TL;DR
0% Interest Financing
Many jewelers offer 0% interest financing for engagement rings, which can be a viable option if you have the means to pay off the balance before the interest-free period ends. This approach allows you to spread out payments without incurring additional costs, as long as you are diligent about meeting payment deadlines [2:1],
[3:8],
[4:1]. However, it's crucial to read the fine print and understand any potential fees or penalties associated with missing payments
[4:4].
Alternative Financing and Purchase Options
If traditional financing isn't appealing, consider other options such as layaway plans offered by independent jewelers or mom-and-pop shops [1:3]. These smaller establishments may provide more personalized service and flexibility in payment arrangements. Additionally, platforms like Etsy offer a wide range of rings at various price points, some with payment plans available
[2:5].
Budget-Friendly Alternatives
Consider exploring budget-friendly alternatives to traditional diamond rings. Moissanite stones, lab-grown diamonds, and vintage or antique rings can offer significant savings while still providing a beautiful and meaningful symbol of your commitment [1:5],
[4:10]. Some users have shared positive experiences with purchasing less expensive rings initially and planning to upgrade later when finances allow
[2:3].
Negotiating Prices and Financing Terms
When negotiating prices, some jewelers might offer better deals if you opt for their financing options. However, it's important to ensure that these offers genuinely benefit you and aren't just tactics to increase their profit margins [5:3]. If you choose to finance, make sure there are no hidden fees or early payoff penalties
[5:5].
Financial Planning and Considerations
Before committing to financing, assess your financial situation and future plans. It's essential to avoid overextending yourself financially, especially if you have upcoming expenses like a wedding or home purchase [2:2],
[5:1]. Maintaining financial stability is crucial, and sometimes waiting until you can afford a ring outright may be the best decision
[3:1],
[4:5].
Trying to buy an engagement rings, this has to be a good one me an my special one been together 10+ years n i feel I owe it. Not in the best financial place in my life looking to finance the ring between 2-4k any recommendations on where and how. I don't own any jewelry my self this all new
Im not sure if small jewelry stores offer financing but places like IDC, Kay jewelers etc offer financing
Kay and other chain jewelers sell absolute shit jewelry. There was a post yesterday from a woman who positively babied her ring, but after only 2-3 years, it was falling apart.
Better to just wait and get a ring later on than to waste money on a piece of junk with no value.
I would actually try a mom & pop jeweler. I would think they wouldn't mind working out some type of layaway plan for you. I used to work for a shop many years ago & the owners were so nice & treated all their customers well... They worked hard to make it work for their customers. Good luck, OP!
We went with a budget friendly $50 dollar ring that we will have a local jeweler replicate in a year or so when we are in a better place financially. Check out moissanite stones over diamonds.
This is great advice! I wanted to share my personal experience. I was going to say that you don't need to spend 2-4 grand. On my left pointer finger, I have a vintage ring that I combed a lot of listings to find. It's solid gold with natural diamonds and it cost me $300. Could easily be an engagement/wedding ring.
In all honesty The big boxes will finance you but also gouge you on pricing on top of that interest on their cards after the promo Apr is over.
You’re gonna have to apply for financing anyway so if you can get approved or not is the other question.
If you go to a independent jeweler you will pay less and they might have a layaway but if you need financing you can always apply for a promo apr credit card (which you’d have to do at a retail jeweler anyway) and you get the financing and lower price.
There’s also the factor that an independent jeweler will be much more less that your 2-4k budget will be cut in half and you might be able to buy the ring outright and won’t need financing.
