Credit Card or Loan for engagement ring

inigo_montoya_2

I need to buy an engagement ring as my partner would like to get married before her mother passes away. It has fallen at a bad time as we are in the process of renovating a house and most of my savings have already been allocated. I would like to spend upto 5k on a ring with the intention of paying it back over 2 years. How would i be best doing this ? via credit card or loan ? I currently have no credit cards or debt.

Tigsteroonie

No offence but do you really need to spend that much on the ring? It strikes me that what is important is getting engaged before her mother passes away, not wearing a £5K ring before her mother passes away. You could spend £100 on the ring and it would have the same effect.

Here's an idea - why not find out if her mother has an engagement ring you could get cleaned, adjusted and use? She might like the idea of wearing something of her mother's - I wore my greatgrandmother's engagement ring, as we shared the same birthstone.

Okydoky25

Have to agree with the above. 1stly £5k for a ring is obviously way to much if it would take 2 years to pay off. 2nd your future wife will not be impressed with not being able to actually get married as you are having to pay this debt off before being able to afford the day itself.

Goldiegirl

You don't really need an engagement ring at all, if money is tight, especially if it's going to cost £5000.

Why not just get a reasonably priced wedding ring - you can always buy a lovely diamond ring for your partner in the future when the financial situation is better.

By the sound of it your girlfriend is more worried about her mother at present, rather than having a huge rock to flash on her finger - concentrate on what is important now, a wedding and supporting your girlfriend through this terrible time in her life.

Nice_Weather_For_Ducks

Agree with others here. NEVER borrow for an engagement ring.

Its supposed to be a token of love, and be paid for with assets you own to show your love and commitment. Not on credit, thats just wrong!!

duchy

I could understand wanting to borrow £5K to pay for or towards a wedding in the circumstances but - as said an engagement ring is simply a promise to marry-a symbol . Would your girlfriend not consider a simpler ring in the circumstances and plan for an eternity ring once the big financial things are out of the way ? Is she asking for the ring or is it you thinking you "need" rather than "want" to ?

InsideInsurance

Dont fall into the american trap that the engagement ring is somehow a proxy for how much you think of her.... or if you do then fully embrace their approach including the fact you can upgrade it many times as your financial situation improves as they are increasingly keen on doing

the_insider

I would be FURIOUS if my oh spent £5k on an engagement ring, especially if he'd affected our financial future while we were doing up out home.
Like mentioned above, see if there is a piece of sentimental jewelry you could give her to remember her mum by, and focus on who the day's about, not who you're trying to impress.

wiseshark

Bear in mind that weddings are very expensive. Many people spend up to a ridiculous 15K for their big day. Please do as the others have said and buy something reasonable and modest and don't borrow.

NPHammer

I see this a little bit different to the majority of the posters in the thread.

Marriage is an important step, and if you think highly of the person enough to want to take that step I can understand why you would be willing to sacrifice a little to get a nice ring that is a symbol of your love for them.

It is of course better to not have to get into debt to achieve this, but the OP has stated that it's not possible for him to manage this.

I do think £5k is a lot. You can get nice 18 carat gold with high diamond carat from around £800. I like the traditional idea of around a months salary being the rule. for a 5 grand ring this would mean you'd need to be earning £60k.

If you are going to borrow of course it would be best on a 0% card as long as you are disciplined enough to pay it off in the interest free period. And providing you qualify for the market leading cards, the best of which is 17 months interest free currently.

Essay over. :-)

eskbanker

While I wouldn't necessarily disagree with the sentiments posted above, to get back to OP's original question, speak to one or more of the institutions where you bank and save - they are probably most likely to give you credit (given your lack of credit history), whether via personal loan or CC (or even mortgage extension, not that I'm recommending this!), but of course there will be other offerings in the wider market too.