t spend as much money for a ring as he does on his car, this may be a bad omen for your marriage.
He is being completely selfish if he hints to you that spending money on a nice engagement ring is a waste of money. This is especially true if he’s sporting anything MORE than a $22,000 Honda Civic in his garage!
If a man follows the 1/10th rule for car buying, he’ll never be stuck in this engagement buying predicament. Of course, the woman can be incredibly gracious and tell him only love matters. But we all know women are just being nice!
If you want to build a strong financial future together, spending as little as possible on an engagement ring makes the most sense. You can use the money you saved to invest in the stock market, save up for a down payment, or do any number of more financially responsible things.
Remember, the more expensive your engagement ring, the greater the cost to insure it. Further, if you lose your engagement ring or get robbed, the loss will feel much worse.
If you’re still early in your financial journey, then get the cheapest engagement ring possible. There’s no law that says you have to get a diamond engagement ring. There are plenty of gemstones that look beautiful and cost a lot less. Further, you can get manmade diamond engagement rings as well.
Once you’ve built up a good amount of wealth, you can always “upgrade” to a nicer engagement ring. You can use this opportunity to renew your vows as well.
Top 20 Most Popular Engagement Rings
Curious what the most popular engagement ring designs are right now? Check out the latest top 20 most popular engagement rings. There are so many beautiful choices nowadays with that wow factor you’re looking for.
It’s hard to go wrong with a classic solitaire of course. But, it’s definitely worth looking at the top 20 engagement ring designs. As her for her opinion as well. If you do, chances are much higher she’ll be ecstatic with whatever ring you choose.
After all, you know the first thing everyone (at least your female friends) will say when they find out you’re engaged is, “Congrats! Show me the ring!!”
If you want to add your own personal touches to one of the most popular engagement ring designs or get a custom ring , it’s easier than ever to do so now. Blue Nile, the first and largest on-line diamond retailer, has a Build Your Own Ring feature that lets you choose from over 300 settings.
Filter by price, metal, metal karat, band width, designer, material and more. Once you find a setting, select a diamond using convenient filters for price, carat, cut, clarity, color and much more.
Being able to browse for engagement rings and compare prices from home or anywhere you have internet access without the pressure of a salesperson staring at you the whole time is super convenient and so much less stressful. I also recommend reading my Diamond Engagement Ring Buying Tips For Couples.
If you are going to buy an engagement ring, just make sure you spend within your means. You can following my engagement ring buying rule or not. At the end of the day, make sure you start your marriage off on a financially good footing.
Related: The Average Net Worth For The Above Average Married Couple
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For more nuanced personal finance content, join 50,000+ others and sign up for the free Financial Samurai newsletter. Financial Samurai is one of the largest independently-owned personal finance sites that started in 2009. The new rule for engagement ring buying is a FS original post.
What about pegging it to your own jewelry?
I own two cars, both Mercedes Benzes. One was $47,000 and the other $55,000. Do I go with the cheapest or most expensive or split the difference and go with the average? If it’s the latter, I’m buying an old $500 beater to statistically lower the average!
What about pegging it to your own jewelry? I have a $15,000 Rolex. I always figured what’s good enough for me, in terms of my absolute best of piece of jewelry, is fair for an engagement ring.
I think that’s a better financial investment comparison than one’s car. I always figured that if I ever bought an engagement ring, I’d like for something is neighborhood of my watch like $12,000 – $20,000.
Honestly, is there a noticeable difference to the average person between a $20,000 diamond and $50,000 one.
I think you’ve got to buy a $102,000 ring since $47,000 + $55,000 = $102,000. If you buy her a cheaper ring, what does that say about your love for her vs. the love of cars?
I guess the same comparison could be implied to a woman and her purse. If a women buys a $1000 purse for her self on Christmas she must buy her husband something of equal value to contest her love for him. This is how you sound when you blog! You truly should stop blogging because you sound incredibly dumb!
Thank you!
Not my fault this post is one of the top ranked engagement ring posts on the web.
What is your advice wise one?
Are you out of your mind? What exactly does the chick bring to the table? The pleasure of her company? Rules like this are antiquated and need to be stopped – we’ve outgrown them as a society. Plus, that money is, in effect, coming out of both spouse’s pockets so time to access where it’s really needed.