Don’t do it, and have a serious talk with your partner so you both are on the same page. This is basically both of your financial futures riding on how much this piece of jewelry could cost (or how much debt you’ll go into). Examples of things you’re cheating yourself out of if you “buy” something you can’t even afford (not to mention the interest you’ll owe): a new car when one of yours breaks down for good, a down payment on your future home (or jeez even 1-3 months of rent and utilities depending on where you live), your eventual wedding (please don’t finance this either when you could go to city hall and have a low key family get-together or even elope), your honeymoon (some people don’t go right away because of timing, and some people don’t go at all until they can afford it a few years later). Sorry for the rant. I hope this is helpful. You don’t have to impress anyone with the ring, not anyone here on the internet, and certainly not each other. Check out Etsy for affordable options in every metal and gemstone possible. Good luck!
i’d personally never finance a piece of jewelry. i recommend buying what you can reasonably afford and upgrading later as your finances allow. there are lots of lovely options out there at various price points.
A lot of jewellery companies can be really predatory, pressuring you into more expensive purchases. Even if it has an interest free period, there will be loopholes and ways for them to make money.
I recommend Etsy. You can find basically anything on there: beautiful rings in so many styles and at all budgets! Some sellers even give the option for payment plans. I recommend looking at rings within your budget, but perhaps look into ways to get the most value for your money, like pre-owned rings, including antique and vintage, or moissanite, or gemstone rings. I got a beautiful antique diamond ring on Etsy, on a payment plan, for less than $400!
We did 0% interest financing on my ring but we had the money stashed away to pay it off. I wouldn’t go a financing route if it wasn’t 0% and if I didn’t have the cash to pay it off.
I’m in the market for an engagement ring in the near future. Not looking for anything insane, probably in the $2-3k range.
I’ve seen a variety of offers for 0% financing on sites like Brilliant Earth.
I’m just curious if there’s any true downside to this vs paying upfront.
I have a stable job and am staying within my budgeted price range. Just looking for some reassurance I’m not being a total idiot!
Edit: For clarification: I would be considering a 12 month term, so it would be paid off before the wedding. The financing would not be a necessity, but why not utilize the 0% if available?
First, congrats! You’ve found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with! Enjoy the moment. I’m in your boat. My fiancé and I got engaged ~ 3 weeks ago. Exciting things to come, friend.
Second, assuming there’s no impending doom if you don’t get engaged immediately, WAIT! I waited until I had the cash to buy the ring ready to go and I’m so happy I did.
Third, I went through James Allen and purchased using their 3 payment program where it splits the price of the ring into 3 interest free monthly payments. This is the first time I’ve ever bought something this way and I didn’t care for the mental aspect of it. I don’t like having things on payments and the 3 month term didn’t really do me any favors as far as having that money free to invest. Wouldn’t recommend or try to dissuade you.
Fourth, a bit of unsolicited buying advice. Don’t overspend. You’re probably already inundated with instagram ads telling you that the value of the ring reflects how much you love your fiancé. Gross. If your SO is worth their weight in salt, the ring isn’t what matters. Constantly being bombarded by this stuff made me realize that I was looking over my budget trying to get the perfect most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. I did my research and made a reasonable, informed purchase based on what we both wanted for the ring. For example, my fiancé wanted a yellow gold ring. Buying a very white diamond was just throwing good money after bad as the diamond picks up a lot of its color from the setting. Going down to a more yellow diamond lowered the price of the rock A LOT without sacrificing any appearance. Also avoid big box stores like Robbins brothers if you can.
Thanks for your reply - I appreciate the time that took. You are correct, I felt absolutely bombarded by ads like you mentioned and settled that this was the maximum range I was willing to spend because the rock itself doesn’t particularly matter.
I’m not in a huge rush to get engaged, but I definitely know I have someone I want to spend my life with, and I have the time and means to make it happen. I appreciate your well reasoned input!
Like others have said earlier, instead of making 40 to 50$ get a credit card that offers 12motnhs 0% interest free and 200-300$ bonus for spending 1000 in the first three months, and make your payments to the credit card instead, youll make more money that way instead of financing it though the jeweler
Don't finance an engagement ring.
Why would you want to ask someone to spend the rest of their life with you and to share a home and finances and then give them a gift that by doing so put you both in debt?
You don't need to spend a lot on a ring.
