This may be amongst the largest purchases you’ve made thus far. Think about other big purchases you may or may have not made so far in your life. That Honda Civic or BMW in your garage? That condo or house with a white picket fence? You wouldn’t purchase a car or a house without taking the time to do your research. The same goes for this huge purchase; the purchase of a diamond engagement ring for her.
We’re assuming, since you started reading this blog series and you are looking to us for advice, that you have never stepped into the world of fine jewelry before. That is why we created this guide; to aid those who truly need the help finding an engagement ring!
To begin, we want to make sure you have all of your ducks in a row. As always, we welcome you to reach out to our fine jewelry store in Orange, CT and let us take the lead. However, if you are in the early stages of gathering your research, there are a few things we want to make sure you consider before you begin shopping for an engagement ring.
Before the proposal planning begins, and well before the purchase of the diamond ring, we have some items we need to tackle first:
Determine Your Ring Budget
Money plays a vital role in deciding on an engagement ring. We are firm believers that your future fiancé will appreciate anything you buy for them; but we want to make sure you are investing in an engagement ring that they will love and cherish forever.
While ring financing is always an option (we will dive into this later in the blog series) you need to have a ball-park range of what you want to spend. Having an estimate of what you want/are willing to spend is going to help you explore all ring designs and open you up to all bridal jewelry options.
There are no rules as to what you should or shouldn’t spend on a ring; what matters is that you are budgeting for what is comfortable for you. But how do you even begin to know the amount to start saving for?
How to Decide On A Ring Budget
At first glance, it may seem like purchasing a ring isn’t that difficult. Open Google, type “jewelry store near me” and have your credit card handy…right?
Unless you are independently wealthy, you are most likely going to have some kind of budget to adhere to. However…if you do have this amount of cash flow, feel free to call our jewelry store in Connecticut …kidding!
As much as you are the customer, she is the consumer. This engagement ring is reflective of you as a man, but she is the one who is going to be sporting the ring for years to come. We understand that you want to purchase something that she will be proud of; but your budget is a personal thing. We don’t want to see you get into debt, but we also don’t want to see you settle on a ring that is less than perfect for her.
There are some tips and tricks to help determine what you should spend on a ring for her such as online engagement ring calculators that will help you determine how much you should spend depending on your salary, lifestyle, and even debt considerations. This tool could also give you a ball-park range, but still might not help you determine the exact price range you should stick to.
These engagement ring budget tools may help you…or they may not. At the end of the day, you need to use whatever method works best for you and for your wallet. Realistically, you can do more research to determine her ideal ring’s price, and work backwards from there to get to a reasonable budget.
In order to do that, you need to know the price of the ring she wants. But, let’s say you haven’t determined what ring you want to buy her yet…now you’re back to square one. The best way to come up with your ring budget is to get to know the jewelry marketplace and determine your budget from there.
The Average Engagement Ring Price
In order to begin thinking of your ring budget, you need to be aware of the price of the diamond ring you are looking to purchase. Depending on the ring you are looking at, you’re looking at around $5,000 to $6,000 as the baseline for an average engagement ring price.
Figure out a comfortable amount to spend according to your current financial situation. What can you afford at this time that will not completely break the bank?
Determine what your partner is expecting. Does she want a blinged-out, giant rock? Or does she aim for something more simple and timeless?
Decide whether you want to purchase a ring, custom design a ring, or revamp a family heirloom into a ring. What would mean more to her, and what is going to reflect her individual style?
By taking the time to ask yourself these questions, you will be able to determine the budget you need in order to prepare for your ring purchase.
Stay tuned for the next blog, which will focus on the timing that follows with an engagement ring…
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