Ultimately, how much you should spend on an engagement ring depends on you. You have to take into consideration your financial situation, lifestyle, and even your personality as a couple to buy a ring that fits you.
Should you really spend three months’ worth of your salary on an engagement ring?
That’s the traditional advice and ring shoppers may fear they’ll look stingy if they try to bring down their budget a bit. To give you a general idea, the average engagement ring cost in 2018 was $7,829. However, many couples spend less and others may spend significantly more.
In reality, how much you spend on the ring doesn’t dictate how much you love your significant other. They might even prefer that you spend less on the ring so you both can enjoy a bigger wedding (or honeymoon) budget.
So, how much should you spend on an engagement ring? Let’s break it down.
What’s Your Salary?
While you don’t have to spend three months’ worth of your salary, the amount you make will still factor into how much you spend. More importantly, the amount of money you don’t spend is a big factor.
Even if you make a large salary, if you regularly use it up, you won’t have a lot of room to make a big purchase like this.
Financial Situation
It’s also important to consider your overall financial situation. If you have a lot of debt and are struggling to make ends meet, spending an outlandish amount on an engagement ring may not be the best use of your money.
However, you can work with a larger budget if you are debt-free and can easily meet your financial obligations.
Lifestyle
Keep you and your beloved’s lifestyle in mind when choosing an engagement ring. If your bride-to-be regularly dresses to the nines, likes to wear flashy jewelry, and the two of you enjoy a high-class lifestyle, she will likely appreciate the gesture if you buy a bigger ring.
However, if she regularly works with her hands or leads a more reserved lifestyle, she would probably prefer a smaller, more conservative ring.
Ways to Save
Keep in mind there are many ways to keep the cost of the engagement ring within a tight budget yet still enjoy the size and style that your beloved would appreciate. For example, how much is a 1-carat diamond worth? The price can range between $1,800 and $12,000, depending on factors such as the cut, clarity, color, and shape of the diamond.
Choose a diamond on the lower end of the clarity scale to enjoy savings without sacrificing size. As long as you can’t see the imperfections with the naked eye, you aren’t really sacrificing aesthetics either.
Also, think about the cut. Certain shapes are harder to cut, making the diamond more expensive. Additionally, some shapes, like round or oblong, naturally look bigger whereas something like a cushion cut hides more of the diamond below the surface.
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