I would 100% plan on having it paid off before the wedding, it’s not like I want to defer the cost onto my partner (that would be pretty shady). I could definitely pay it in cash immediately, but at 0% I’m failing to see why I should
The cost of 0% financing is priced into the ring cost?
What do you plan on doing with the cash? If it's just going to sit around in a savings account, I'd say one option to consider is to sign up for one of those fancy travel/hotel cards. Generally they have a spend requirement to get the sign-up bonus points, put the ring on that, that should either fulfill your spend or if not, get you really close. Then use the points towards paying for flight/hotel for your honeymoon, and then cancel the card after if you don't think it's worth its annual fee.
Most of the other responses are basically missing the point about financing it solely because you are keeping your cash liquid, and focusing on the price point.
If you can afford to pay it in full immediately, but have an offer to finance it at no additional cost, there is no downside to doing so, which lets you spread the payments instead of taking a huge hit at once. It's a smart accounting move, as long as you are diligent and make sure it is paid before the 0% financing period expires.
This is what I did with mine. I had the cash to pay it immediately; chose to take 12 month 0% financing so that my bank account remains relatively stable.
That said, read the other responses for the opinion on how much to be spending on it at all.
Agreed. If you have to finance it then it is out of your budget range.
Or you're bad at budgeting (aka me).
I tried for 3-4 months to set aside money for a ring - not even an expensive one, just ~1500 bucks - and something always ended up coming up, car repairs or flights I needed to buy or whatever. I ended up just financing it - I'm paying about 50 bucks in interest over the 3 month term, but that's honestly worth it to me to just have it and not have to stress over trying to save up for it.
If you have to finance it for 12 months or something then yeah, that would be a little crazy. And having to take out a loan for $1500 felt stupid, but it was never going to happen otherwise.
I recently bought a ring and got engaged... just a suggestion but look up the product number online for the one you are looking at, I found the same one I was going to buy in an online store for almost 50% less than they were going to charge me in store. They priced matched in store as well.
There's technically no downside to a 0% financing offer as long as you make sure to pay it off before the zero interest period expires. I'd still recommend just getting all the money up front and making the purchase in cash. Ask for a cash discount--I got 3% when I purchased mine.
Absolutely not. My gf and I have financial goals. Staying debt free is one of them. Debt=living beyond your means. Save for what you want, or compromise.
I found a beautiful handmade 2carat tulip cathedral moissanite in 14k gold. It’s gorgeous, she loves it and we are on track with our goals.
Agreed! also with lab diamonds available you can really get an incredible ring within most price points.
I was going to say! You can get a big ass lab grown for less than a 1.5 carat mined diamond. A 1 carat lab grown or smaller shouldn’t break the bank.
For my original engagement ring my husband did the 12 months of interest free financing through Kay. The thing is, you HAVE to pay it off during the interest free period. He did and no regrets.
That’s the only way I would finance it, if it was interest free, but I would be scared that something would come up and prevent me from being able to pay it off in time. I chose to wait and just wear a plain band until we had the cash in hand.
My husband did this as well. And I think he had it paid off in 4 months. Just didn’t have the cash on hand to pay all at once.
This. Anytime we've done a loan for a nonessential purchase, it has to be 0%. We take the total due and split it by 11 months (not 12), and set it to autopay. The late fees can be predatory.
My advice: if you do choose financing, make sure to read the fine print on interest and timeline. Know exactly how long the promo lasts, plus what penalties you might face.
I avoided loans altogether and just bought something meaningful and within reach. It may not have been the ‘dream diamond,’ but it’s the sentiment
These days there are so many affordable options. If you wanted to share your budget, preferences, and expectations, Reddit is a good place for ideas & advice on finding one within any price range.
Hey yall got a question regarding purchasing an engagement and wedding band for my gf. I want to negotiate the price of the rings. Let's say I name my price and say I can pay up front. They counteroffer with something a bit higher but say they can do my price if I use their financing. Assuming no cost of financing, is it a good idea to take my price with their financing? Also take into consideration that within a year I will be having my credit evaluated for a mortgage.
