When you find the girl of your dreams, the thought begins to come into your mind that you may be ready to propose marriage to her. You dream of a life together for the “happily ever after” but know that it must all begin with the here and now. Part of that is the purchase of an engagement ring with which to propose to her. You want it to be something impressive that will take her breath away, but that can get expensive. Before you enter the jewelry store and let the glitz and glimmer cloud your good judgment, take a few minutes to consider what you are really doing and how that will affect your future and possibly that of your marriage.
How are you going to pay for it? One of the leading causes of divorce today is financial stress. Starting off your new marriage with debt that is incurred for a costly engagement ring may not seem like that big of a deal at the time, but it is really not a good way to start your life together. An engagement ring should always be paid for in cash. Buy her what you can really afford to and not what you think she wants to see. This is only presenting her with a false sense of what reality she can expect to be living with you. It is also presenting her with the gift of a bill that she will be helping to pay for. That doesn’t seem like such a pretty picture, does it?
Have you considered the fact that she may not say yes to your proposal? No one really wants to consider this, but not every proposal is accepted, even if you truly believe that it will be. What will you do if you have incurred a massive debt for a ring that you are left carrying home in your pocket? You often can’t return the ring and even if you can, it is usually only for store credit. If you have no use of another piece of jewelry, you have wasted an exorbitant amount of money that you will never be able to get back fully. Even if you are able to sell the ring, it is unlikely that you will be able to get the full purchase price for it.
If you have met the woman that you want to share the rest of your life with, it is about far more than the engagement ring. It is about love and commitment. It is about making the best choices for your marriage and one of those choices is what debt you really want to be getting into. Don’t make that decision alone. You can always add to the ring later if it becomes feasible and is something that she wants. For now, though, let your love speak for itself and let the sparkle she sees come from your heart and your eyes, not your wallet.