Should You Go Into Debt for an Engagement Ring? Honest Advice
The diamond industry has a long history of telling people how much they should spend on an engagement ring. The two months' salary rule was invented by De Beers as a marketing strategy, not a financial guideline. So should you go into debt for a ring? Here's an honest take.
The short answer
No. You shouldn't go into meaningful debt for an engagement ring. Not because the ring doesn't matter, it does, but because starting a marriage with consumer debt creates unnecessary financial stress during what should be an exciting period.
The longer answer
There's a difference between debt and using a credit card you'll pay off in 60 days. If you're buying a ring that costs $3,000 and you have $2,000 saved, putting $1,000 on a card you'll clear next month is a cash-flow decision, not a financial problem.
The concern is longer-term consumer debt at high interest. An $8,000 ring on a card at 20% APR that you're paying off over 18 months is genuinely expensive and genuinely stressful.
Lab-grown diamonds change the equation
One of the strongest arguments for lab-grown diamonds is purely financial. A lab-grown stone costs considerably less than a comparable mined one, so a comfortable budget goes much further. Both are carbon, and in both the carbon sits in the crystal structure that makes a diamond hard and bright. What differs is where it grew.
The pressure to spend more tends to evaporate once you see what's possible within a reasonable budget.
What's a reasonable budget?
Whatever you can pay without meaningful financial stress. For some couples that's $2,500. For others it's $15,000. The ring is meaningful because of what it represents, not what it cost.
Our engagement ring collection covers a range of price points, and every ring is handcrafted to order in solid 18K gold or platinum. If you're working with a specific budget, get in touch.
Explore Una Diamond Engagement Rings
Every Una Diamond ring is handcrafted to order in solid 18K gold or platinum and delivered in around six weeks. Centre stones of one carat and up are IGI certified:
- The Georgina, oval-cut solitaire
- The Celina, east-west emerald cut
- The Nova, toi et moi with pear and emerald
- Solitaire rings
- Oval cut rings
- Browse all rings