Income to diamond ratio?

[dreamofdiamonds]

I was just wondering how much people spend on their diamond compare to how much they make.

specify:

1) if you bought the diamond alone (1 income) and what was the cost of the engagement ring and your income?

2) if you bought the diamond as a couple (shared income) what is your combined income and what was the cost of the engagement ring, this can include upgrages?

*** I understand that its a personal question ( how much you make) but I really want honest, truthful answers. Its like no one wants to talk about how much they make.

my personal question.

3) Is it too much to spend 20K on a diamond ring when you have a combined income of 100K? FYI- I would rather have a better diamond than a newer car. Also, I would rather not upgrade later in life. I might eat the words later but thats how I feel now.

Thanks for your input.

 

[neatfreak]

I think it''s not too much if you can pay in cash without feeling a pinch otherwise.

 

[chrono]

Some with a large income do not feel the need to spend a lot on an e-ring.
Some with a smaller income feel it is important to go all out on the e-ring.

In short, everyone has different priorities unrelated to their incomes. I agree with Neatfreak that as long as you can afford it in cash (no need to borrow), whatever amount you spend is never to little or too much.

 

[amyjokerette]

$20K seems like a lot for a combined income of $100K... but thats just me... I''d say maybe half of that, or less.

It might also depend on your age and other factors... are you planning on having children, or are your children all grown up? etc..

 

[JoeNewbie11]

I spent about a 1/10th of my yearly gross income on the diamond and ring combined.

 

[oneandahalfrock]

Lots of factors go into it...
For example, when we were first starting out, the engagement ring was an important thing to him and his family, so I still got a beautiful 1.5 carat H VS2 diamond
I was very happy to get it, but at the time, it didn't match our income at all. would he have done it different? probably not...

 

[dreamofdiamonds]

We dont have any kids. We dont want any until we are in our 40's. We are both new in our career and dont own a home. I already have a ring that is 3/4 carat that he bought me 6 years ago.

You guys can put me in my place. Initally, I thought I wanted a 1.5-2 carats and then after reading and seeing pictures on PS, our search has jump top 3 carats. Maybe this is ridiculous. i dont know

 

[phoenixgirl]

This question doesn''t really apply to me as we used an heirloom diamond and my husband made diddly-squat when we got engaged. Two years ago before the market crashed (DH is a financial advisor), I would have thought an $8-$10k diamond ring would have been reasonable to ask for when we were making $125k, but this would only be if I didn''t already have a ring. Today I''m glad that we''ve only spent about $5k on my jewelry over the years . . . enough to have nice pieces but not so much that we''re regretting what we spent it on now that DH''s income is reduced. And other things go into the decision, like how much you two have in savings, what your short and long term financial goals are, how secure your income is, etc. It''s difficult if you both don''t see eye to eye on where a diamond fits into this equation.

I think if you have the money and you really want that $20k ring (and you''ll still have savings/be moving towards your financial goals), then you should go for it. You only live once. You might be able to justify the expense by forgoing a vacation and getting a car that costs half as much as what you might have gotten otherwise. But if the $100k a year doesn''t include much in the way of savings and would involve financing the ring, I personally don''t think it''s wise. I still get the desire, though!

 

[diamondringlover]

Date: 7/13/2009 4:38:15 PM
Author: JoeNewbie11
I spent about a 1/10th of my yearly gross income on the diamond and ring combined.

Ditto, I was just adding up what was spent on the orginial 25 years ago and what was spent on the upgrade 7 years ago, and it was right around this amount, now of course I am married with 2 kids. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[swingirl]

Of course everyone is going to say it's a personal choice. But a $20k upgrade on a $100K combined salary with no house seems excessive. Since there is a good likely hood you won't have kids if you wait until you are in your 40s you're probably thinking there's a lot of time to save for a house if you decide you want one. My philosophy is to get some of the basic "needs" out of the way before the "wants".

Me: way less than 25% of annual take home income.

