How Much Should You Actually Spend on an Engagement Ring?
The "three months salary" rule was invented by De Beers in a 1930s advertising campaign. It was marketing, not financial advice. The real answer to how much you should spend on an engagement ring is: whatever you can afford without debt, without anxiety, and without sacrificing other financial priorities that matter to your life together. The salary rule is dead De Beers first introduced the "one month's salary" guideline in the 1930s, then upgraded it to two months in the 1980s. By the 2000s, some retailers had pushed it to three months. The number kept climbing because it was good...