Don’t let the flashy marketing dazzle you, we’re all scared here. Engagement rings are expensive. Sometimes silly expensive. Since the 1920’s marketing campaign, diamond and jewelry companies made the public believe that an engagement ring costs an entire month’s paycheck, and they were successful. Recently, they’ve amped the marketing up to make engagement rings cost 3 average paychecks.
I’ll tell you that it doesn’t have to be like that. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher bought engagement rings for $200 from Etsy. And most engagement rings in the US have an average carat size of around 1 carat.
The regular price that most people agree on
The average cost of an engagement ring, in the US is about $3500 and it keeps going up. That’s about one average paycheck here (median average pay is about $4000). This isn’t a small thing, and there are rings that are crazy expensive. The most expensive engagement ring in history cost $8.8 million!
It doesn’t have to be that way, and you and your beloved can get engaged for much, much less. There are $200 rings off Etsy that are barely different from their $3K counterparts to the untrained eye.
Talk it through with your partner (especially if you’re a thrifty girl) and better save that money up for the wedding, or maybe even a down payment on a house or apartment.
An unorthodox but personal and thrifty solution
I’ve already said this, but just follow in Mila and Ashton’s footsteps and get some rings off Etsy; there are beautiful, handcrafted rings that won’t bankrupt you. Never go into debt to buy a small material possession, no matter how much you like a bit of silver and a rock. Maybe even go for a smaller, informal wedding.
Stay within your means and your relationship will be more impervious to financial catastrophes like unplanned ER visits or your bathroom pipes bursting (good plumbers hours cost $200+, as we had the misfortune to learn). Sorry if I’m a bit more realistic than romantic, but I like staying within my means and living a comfortable life.
Old traditions that are a serious money saver
If you’re the man, give her your mother’s engagement ring. It’s a good tradition, and you’re getting your mother’s blessing along the ring. Let’s remind ourselves that in the past, any ring could be an engagement ring, not just the ones with precious stones in them (or even those made with precious metals).
Me and my husband went with this tradition and got matching silver wedding rings. Simple and robust, just like our relationship. When we got married, it was really easy to get used to the golden wedding rings, because we’ve basically been practicing wearing them.
Conclusion
An engagement ring doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, just like the wedding. Personal experience (and professional experience) says that humbler people last longer in a marriage, so don’t be afraid to be a bit frugal.