 

[glitterata]

Dream, if you plan on having children when you are both in your 40s, you should probably budget for fertility or adoption expenses. I have friends who have spent way more than you''re considering spending on your ring, trying to have children at a late age. Some were successful and some weren''t.

But as far as how much you should spend on wedding jewelry, that depends on how much you have saved, how secure your jobs are, what circles you move in, and what you prefer to spend your money on.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 7/13/2009 5:04:20 PM
Author: glitterata
Dream, if you plan on having children when you are both in your 40s, you should probably budget for fertility or adoption expenses. I have friends who have spent way more than you''re considering spending on your ring, trying to have children at a late age. Some were successful and some weren''t.

DITTO ... 20K''s gonna look like chump change comparatively. Buy what you can afford. If you don''t think you can afford it ... you probably can''t. And don''t get too wrapped up in what other ladies here on Pricescope have. Three carats: No home? Are you SERIOUS?

 

[jstarfireb]

In our case, he bought the ring using savings and student loan money. Tuition and living expenses in medical school are about $50-60k. So I guess you could consider that his income, even though he technically had no income. The ring cost $6000...roughly 10%.

ETA: Regarding home ownership, it depends on your goals. I personally would rather rent than own. He wants to own, so that's what we'll eventually do. BUT home ownership is not the be-all and end-all...it's not for everyone.

 

[partgypsy]

I agree with others it is a personal decision what is appropriate to spend, and it should be money that is available to be spent (not allocated for emergency savings, house fund, etc). But since you asked;

For my anniversary ring (I don''t have a traditional engagement ring) it was 1/4 my husband''s income, but less than 5% of our combined income. But to us it was a big purchase. As far as not having children until your 40''s, I know it is a very personal question, but why? I had my 2 kids at 35 and 39 and while necessary from needing a stable job, other reasons I wouldn''t say it is ideal. Even if you are adopting, your energy level goes down, and ask yourself if you want to be hitting 60 when your kid is graduating from highschool.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/13/2009 5:40:56 PM
Author: part gypsy
I agree with others it is a personal decision what is appropriate to spend, and it should be money that is available to be spent (not allocated for emergency savings, house fund, etc). But since you asked;

For my anniversary ring (I don''t have a traditional engagement ring) it was 1/4 my husband''s income, but less than 5% of our combined income. But to us it was a big purchase. As far as not having children until your 40''s, I know it is a very personal question, but why? I had my 2 kids at 35 and 39 and while necessary from needing a stable job, other reasons I wouldn''t say it is ideal. Even if you are adopting, your energy level goes down, and ask yourself if you want to be hitting 60 when your kid is graduating from highschool.

nope !!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/13/2009 4:42:18 PM
Author: dreamofdiamonds
We dont have any kids. We dont want any until we are in our 40''s. We are both new in our career and dont own a home. I already have a ring that is 3/4 carat that he bought me 6 years ago.

You guys can put me in my place. Initally, I thought I wanted a 1.5-2 carats and then after reading and seeing pictures on PS, our search has jump top 3 carats. Maybe this is ridiculous. i dont know

go for it !!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/13/2009 5:09:29 PM
Author: decodelighted

Date: 7/13/2009 5:04:20 PM
Author: glitterata
Dream, if you plan on having children when you are both in your 40s, you should probably budget for fertility or adoption expenses. I have friends who have spent way more than you're considering spending on your ring, trying to have children at a late age. Some were successful and some weren't.

DITTO ... 20K's gonna look like chump change comparatively. Buy what you can afford. If you don't think you can afford it ... you probably can't. And don't get too wrapped up in what other ladies here on Pricescope have. Three carats: No home? Are you SERIOUS?

but a home doesn't sparkle like a diamond.

