What is best way to buy an engagement ring?

OxfordRob

Hi folks,

I have finally found a woman in my life that completes me in every way and lifts me up and supports me in every way. She really is the best in every way and I am now completely convinced that I want to have the honour of being her husband. The trouble is I don't want to get into loads of debt just to show her how special she is. Don't get me wrong I want this to be major bling and all of that I just want to buy it the most sensible way possible.

I have managed to reduce my debt down to just £1000 now which has 4 months left to clear on a 0% credit card with Natwest. I have been selling off my DVD and CD collection to help raise more funds... So far £170. Sad to see them go but then there is more important things in my life now Any way do I just save up a good deposit of say £500 and then purchase at a jeweler trying to get a 0% apr arrangement with them or do I do...

Buy with Egg Money credit card to get the chashback. Then get the new Abbey Card which is offering 0% for 16 months or something like that then transfer both the Egg and remaining Natwest to that?

Any ideas or suggestions? I realise that is more the gesture and life comitment that is important than the value of the ring but she deserves so much and I want the best that is not too OTT but certainly not Lizzy Duke if you get my drift.

pinkladymel

Rings are like your partner.. there are plenty to be had but once you find the special one.. you just know it is right and you have to have it. I would go ring shopping and looking for 'the one' and then make your decisions based on the price. My ring is absolutely perfect (I am biased lol) with a big diamond and white gold but cost about 400 pounds so a deposit of 500 with the view to spending more is crazy IMHO!! Have you thought about the way you would like to ask her and spending the money on a really memorable event? How about engraving something that is so special to you and her inside the ring, like the day you met.

You sound like such a wonderful man and she is going to be so lucky. Any man that is selling his cd collection and writing on a forum to make sure he does everything right is amazing in my eyes!!

Wishing you the very best of luck.. sounds like you deserve a long happy life together xx

OxfordRob

I am just a humble bloke that fully appreciates and realiases when he has found some one really special. To me it is a no brainer in doing all I can Thank you for your kind comments. I have so many ideas as to a proposal and will indeed be setting aside some for that moment. I am a little old fashioned and though I would ask her anyway I wish to ask her fathers permission first before I do pop the question to her

I am thinking circa £1.5k to £2k for the ring on the grounds that it is a life comitment and not just a pretty thing to have.

SugarSpun

An antique ring might be more special to her, since it would be unique - and it might have the bonus of being slightly cheaper.

Do you know what sort of ring she wants?

beautyqueen88

mine was £350 because we were saving for a deposit at the time, i plan on haveing an expensive wedding ring instead

beautyqueen88

oh an i would have had an absolute fit if my boyfriend bought a ring on credit. but thats just me. i control the purse strings...and everything else for that matter

xJayJayx

i wouldn't even consider paying more than a grand for an engagement ring if i was a bloke!
Most of the rings that are cheaper look much for beautiful than the expensive ones and tbh if my OH had bought me a ring as expensive as that then i don't think i'd even want to wear it..

The ring he bought me was around £500 maybe more, 18ct white gold and diamonds and i love it! It wouldn't of mattered to me if he'd spent 100 quid on it its the centiment that counts and the fact he wants to commit to me for the rest of his life!

OxfordRob

I agree that credit is not ideal however credit does not have to always be a bad thing and as shown numerous times on this site there are ways in which credit can be used to your advantage. Play the system and reap the rewards. I agree that it is not the best however I have recently received a pay rise, am in quite a secure and reasonably paid job and have no other debts or comitments. I am lucky to have been on a tracker based mortgage that I organised about 2 years ago and as a result have reduced my mortgage years by 7 years in just 6 months repayments by over paying. I could just reduce my mortgage payments a bit but figure over pay as much as I can now and use credit to my advantage.

a mortgage with just 13 years left a good 33k job with additional bonus periods and just 1k of credit card debt to sort and only 34 years old means I think I am in a reasonable position to ask her

McKneff

Rob, just a suggestion from a womans point of view. Ask her to marry you first before you buy the ring. The ring is for life and if you buy her something which she thinks is okay or is a bit disappointed with the style, price has nothing to do with it, she is stuck with it for life. She may like new, antique,
opal, diamonds, the list is endless.
And you sound such a nice man I would marry you tomorrow;)

RustyFlange

OxfordRob wrote: »

I agree that credit is not ideal however credit does not have to always be a bad thing and as shown numerous times on this site there are ways in which credit can be used to your advantage. Play the system and reap the rewards. I agree that it is not the best however I have recently received a pay rise, am in quite a secure and reasonably paid job and have no other debts or comitments. I am lucky to have been on a tracker based mortgage that I organised about 2 years ago and as a result have reduced my mortgage years by 7 years in just 6 months repayments by over paying. I could just reduce my mortgage payments a bit but figure over pay as much as I can now and use credit to my advantage.


a mortgage with just 13 years left a good 33k job with additional bonus periods and just 1k of credit card debt to sort and only 34 years old means I think I am in a reasonable position to ask her

Sorry I just had to reply to this, I saw your first post just after you posted asking for help. However not being engaged myself felt I couldn't offer any suggestions or anything else. It is the post quoted above which has got me.

I thinkyou would be daft to pay for a ring on your credit card personally, as all of the other ladies have said its not the price you pay it is the thought and most people would be happy that you had gone to so much thought! Just because you have recieved a pay rise and say you are in a secure job doesn't mean this is the case, onto your last part which I highlighted in red, again you

Whilst you are on a very good income, and get additional bonus periods, you cannot forsee the future. My OH was earning a fantastic wage and in a very safe job, similar to yours and then in Jan he was made redundant, we now have a total of £40 coming in a week from my wage and child benefit! that is it, and also a mortgage of £800 a month to pay!He is also still out of work, not due to lazyness like you may think but due to the fact that no one in his line of business is taking on as the whole area of work can't do anymore! Please don't put so much money into a ring which she may not wear due to the value, put the money towards the proposal or even in an account for the wedding, you never know what is just around the corner, you may well think your job is secure but who knows what could happen next week!
I wish you all the luck in the world and think you are so lucky to have found your match! Good luck

OxfordRob

Thanks for the reply and sorry to read of your situation. I can assure you that I am not complacent about my job and realise that there is no job security anywhere but was merely trying to give reasons to my thought. I agree that perhaps my sights are a tad high for a ring and see that prudence is perhaps more of an appeal than big expensive gestures.

I have a good idea of what style of ring she would like as it is no secret that we want to get hitched however it is secret as to when and how I go about things. A kind of unmentioned certainty as it were I shall contemplate every ones comments and whatever I do I will not just rush into anything and fully weigh up the pros and cons. I still have some car boot sales to do first and intend to raise some more first.