Buying an engagement ring is a purchase unlike any other and it cannot be completed on a whim or as an afterthought. I proposed to my partner just over three years ago and whilst I was hunting for engagement rings in Sydney it very quickly dawned on me quite how much I would have to pay in order to get the perfect ring. Engagement rings can be bought at a wide range of prices of course but most men and women will look to get the priciest and the prettiest one which they can afford.
I decided to call off my search and go back to the drawing board, in order to put together a budget which I could actually afford. In doing this I stalled on my purchase for a couple of months whilst I put myself in a healthier financial position, and then went out and got the ring which I knew that my partner would love. As boring as it sounds given that this is very much a purchase from the heart, budgeting is necessary, and here are some tips on doing just that.
Budget First
Although I didn’t do things in this way I would wholeheartedly recommend that you get your budget right before you go out hunting for rings. Given that you will want the every best for your partner it can be very painful to watch all of these mesmerizing rings in the store, which will be sadly far out of your financial reach. Don’t tease yourself, get your budget right and then seek out the best ring which falls within that budget.
Debt
A budget isn’t just about what you have and how much of that is required to pay for something, it is also about working out how much debt you may be able to take on and afford. There is nothing wrong with buying using credit or a finance agreement in order to support your purchase, but in doing so you must have already looked ahead to ensure that beyond any doubt, you will be able to afford the repayments on your purchase. When budgeting like this you must ensure that you always leave emergency cash within your budget, if you make $2000 per month and pay out $1500, this doesn’t mean that your loan repayment should be $500, doing this will present you with a lot of financial risk.
Ceiling
When you have budgeted you must use that as a hard ceiling and ensure that you do not go over the ceiling. It is very tempting to plunge yourself into unmanageable debt in order to get a beautiful ring or one which has caught your eye, but you must remember that you budgeted for a reason and as a result you must do all that you can to stay within the budget. Store clerks will always look to up-sell but you should think about how your partner would feel if they knew that you had put yourself in financial risk for this purchase.
Budget well and stick to it, there are plenty of beautiful rings out there for all budgets.