I am not sure I get this at all. Someone making $200,000 should be buying a car at about 20k. That makes zero sense. 200k is a great living. No way that person is driving a 20k$ car. I personally make about 300k and I drive a 60k car, easy. I save a good amount of money and I own my condo with over a 1/3 put down into the deposit. I wear watches that can cost up to 20k. I just bought a ring. I spent 24k on a nearly perfect diamond that is 1.64 and is in a platinum setting. I think the article comes from a good place, but the logic is way flawed. I don’t know one person spending 1/10 their income on a car.
What happens when the groom’s parent has bought him a car every couple of years, So hence, over the years he has spend 0 on cars?
He bought me a nice big brilliant rock anyway, but I insisted for our upgrade that I trade-in at least 4 rings that I had sitting around. I don’t want him to pay more than he has to, so we trading in my 4 rings, and got up 4 grand toward the upgrade. But still, some guys have parents who do buy them cars like mine. We have no car payments whatsoever, so he can afford to get me a really nice ring anyway – which he did! He says “I deserve to wear a nice rock like this!” Just my kind of man. We’ve been married for over 25 years too!
Not sure I know of any cases where a grown man’s parents still buy him a car every couple years. Maybe have the groom’s parents buy the bride the ring then?
I guess this article is targeted towards folks who pay their own way.
I know plenty of people whose parents buy them a car. My mother got my sister a car and uncle paid for half of my cousin’s car in addition to giving his son a car. (All those relatives who got free cars are in their mid-to-late 20s.) I can go on and on. In fact, my mother got a one-carat wedding ring for my sister. The groom didn’t pay anything. I’m glad for them, but at that same time, I want them to be financially independent. I also have a good friend who got her car from her mother before she passed. And I also have a male friend who got a car from his dad as well. It’s a pretty common thing. I feel, however, that it’s more important to be financially independent. I also have older adult friends who got a very expensive car as a gift from another friend. I could go on and on, but I can think of plenty of adults in their mid-20s and beyond who do get free cars from either friends or family members.
You are right. I just bought another home and discovered all my neighbors have been supported by their parents.
https://www.financialsamurai.com/a-massive-generational-wealth-transfer-is-why-everything-will-be-ok/
Yeah, dipshit. I read your other shitty article and heroin addicts are more financially savvy than you. Last time I checked a fucking Prius couldn’t pull a 20,000 pound trailer with construction equipment to Maine! Moreover, my last vehicle was a tacoma purchased new for 30k. I’ve done all my own maintenance (literally nothing but oil and filter every 5k) and it’s in perfect condition. Show me a 3000$ civic (it’ll have about 250,000 miles on it) that will reliably go an additional 250,000 miles without serious repairs.
Sorry you don’t have much money. But with the way you write it’s obvious why. Nobody’s fault but your own boy! Now get back to work in hauling crap for a living.
I don’t understand why there are so many haters and negative comments on this article. If you find it ridiculous that someone who makes 50k a year income should buy a car worth 5k, then go right ahead and buy the car of your dreams. Yes its true the average person who makes 50k won’t be seen driving a 5k car, but then how many people do you know that are already retired and financially free? Not many, probably because they have the same mentality. The author is simply trying to advise us that in order to retire quicker, you shouldn’t be pissing half your income on a depreciating asset. After all, he is retired and works for himself at a relatively young age. How many of you are in a position to say that?
Since I started following FS, I’ve cut my spending by $700 per month. Is that enough to make me rich? Prob not, but at least I am doing everything I can to keep more of my hard earned money without sacrificing comfort or pleasure, and it feels great.
Most things that I read on the internet don’t usually bother me, but this article actually makes me angry that someone so utterly retarded exists in society. Let me get this straight, if I make 90000 a year and buy a new toyota, that I plan to keep for 15 years, that cost 30k then I’m supposed to buy a 30000 dollar ring? What if I work in construction making 80k a year, but buy a 40000 diesel truck, required for my job, then I’m supposed to spend roughly 90% of my annual take home? Truck drivers (owner/operators) often pay 150-200k for their rig, make 80-100k and are expected to spend 150k on a ring? The author of this article cannot possibly be a self-supporting adult, because there’s no way someone so stupid would survive, even in our world of govt handouts.
That’s correct! Your woman can expect you to spend up to $30,000 or $40,000 a year because your genius self spent a whopping 30-50% on a depreciating vehicle!
