Average Spent on an Engagement Ring (and How to Spend Less)

I don’t know about you but I always find it interesting to compare my spending to that of average Americans. I usually feel better knowing that I’m spending far less considering the lack of basic financial principles in the U.S.

One statistic you might be surprised to learn is that the average spent on an engagement ring in 2014 was $5,855 according to The Knot.

To put this in perspective the median income per person (over 25) in the US is just over $30k per year. This means if the average person with the average income is spending almost 20% of his annual income on an engagement ring.

If you’re thinking of purchasing an engagement ring and want to avoid debt and/or spend less than the national average here’s how to do it.

Determine Your Budget

The first thing you need to do is determine budget. You are the only person who can decide what the “right” amount to spend is.

If you want to spend $500 you can. If you want to spend $10,000 you can. Spending more or less on a ring will not make you any better/worse of a person. Be honest with what you can afford.

To put in some personal context my engagement ring was $1,700 and I absolutely love it. If you have no idea what kind of budget to set for a ring talk to your significant other and get an idea of her expectations. I think you’d be surprised to know that many women are not concerned with how much their ring costs. (But some definitely are so you might want to have that talk.)

Calculate How Much You Can Save Each Month

Once you have the budget set you need to calculate how much extra money you have to save each month. Divide your budget amount by your savings amount and you can quickly see how many months it’s going to take.

Saving cash for a ring is crucial if you don’t want to start your lives together with unneeded debt.

If you feel like saving cash is going to take too long then find ways to either save or earn money. Neither are that hard to do.

Shop Around

When you’re a couple months within reaching your target budget amount, start shopping around. Since you won’t have all of the money you need it’s going to be near impossible for you to make impulse purchases or let the salesman behind the counter convince you to buy.

Visit several jewelry stores so you can explore options.

Then, when you have all the money saved you can go and buy that engagement ring debt free.

What percentage of income do you think should be spent on an engagement ring?