Frugal Engagement Rings 🏆 Buy It For Life

I'm going to propose to my girlfriend. I'm thinking about something in the $1000-$1500 range.

How can I find an engagement ring at a good price and not get ripped off?

EDIT: I'm just going through all the responses now, and just wanted to say thank you so much for all the input I really appreciate it!!

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u/Digger-of-Tunnels Oct 21 '24

My spouse has a big, beautiful, sparkly engagement ring that cost under $800. The secret: it's not a diamond.

TALK to her before getting a non-diamond engagement ring though. You do NOT want your proposal to involve "surprised and disappointed" emotions.

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u/Cacafuego Oct 22 '24

I never got my wife an engagement ring (she would have skinned me alive for spending the money), so I'm curious how people start these conversations before the proposal. Of course the proposal should only be a surprise in that you don't know exactly when its coming -- you should hopefully both be on the same page. But talking about a ring sounds a bit like asking someone what color theme they would like for their surprise birthday party.

How do people manage this? Some couples even go shopping for an engagement ring together, apparently.

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u/Eastern-Average8588 Oct 22 '24

Any conversation that starts with "if we ever get married" is a good way to bring up questions like "what kind of ceremony would you want to plan?" and "what type of ring do you think you'd like to wear?" ... hints like that where you know it's on their mind but don't know exactly when and where, and also get a chance to tell them things that are important to you. Me, I sent my husband a link to the ring I wanted and he surprised me by picking the diamond.

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u/Digger-of-Tunnels Oct 22 '24

Despite the delightful videos I see online, I think a marriage proposal shouldn't REALLY be a surprise. By the time it happens, the general subject should have come up and been discussed enough that you know what kind of proposal vibe she would like, what kind of ring she is into... and whether she is going to say yes.