I know this post takes multi variable thinking which all results on you, but you can do it!
https://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/10/06/the-110th-rule-for-car-buying-everyone-must-follow/
What the hell? Its ridiculous to spend 20k on an engagement ring with the 3 month rule but you want people to spend as much on the initial purchase of their car? A decent new car is easily 20-30k? Stupid Rules same outcome.
This article is trash.
What part of the 1/10th rule for car buying do you not understand?
If you own a $20-30k car you are making $200,000-$300,000 a year. You sure you can do math?
Completely Agree
+2.. I guess all the median salary earners making 35-40K a year driving 20K cars are actually earning 200K! I should go tell them!
That’s correct. Stealth Wealth lives on! Shhhhhh
I’m a 30-something gay man thinking of proposing to my boyfriend in the next year or two. Since we have a healthy relationship and communicate, he jokingly passed this article on to me. My simple conclusion?
Whoever wrote that article is a materialistic, sexist piece of junk. Women wonder why some men condescend them when it comes to finances and jewelry? Here’s an example of why:
“If your man can’t spend as much money for a ring as he does on his car, you’ve got a problem.”
Are you serious? A car is a tool – it’s a necessity required to go to work every day and get back. You spend hours a day in it, so comfort is important, as are things like reliability, resale value, and economy. A ring is JEWELRY. It has no function. It is not necessary. You would be just as engaged (or married) without a ring at all (or with a plastic cracker jack ring) as you would with a $100,000 ring. You would love your partner just as much (or in the case of this article, as little) regardless.
Placing the value this joker places on jewelry should make any thinking person ashamed. But then, I guess the author doesn’t fall into that category, considering his/her posts in this thread.
Unless Poe’s Law, in which case, DOH!
Alex, you misinterpret the article, but I love your response anyway. The article actually serves to earn men of wasting so much money on a car that depreciates in value and also makes fun of the outrageous prices people spend on engagement rings.
Go easy on your partner OK? Or sell your car quick and buy a bicycle instead!!
This article does ot help men. It reinforces the old sex roles which, in this case, benefits women. I do not think men should buy engagement rings. I think both people should go in on them together and that they should be very inexpensive. if a Wedding ring is to be bought then they should go in on his and her wedding rings. If he absolutely has to buy her a ring then let her pick it out and then tell her how many years of committment it will take to earn the ring. With the divorce rate as high as it is this process makes the most sense. The ruke has always been “Men pay for sex.”It may be a drink or a dinner or a ring, but either way it is paying for sex.
How about this for advice, don’t like marriage, don’t get married. Don’t like women, than date a man or be alone for the rest of your life. Seriously, men like you will never be happy because you are all into “The world only caters to women!” Why would a woman want to be with a whining man child you like you. Now that being said. Put on your big boy pants and GROW UP!
Do you think rings don’t depreciate in value?
Lolololol so true, you tell em
I had a good laugh at this article. As a 20 something year old female whose friends are getting married/engaged left and right, I don’t get the entire buying a diamond because size does matter. I’ve noticed that whenever someone gets engaged, the first thing they’re asked is their ring. Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money on say a down payment for a house or car (lol) instead since they’re more practical items?
Personally, it seems crazy to me that people go into debt planning weddings, getting rings, honeymoons when marriage is a long road ahead (if it’s done right) fraught with financial decisions.
Wow. You are a diamond. No sarcasm there. A lady who appreciates financial wisdom above frivolity could, truthfully, command a large diamond from those of us out there with good income looking for a lifelong ‘partner’.
Your post is refreshing to me, because my personal experience indicates that you are in a VERY small minority in today’s hyper consumerist world.
Thank you for being who you are. I don’t care if your net worth is 5B or 5k, your logic makes you a true catch, no matter who you end up with!
Agreed.
Diamond engagement ring purchases were a result of a DeBeers sales pitch targeted at teenage girls in high school in the early 1900’s. No joke, DeBeers, the diamond salesman whose company is now a leading retailer, had salesmen travel from school to school in the early 1920’s to instill the idea that women should be offered diamond rings when they are proposed to. Years later they did another number on girls to instill the idea of “heirlooming” diamonds so that couples did not hock their rings once married and in need of money. This ensured that the DeBeers company, and other diamond retailers, would flourish and have a steady flow of income for years to come.
If you don’t believe me, google it!
Hi Ann,
I agree with you.