Further context, I'm able to pay off their financing almost immediately.
Don't finance a wedding, wedding ring or engagement ring.
>Let's say I name my price and say I can pay up front.
This is shady. Don't deal with sellers who have "deals". It rarely works to your advantage.
I don't think you're understanding the question, they're not offering me a deal. I'm trying negotiate down from their listed price. I would obviously do due diligence in investigating the terms of any potential financing.
>They counteroffer with something a bit higher but say they can do my price if I use their financing.
They are playing games. The price should be the price, separate from cash or financing. You can bet he is trying to make money off of you, not give you a good deal.
Their financing is 0% interest? No fees to set up, and no early payoff fees?
If so and 'a bit higher' is relatively small, it might be worth taking the financing and paying it off a month or so before you start looking at houses. Keep the money separate in an HYSA so that you're absolutely certain you pay it off on time.
I want to buy a ring and propose to my girlfriend before the end of the year but I’m working on a limited budget now although I expect my financial situation to improve in a few months. Does anyone have any tips/advice regarding financing a ring for someone pretty early in the process?
Do not go into debt. There is no worse way to start off a marriage!! You could save money little by little and work with that, or you can just buy a cheaper ring for now and upgrade it one day (very common).
I would honestly suggest this; dont buy a ring you cant afford to pay off right now. Paying interest is expensive.
Dont forget you will be paying for a wedding in a year or two uf things go well! If you cant afford your ring, you need to focus on planning financially for your wedding rather than stressing about making payments on the ring months or years after you bought it.
She wont love you any less if you get her a ring in your budget. Abd you'll have less arguments at home if you start out married life financially secure with no debts!
Alot of jewelers will offer 0% interest for as long as 18 months. Even if you can afford to pay for it now, it's smart to finance if you are offered a deal like that because that money is better spent invested in something that will make you some type of return.
That's true...IF your jeweller offers you 0% interest, and IF you can afford to DEFINITELY pay it back by 18 months and IF the money is a big enough sum that that's an actual advantage and the interest youd earn on those savings would matter.
Yes. Don’t. Propose with a stand in ring that you can afford and upgrade when finances allow.
She’ll also likely appreciate the opportunity to have input into the eventual design!
Don’t finance a ring. Get something within your means. Talk with your partner about different diamond alternatives and see what she thinks. I highly recommend moissanite because it’s durable, sparkly, and more affordable. r/moissanite has a list of trusted vendors who can make you a ring for under $1000. If your future fiancée likes colored stones, sapphire is another great option. You can always upgrade to a natural or lab diamond down the road when your financial situation is more stable.
If you don't mind my asking, what is your budget now? We may be able to help you find something nice without going into debt!
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Don’t go into debt for a ring, save up or buy one you can comfortably afford now. It may be 0% interest but a lot can happen during that time that can cause you to no longer be able to pay it off before that 0% ends
Honestly recommend buying a ring you can afford now. My wife got a cheap ring when we were young and couldn’t afford much. Now that we are more established we updated the ring to a nicer one.
Best of luck and congratulations on the future engagement.
If you have the money for it, then go ahead.
If you don’t, then don’t.
The point of 0% APR is to put the cash you already have in a liquid fund, like a HYSA, and make the interest back vs the 0% APR.
You don’t spend money you don’t have. The rules of the game don’t change.
If you have a relationship with an existing bank, see what cards they offer and if they allow credit line transfers. You can't guarantee what limit you'll get on a new 0% card, so if it's not enough you'll need to add credit line from another existing open card. Only some banks allow you to do this. Chase and Amex do allow it, unsure on others.
Congrats!
Hey u/TJKinged - First off, congratulations on your upcoming engagement! That's one hell of a milestone and I wish you the best.
I don't know your financial situation or your experience/discipline with financial vehicles such as credit or lending, so I'll keep it to general statements.
Not paying the full statement balance on credit cards can be a slippery slope for beginners.