 

[swingirl]

Date: 7/13/2009 7:24:41 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 7/13/2009 5:40:56 PM
Author: part gypsy
I agree with others it is a personal decision what is appropriate to spend, and it should be money that is available to be spent (not allocated for emergency savings, house fund, etc). But since you asked;

For my anniversary ring (I don't have a traditional engagement ring) it was 1/4 my husband's income, but less than 5% of our combined income. But to us it was a big purchase. As far as not having children until your 40's, I know it is a very personal question, but why? I had my 2 kids at 35 and 39 and while necessary from needing a stable job, other reasons I wouldn't say it is ideal. Even if you are adopting, your energy level goes down, and ask yourself if you want to be hitting 60 when your kid is graduating from highschool.

nope !!

And paying for college when you approaching retirement and facing possible health issues? Not good.

 

[ms.halo]

Date: 7/13/2009 4:59:53 PM
Author: swingirl
But a $20k upgrade on a $100K combined salary with no house seems excessive.

Ditto. And ditto on the comment about saving up for fertility treatment if you really don''t want to have kids until you''re in your 40s.

My household income is more than yours (not going to say how much) and the price for my upgrade was less than half of your budget (and a very small portion of our savings). Just sayin.

 

[Black Jade]

I don''t know if you are the man or the woman in the relationship, Dream. If you are the man, you can have children in your 40''s--but with a wife over 40, it''s not going to work very well. In fact, scientists have now learned that women''s fertility starts decreasing after age 30. Before 35 most women are OK; after 35 fertility issues start coming up, though some women are lucky. Definitely waiting until 40 isn''t wise if you are a woman and seriously seriously want your own children.

I don''t know about other people, but I have some reluctance to divulge my family income online on the offchance that someone can figure out who I am and where I live, though I try to be really careful to leave no clues about that. But it''s surprising what people can figure out from the internet. I think people are not trying to be mean, or secretive, just careful, since we are after all on a site that reveals that we have the means to buy, and often already own, objects that many would think are worth going to some trouble to steal.

I agree with most of the posters that there is no ''set'' relationship between income and diamond size. Advertisements would like you to think that it is so, and that a man ''should'' spend 2 months income on an engagement ring (when I was young, they used to say, one month). Some people are very affected by these ads and/or competitive with their friends or people in their circles and end up spending much more than they can afford. I would definitely say that 20K is an unreasonable amount for a couple to spend when they make $100k combined. The thing about a diamond is, it''s not like savings in the banks, you can''t get back the money you paid for it and it definitely doesn''t sit around making interest for you. You want to be sure you have savings and are on the way to having a house and all those things before spending 20% of BOTH of your yearly incomes on a ring, especially in this current economy.

I will tell you this, when I got engaged my husband spend about 1.5% of his then salary for the diamond--and I got a very nice one. It wasn''t the biggest out of my friends and acquaintances but it was (IS) beautiful and within 6 mos of marriage, he bought our first condominium, which appreciated and in spite of previous economic downturns (yes, there have been some before), allowed us to get our current home. I think I got a better deal than my brother''s wife, who got a GREAT diamond but had to move in my mother for the first two years of their marriage. She and my mother still don''t get along today.

 

[jstarfireb]

Dreamofdiamonds, FWIW, I''m not even considering kids before 30-35 (probably 35) based on where I am in my career right now. (I actually don''t want them at all, but that''s another story.) I''ll be 30 by the time I''m finished with my training, and I want to have a few years of just us as a couple. I''m in the medical field, so I''m well aware of the difficulties that start after 35 or so, including fertility, genetic disorders, etc. It''s still a personal choice, and everyone has their reasons one way or another; we just want to make sure you have thought through everything completely before you make such major investments.

 

[risingsun]

If you have the idea that the average size of a PS engagement ring is 3ct, you would be mistaken

 

[Gypsy]

Incomes don't really tell the story. A couple can make 65K combined, live in a very inexpensive area with no debt, no kids or plans for them, own their home outright and decide to buy a 30K ring because they've been saving up for it.

Another couple could make a combined income of 300K, live in Manhattan, have a million dollar mortgage and grad school debt of 150K and 3 kids and paying alimony and child support from a previous marriage. They could decide that 12K is all they can do.