In fact these rules make no sense. Diamond rings are a modern invention due to consumerism.
I don’t play this game and I don’t waste my time on women that expect such things from me.
I completely agree, complete BS. If you are obsessed with getting a huge diamond engagement ring, then there are so many ways you can buy a ring for much less than 3 months wages! Personally I didn’t mind my husband buying me a used engagement ring, we got it from haveyouseenthering.com at low discount diamond prices. I am happy with it and so was my husband.
Lol, I was looking for rings for my girlfriend tonight online and came across this article.. I LOVE buying her expensive things because I feel compelled to do so because she has given me so much in return. That said, I make 100,000 a year, and am planning on buying a roughly 10,000 ring. This blogger is typical gold digger trash who never really has been in love and is looking for material bullshit. I’m so happy I found a girl would would never write trash like this and doesn’t imply these things… And maybe she gets them anyway, but its not expected. My advice to you writer, grow a subtle personality, find someone who likes it and enjoy the finer things in life, with that I mean love and friendship. You will never be truely happy.
I feel like this article was written really sarcastically, or at least that’s how I read it in my head. Not sure how to take it, but gave me some laughs.
Your engagement ring is not a “gift” wow…serious? It’s a symbol of your devotion and ever-lasting love for another person. If that’s what you build your relationship on -gifts- then I guarantee your marriage is a sham.
All this talk about “how much a man needs to spend on the engagement ring” is BS. If a man loves a woman then he should get a ring he can afford and one that comes from the heart. If the woman truly loves the man then the actual ring doesn’t matter-it’s the affection behind the symbol. I feel sad for your relationship if your “wife” feels like she is “owed” a $7,000.00 engagement ring…. No amount of money can buy a persons love, it will only make you love that person’s money. Strip everything material away from a couple and what do you have left? If you cannot love your husband as a poor man then you should not be married. Period.
My only problem with the car analogy is that it doesn’t take into consideration that when you buy a car, you tend to pay off the car in monthly installments. For example, I buy a $50K car today, but I will be paying for it over the next 5 years.
Now, I don’t what the status quo is for buying engagement rings, but I am under the impression that it’s a purchase you typically pay in full.
Nope. You can pay in installments for a ring just like a car.
$50,000 car, $50,000 ring is fair, both of which sounds excessive to me.
I have to say that I don’t agree with this. My husband doesn’t value cars at all. He drives a motorcycle which cost him $3,000 and he will probably drive it until it dies. He is cheap…I mean, frugal. I think, for my selfish sake, I will stick to a 2 month salary rule. I think in the end, though, its all about financial sense. You and your partner have to balance financial responsibility with what you guys can AFFORD. Finance problems often times ruin marriages. I don’t think a slightly smaller ring will [ruin your marriage].
Then a $3,000 wedding ring it is! Perfecto.
He drives a 2007 trailblazer
Hmmm, according to KBB.. that puppy is only worth about $5,000 I think. Might have to lower your expectations!
My boyfriend thinks 7,000 is too much for an engagement ring. O honestly think after 9 years and one baby I deserve it. Im tired of feeling guilty for wanted what I believe is owed. What do you guys think?
Like I said, you should be able to ask for a ring equivalent to the value of his car! What does he drive?
A common reply but without any sense.@Roger, the Amateur Financier
When I bought my wife her ring, I wondered why it had to be a diamond? I found her an antique 1930s ring with an aquamarine and small diamonds set around it. It wasn’t cheap, but I’m sure I got more ring for my money. Of course, I made sure she was happy with an aquamarine before I bought it.
Too funny!
I totally need an upgrade in my ring!
The car we were driving at the time of engagement was a $12k Saturn, but even if I went with DH’s first car, a Sable that he paid maybe $3k for, I’d totally get an upgrade. My engagement ring cost us probably around $500. I don’t remember exactly- we ordered the stone (a natural Alexandrite) on line and then had it placed in a solitaire platinum setting (the tradition setting for an Alex). Instead of getting a fancy ring, we bought a new house.
C used to say that he wanted to be able to switch the stone into a setting where it would be offset by diamonds (also traditional for an Alex) as an anniversary gift. Our 10th anniversary is next August, I could totally demand an upgrade.
Of course, how he’d pay for it is another story, as he’s still a full time student and I’m the sole earner. I guess I could make him use some of the life insurance from his mom for it, except that that money is currently earmarked for adoption expenses.