While having the flexibility of an interest free card for up to two years has its perks, life is never a straight line with fully expected events and expenses.
If you have the money in cash today and are just looking to keep it in a reserve/emergency fund as you save up over the next 1-2 years... and there are other benefits/perks of the card you can leverage (e.g. sign up bonuses, etc)... then ok.
Try to always have a plan to pay it off well before the interest free period, since you never know what can happen down the line.
And while this may be overstepping, and quite simply none of my business, I apologize in advance if this following statement offends: Please make sure you can afford the ring. We usually get caught up in the marketing of engagement rings and listen to old dumb "rules" about what gem to use, how many karats, the clarity, etc. etc. etc... and we often lose sight of the purpose. If you both love each other, and your significant other is ready for it, you'll find years down the line that all the stress of getting the biggest or the best or whatever parameters you had for the ring matters less and less.
Again, I may just be in my old man mode and giving 2 cents you definitely didn't ask for.
That being said, you can always go to a personal finance subreddit and give more context as to your situation if you're looking for more detail or guidance around the credit card or dollar range.
To conclude and give a blanket answer: You can definitely do it. Be mindful disciplined about it. And best wishes!
Me and my girlfriend aren’t the best financially but we have a son and I definitely wanna spend the rest of my life with her. I’m excited to ask for her hand in marriage but i’m stressing over where I could buy an affordable ring...I don’t care how much the ring is in total I just want payments that aren’t too much and a low to no down payment. Help?
Etsy has beautiful affordable rings and many jewellers will set up a layaway for you!
There are plenty of affordable engagement rings on Etsy!
I would suggest looking into alternative stones to diamonds, coloured gemstones or moissanite if your partner likes the clear stone look. My partner and I got a beautiful moissanite ring from Etsy for 20% of the price of a similar diamond ring. Plus, you can find lots of vendors on Etsy who are willing to do a payment plan. Just do your research and read plenty of shop reviews before ordering anything. Best of luck! ����
Have you asked what she wants in a ring?
Most major jewelers offer financing-just make sure you fully understand the terms and are comfortable making the payments. James Allen, Brilliant Earth, etc are all largely online jewelers with financing plans you can apply for. I wouldn’t approach Etsy artists asking about payment plans unless they have already mentioned it in their listing-Etsy doesn’t have a way to mandate this and you’re putting an artist in a risky situation
I am looking to buy a 2-3k engagement ring to propose to my girlfriend with. I do not currently have enough room in the budget to outright pay for it, so what is my best option? Do I just go for it with a credit card and pay it off slowly with interest, or is there a better way?
Either get a cheaper ring or save up until you can buy it in cash.
Financing anything on a credit card is a recipe for disaster.
How long have you been thinking about proposing?
How long have you been discussing this with your girlfriend?
I ask because marriage shouldn’t be entered into lightly. And so if you just started thinking about proposing, then perhaps you should start discussions and saving ($2k/12 is $167/month).
If you’ve been talking about it and you’ve yet to save for the ring, alongside wedding costs, etc, then you’re not ready financially and financing would the worst thing you could do.
You’re better off looking for something within your budget and upgrading at a milestone anniversary.
The ring shouldn’t matter to the point where you’d go into debt.
Jumping on the top comment because I got pretty far down and haven’t seen this mentioned… you should be able to negotiate the price of a ring from a jewelry store. Markups are immense and there could be significant room for savings. Just do your research.
This recommendation is in addition to everyone else’s very good advice to not go into debt for a ring.
When my husband and I got married, we were dead broke so we bought the cheapest rings available. We upgraded on our 15 year anniversary now that we are in a much better financial position, it was lovely to re-propose with the new rings and a nice symbol of our journey together.
This is the way to do it. If i could go back in time, i would have proposed with a more affordable ring… and then upgrade every X years!