I think that as long as A) you can afford to pay it in cash or B) pay it off EASILY in a couple of months... you're good as long as your priorities are on the same page regarding kids, your wedding costs, homeownership, etc.

So 20K could be reasonable, or it could be crazy on 100K combined income. Can't tell.


If we were going to buy a ring NOW... we'd spend right around 7% of our annual combined income (not including our combined yearly bonuses which equal up to 18% of our income).

 

[cmames99]

I just turned 28, rent an apartment (1 income), work by day and go to grad school at night. I''m in the process of buying an e-ring for my GF right now (THANK YOU PS!). I''m buying a 1.03ct - J - VS1 - AGS Ideal 0 Princess w/ a 14k White Gold Tiffany Setting from WF. Per your request, I ran the numbers and it looks like I am spending 7-8% of my gross salary (11-12% of my net) on the diamond and ring.

In determing my budget I decided on a $ amount that I would be comfortable with spending and then came up with a plan to save "x" amount of dollars every month and put it in a seperate savings account until I reached my goal (and was ready to take the plunge).

Now I am a day and a bank wire away from making one of the biggest purchases of my life...

 

[swingirl]

Date: 7/14/2009 1:26:00 AM
Author: cmames99
I just turned 28, rent an apartment (1 income), work by day and go to grad school at night. I''m in the process of buying an e-ring for my GF right now (THANK YOU PS!). I''m buying a 1.03ct - J - VS1 - AGS Ideal 0 Princess w/ a 14k White Gold Tiffany Setting from WF. Per your request, I ran the numbers and it looks like I am spending 7-8% of my gross salary (11-12% of my net) on the diamond and ring.

In determing my budget I decided on a $ amount that I would be comfortable with spending and then came up with a plan to save ''x'' amount of dollars every month and put it in a seperate savings account until I reached my goal (and was ready to take the plunge).

Now I am a day and a bank wire away from making one of the biggest purchases of my life...

Smart guy!! Are there more where you came from? I''ve got a daughter...

 

[Phoenix]

My initial reaction was: $20k seems a lot on a $100k income. My original ering is only one month of my husband's then income. My best ring's ering - though a Tiffany - is I think also her DH's one month salary. They have tons and tons of money but they decided not to spend more than that.

But then, if you have other funds, including emergency savings, other assets (you don't have to tell us what you have) and you feel comfortable spending the money (and it is cash/ savings and not credit), then why not (?!).

Oh just so you know, most PSe'rs do not have 3ct stones; and for those that do, they're most likely upgrades (just like mine -after many years of marriage, and after our incomes and assets have grown).

 

[cindygenit]

My FI bought my e-ring himself at a B&M store (and yes, he overpaid by 100% at least). He is on a relatively low income though, so i think he spent about 2 1/2 months salary on it

20 k is a lot when you have a combined income of 100k, but the ring is important to you, so it's not excessive at all to spend that much. Do what makes you happy.

ETA: My Fi was making 35k a year before tax, and my e-ring cost him $6000

 

[joelly]

Are you sure about spending 20K on an e-ring? How much the wedding/honeymoon costs will be? A 20K e-ring seems to deserve a 100K wedding costs. Just a thought!

My FI spent 6% of his income on my e-ring and he is very happy with it. If not because of PS, he will go to the B&M store and spent the same amount for a lesser quality ring.

 

[lowphat]

$20k on a combined $100k budget is stretching it a bit tight. But if you really want to do it, go for it. Otherwise you''ll just be regretting your decision and not really be able to enjoy the smaller ring that you end up with.

With that said, $20k won''t get you a nice 3 ct ring. You''ll need alot more. And like someone else also mentioned, most of the people on PS don''t have 3 ct rings. And the ones that do, are proabably alot older than you think. I''m sure there are probably less than a handful of PSers that have a 3 ct ring that are in their 20''s or early 30''s.

 

[dreamofdiamonds]

Good luck!