Hmm, what do I want more- new bling or to be able to add a child to our family without adding debt….. :-p
New bling of course Erin! If C loves you as much as he loves his Sable, then an upgrade is in your horizon!!!
BINGO! You got 100% of the gist. Thank you for understanding.
My rule was to skip on all of those rules and buy something modest and elegant that she would like. Size might seem impressive but size can be duplicated by cubic zerconia. So I favored clarity and color, two c’s that are better long term indicators of the diamonds quality.
Another consideration, find a local jeweler, preferably one you or a family member has done business before. In most cases cash is king for these owners and negotiating a price is really easy. There is no reason you should pay retail.
The best benefit of seeing a local jeweler (at least in my case) was that the cut, alignment and band were all original, from his personal collection, only available at his store. When you find a good jeweler, one who is passionate you will discover that they do actually have their own short term licensed lines of rings, earrings, necklaces, etc. These are much easier to repair, clean and maintain.
One last point, diamonds are not investments!
Come on Scott, that isn’t fun! Tell your wife to read this post and provide her feedback!
Diamonds are useful for drill bits and cutting tools.
If they are used as an ornamental decoration on a womans hand, then a C.Z. is good enough.
If your woman demands a real diamond, then she has bought into the myth. Find a woman that is more focused on cooperation,hard work and responsibility rather than glamour and image.
Take that $10000 and buy some land or invest it for your future children. Dont waste it on a stupid rock so that other people that you dont even know at restaurants will be impressed. Trust me, we arent impressed.
Not to mention that diamonds are mined using slave labor. Why do you want to support and industry like that? Are you sick? Wake up and grow up people!!!!! Stop drinking the Kool-Aid.
How does your woman take it when you say CZ is good enough?
The car rule makes more sense if spending on more car than necessary. If you spend $50,000 on a BMW, then sure, I guess the lady should be indulged a bit, too. ;)
Three months salary is a little nuts whether gross or net. I think one month is reasonable.
I would have given my g/f an engagement ring whose worth would be calculated as (My car’s cost – Her car’s cost) and that would have been $5,000 because I drive a $15,000 accord and she drives a $10,000 Corolla. But I married her before I got to know of this rule. Luckily, she isn’t into diamonds, so I could give her a $300 Gold ring (No diamonds). And yes, Gold will hold its value and is tradable! :-)
Nice, but you sure she’s OK with a $300 gold wedding ring?! Best double check OK?
I got a question. My husband’s mother bought him a corvette. What happens when another family member buys your fiancee or husband a car? My husband bought me a car for my business, which I think was about 17k a few years back. How can I ask him for a 17k diamond ring? My ring size is only 4.5. A 17k ring would look ridiculous on my finger. Seriously! I think I could get a 3 carat for that price because his friend is a gemologist who gets diamonds from S. Africa. I couldn’t even imagine getting a diamond that big because it would look ridiculous on a small finger. Now a 1.5 carat diamond would be fine, and of course, I’ve requested that size (an upgrade) for our 25th anniversary, but a 17k ring would look really ridiculous on a very small finger. I think the size of your finger also has something to do with it. I have another ring I wear, which I got from my grandmother, and it’s huge. It’s a little over two carats total. I couldn’t wear that much bling on two fingers anyway. But back to my question: What happens if the mother-in-law buys the fiancee or hubby a car, especially a nice one like a corvette?
You can get an Internally Flawless (IF) 1.2 carat ring for $17,000 actually. I’m suggesting the car value be a MAXIMUM ceiling that the wife can ask for. A wife doesn’t have to ask for that much though :)
what terrible logic. women have cars too and the price point for a ring starts way lower than a car.
$10,000 will buy you a REALLY nice engagement ring.
$10,000 will buy you a 2002 honda civic with 80,000 miles….
I find a 2002 Honda Civic to be an extremely sexy car!
$10,000 car means you’re making at leas $100,000. Not bad!
This post is for silly guys who can afford cars, let alone $50,000 cars!
Who said that $10k car means $100k of person’s salary.
Not sure what country you’re from, obviously some conservative country with culture that praises saving money and does not like cars, but in US cars are a priority. It symbolizes the status in society. Also, in US woman have jobs and equal rights. Any chick that demands huge rock on the engagement ring is most likely divorce the guy if things don’t go for him in the right direction … financially. Just two cents.