If you have a family heirloom, that could be an option too
All of this.
but also, what type of ring does your fiance want? my ex got me a ring that was pretty much the exact opposite of what i wanted. I was happy to give it back to him in the divorce. She could have a specific design or cut. or she could be absolutely shocked that you'd spend so much money on something that loses a huge chunk of it's value when you walk out of the store with it.
I told my new partner, alternative stones or vintage diamond if we decide to get married.
Also, this better not be a surprise engagement. you should be talking about it with her so that you're on the same page.
Whatever you do don't go into debt for the ring. It would be a dumb decision to start your marriage in more debt than you need to be.
When I was doing financial counseling, I met a surprising number of people who were paying off the engagement ring and the divorce lawyer.
Or, adjust what you want to buy or the time line to buy it in. So much more expenditures are coming for you after this point-saving for the wedding, honeymoon, house, kids etc depending on what you want in that realm. If you have this debt, the next thing will have to be on credit as well. Congratulations on the pending engagement, but plan for the future as well.
This. If you last and she wants to, she can upgrade it. For our 25th anniversary, I made my wife a private appointment with a jeweler with no budget limit. You won't have to wait that long, but regardless when you do it, pay cash and get what you can afford. My 35th anniversary is Sunday, so this strategy has worked so far.
I also got a Promise ring. My now husband had been willing to find more but the ring stole my heart just like he did. Also we were broke college students at the time and it was cheap. Now we make way more than we did and are celebrating 10 years together. I wouldn't trade that ring for an upgrade in a million years!!
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Are you sure about spending $8k? What are the specs of the ring? It might be possible to find it cheaper.
My own financial advice is that you can't really afford an $8k engagement ring when you only have $17,000 in savings and are planning to spend it on a down payment. I think an emergency savings fund should cover 6 months of expenses, and you should have that on top of your down payment savings. That could be unrealistic if you aren't making a lot, but if that's the case, then an $8k engagement ring is also unrealistic.
If you are going to buy this exact ring regardless, then 0% interest is not a bad option especially since your own money should be accruing interest in the meantime.
I agree with this--you can usually find the same aesthetic of ring at different price points--the first one that I found that I liked the look of was $15k with a natural diamond (wasn't really considering this one but I liked the aesthetic), I ended up picking one that is almost the same with a lab diamond for $2k. There are a lot of beautiful rings out there for $2000-4000.
I found the same specs on Rarecarat for cheaper but I don’t trust buying something before. The ring she chose I actually saw in person and thought I wanted to be proposed with it, I really liked it and she REALLY loved it
1.5carat VVS2, D, lab-grown which is a little under 3k, then the setting is $4k(setting with wedding band), without the band the ring would be $5-6k.
We went shopping together, I thought $8000 was doable but I guess I fucked up posting for advice about going into debt in this subreddit
Maybe you can include her in the process as you continue shopping or even get her approval for something you ordered online? it depends on her expectations..everyone is different but i don’t care about it being a surprise at all Lol $8000 just sounds a bit extravagant to me.. and you might wish you had that money when it comes to wedding time
What's the setting like? That stone alone should be well under $1000USD.
That stone is outrageously priced, and I don’t even mind companies/designers upcharging somewhat. I’m not expecting every store to match Calavera or similar, but $3k for a 1.5 lab diamond is robbery.
Put it on a zero interest credit card for sure.
We bought my 3.33ct with nearly perfect specs for just over $2k (and this was 18mos ago, prices have dropped considerably since then). $3k for a 1.5ct is outrageous in today’s market.
Wait and save.
Yes to 0% interest card. Get a card where you'll earn bonus points for hotels or something, and then you can use those points toward your vacation.
engagement ring financing options
Key Considerations for Engagement Ring Financing Options:
Credit Card Financing:
Store Financing:
Personal Loans:
Layaway Plans:
Peer-to-Peer Lending:
Buy Now, Pay Later Services:
Recommendation: Before choosing a financing option, assess your budget and ensure you can comfortably make the payments. If possible, save up for a down payment to reduce the amount you need to finance. Always compare interest rates and terms from multiple sources to find the best deal.
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