I still think you’re comments are idiotic.
Do what you want and spend what you will. Just dont come crying when you don’t have enough money later on.
While I do agree that there are quite a few people in our society who are this shallow, I disagree with you stating that all women want huge rings.
My case is the perfect example. My husband proposed to me after buying a condo at the ripe old age of 23. He, at 23, put 20% down on our home. That’s $45,000… and it cleared out almost all of his savings. We live in an extremely affluent suburb of Washington, DC, and for this chunk of change we have a 768 sq ft condo. Small maybe, but it is our home.
He proposed to me just several months later, with a beautiful .78 carat ring. In this area, women always wave their 2+ carat sparklers, but not me. And why am I so proud?
Because my husband said that before he could ask my father for m hand in marriage, he felt he needed to do it right. And by do it right, he needed to buy a home to show my father he could support me. So my ring is less than a month of his salary.
I love him more than anything… and his 2000 Jetta. Love exists for those of us smart enough to find it.
Oh no, I think you are misinterpreting the farcical nature of this post. At the heart of everything, it’s about tying ridiculous materialistic desires of one, and allowing the other to match ifthey wanted to!
I’m all for something indxpensive and quaint that works for you!
Best
I too think the 3 month rule is ridiculous and I think you might have a point there about how materialistic a guy is. I know a girl who rides her bike everywhere and her husband does too. They are not materialistic by any means and her ring only cost $900. Another friend I know grew up materialistic. Her fiancé drove a civic but still got her a huge Tiffany ring because she had been asking for one. Two polar opposites :)
Wow. All he has to to is tell her honey about his honda civic! That said, new honda civics are $20,000 so….. $20,000 can buy a pretty nice H, VVS2, 1.6 carat Tiffany’s!
Financial Samurai, you’re a complete …. then again, I don’t like offending people, so I’ll stp at that.
Cars have been in use for a bit over 100 years, what about before then? There were no diamond rings? Who the hell decides 3 months, or a car? Why not 3 years? Or the price of the residence the couple wants to own before they retire. Then all these people would be buying $150k or $15M rings just to meet the stupid rules who are propelled by the industry that benefits on selling diamonds, as well as all the people involved in the process.
You sound like a person who is in sales of engagement rings. Such person is still a salesman. Every salesman is sleazy. And I wouldn’t like to be taking advices from one.
As long as I agree that buying my future fiance a ring for $100 would be embarrassing to her in the eyes of her family, spending $20k for Average Joe on a ring because the dude drives beat up Civic you think is the norm? You mentioned multiple times that someone who drives old Civic should be able to afford the ring of New Civic? Are you high? or just provoking. I also did not find any intelligent comments you made, when people asked questions. The only thing you did was sticking to stupid rules, no matter how ridiculed they got by anyone here asking questions. You should have graduated high school, and get real job, instead of being a sleazy and obviously not too bright salesman.
She/He is obviously a troll.
Don’t feed the trolls…
I proposed to my girlfriend this past October and this is how it all was approached….
1) We are living off one income while she is in a masters program. So, we are broke. We decided under $2k was more than enough. This would buy a beautiful half carat.
2) I decided to only buy the ring if I made the money outside of our normal budget. I do a few things online and was able to earn enough to cover the ring as well as a trip to SoCal on a budget to propose.
3) I saw the movie Blood Diamond a few years back and decided then to go with a blood-free company. I went with Brilliant Earth in San Francisco and the ring buying experience was perfect.
4) This whole time, we knew affording our normal livelihood was more important than a physical sign of affection. Even if we made a ton more, we had decided that the rock was not going to make our relationship stronger. Our actions and choices would.
5) This was the result…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rXJGw4rHw4
David Damron
LifeExcursion
How sweet! Congrats on adding an extra year to your life and making a video for your children to see. :)
Good stuff man and well done! Hey, as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters. I wanted to turn the post around to focus on the guy, since it’s often the girl who seems to want the ideal wedding and ring.
How did you frame the camera smoothly without her wondering wassup?
We had our rings tattooed on for our 10th anniversary. The 1/4 carat diamond engagement ring he bought me in college sits on display, next to our wedding photos now. I was never one for jewelry, and this was more than big enough – anything else would have looked tacky on me, and I’d have stopped wearing it long before the tattoo.