So you are ready to propose – you have a great proposal idea in your head, you know exactly what you are going to say and you can’t wait to put a ring on her finger. There’s just one problem – you don’t have the ring! Money’s tight though, so you want to find a cheap engagement ring – is it possible?

First off, I hate to use the word “cheap” in the same sentence as “diamond ring”. Why don’t we instead say affordable engagement ring ? sounds a lot better in my opinion!

Budget is the first consideration when you’re working with a tight budget. Figure out how much you can afford to spend on an engagement ring. Be realistic here; it is going to be a significant expense.

You’ll either have to tap into your savings to pay for this purchase or save up for an engagement ring. Don’t make the mistake of spending too little – this is one of the most important purchases you’ll ever make.

Traditionally, about two month’s salary should be spent on an engagement ring. However, this may not be possible for you; you may have a lot of other expenses to handle.

If your budget is too limited for this, don’t stress too much about it. You can find great diamond engagement rings which are affordable. The key is to try to get the most diamond for your dollar.

Typically, you should be prepared to spend at least $1,000 on an engagement ring. This is something she’ll wear forever and is a symbol of your commitment to her. You might have to make some sacrifices to buy this ring. As far as diamond engagement rings go, $1,000 is a low price tag. However, you can make even one thousand dollars go a longer way than you may think if you know what to look for.

Go to my site and grab the Diamond Buying Guide – it will show you a ton of tricks on saving money on engagement rings. It’s amazing how many people waste money on this purchase. I’ll make sure get every last bit of your money’s worth.

The first thing you should do is to look for a simple setting. Go with 14 carat yellow or white gold here. If you’re on a budget, you don’t need to spend the extra money on platinum or 18 carat gold. The bulk of your budget should go towards the diamond, not the setting.

You’ll want to get the largest diamond you can. Diamonds are graded in several ways; my guide will give you ideas about which of these criteria are most important when looking for a diamond engagement ring on a tight budget.

It really is possible to find the perfect ring for your fiance without breaking the bank; just keep in mind that you are not looking for a cheap diamond engagement ring, but an affordable diamond engagement ring! Happy hunting!

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Many people find engagement ring shopping to be an extremely intimidating process. This is a big, meaningful purchase, after all. However, there are ways to save money and make the entire process a lot easier and less stressful, all at the same time!

One obvious thing that most of us know is that the bigger the diamond, the better. This fact is responsible for a lot of people’s fear and anxiety when buying a ring. They’re afraid of having to spend a lot to please their fiance. After all, larger diamonds mean a higher price.

There’s good news too, though. There are a number of ways you can find larger diamonds for only a small fraction of what you initially thought you’d pay. It’s all about getting the most out of your purchase.

Here’s an example that’ll tell you more.

There are four main characteristics used to grade diamonds. These are carat, cut, color and clarity. We’ll take a look at color to see how to get the best deal.

Diamond color is graded on a scale from D to Z, with D being the best quality. Determining a diamond’s color is done under high magnification in a lab.

However, while there may be a big difference between a D diamond and an H diamond to the microscope, there’s not a big difference in those four grades as far as you’re concerned.

Unless you look at the diamonds beside one another, on a white background, and under close magnification, you’ll never notice the difference. The naked eye just can’t see that level of detail. You might spot a difference between D and I if you know what you’re doing, but even grades I and J are hard to see a difference in.

So what’s the point? Why pay more for diamonds graded higher when you can’t tell the difference between them and one that’s graded lower.

The price difference between the two ranges is enormous. You could pay thousands of dollars more for a D grade diamond. Most jewelry stores encourage buyers to choose the highest grades, of course. Most people fall into this scheme, and pay a lot more than they need to.

That’s just one example of ways to save money on an engagement ring. Picking a diamond that has a lower color grading but doesn’t look different to the naked eye will allow you to buy a much bigger diamond for the same amount of money. Learn about diamonds and how to buy, and you’ll get a good deal.

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For many people shopping for an engagement ring is a confusing experience at the start. They haven’t ever shopped for a diamond – how can they know what to look for? Hopefully I can help you get started. Shopping for an engagement ring should be a fun thing. It’s such an exciting time of your life so try not to get stressed about this purchase. Let’s look at the first three things you should do. Once you get these out of the way, you can focus on the most important part of the ring – the diamond.

Make a Budget

My clients are always recommended to do this first. You want to decide what price you can pay and stick to it. There is no “set in stone” rule about how much you need to spend, although many people recommend spending the equivalent of 2 months salary for the ring.

Please be wise and don’t overspend – stay within your budget. I know friends who got too big of loans to purchase a ring and they are still paying for it years after the fact. It is ridiculous to put yourself into financial difficulties. You can always upgrade her ring later after your finances are more stable if you are unable to get the right stone size now. A number of factors go into figuring your budget but you do need to be prepared to pay a good chunk. The smile that the ring will put on her face will make the expense of the diamond well worth it and remember – she will wear it forever.

Choose what type metal for the band.

White gold, yellow gold, and platinum are the 3 main choices for bands. Pay attention to what type of jewelry she owns now. If she owns or wears mostly yellow gold the choice is easy. If she wears white gold or silver than you need to choose either platinum or white gold. The cost of platinum is 3 times that of gold. Platinum is the most durable of the metals. That makes it an attractive choice for people who think about passing it down through the years to family. There is not much maintenance to platinum other than having it polished once in awhile to keep it from having a matte look.

White gold is a bit shinier and less expensive than platinum. White gold can scratch easier than platinum but not to a degree that you have to be concerned. Every year or two you have to get it replated as the metal will start to get a yellowish tinge (white gold is just yellow gold mixed with other metals to make it a different color). Replating does not cost much however you will have to take it in every couple of years.

You need to compare the looks of both platinum and white gold at this point. You will be able to see which you prefer this way. This will help you decide which to buy.

3) Choose the setting

The setting is the basic style of the ring itself. Does it have one diamond? Are there several diamonds on the ring? This is determined by the setting you choose for your engagement ring. You have three main choices to chose from. A solitaire engagement ring is the simplest but also the most popular. It is one single diamond mounted on a band. This is the perfect way to show off a diamond. A three stone engagement ring has one center diamond, and two smaller diamonds beside it – one on each side. These side diamonds are usually about 30-60% of the size of the center diamond.

A diamond engagement ring with side stones has one main center diamond and then several small diamond on both sides. These diamonds are usually very small so they don’t cost an arm and a leg. If you aren’t sure what she would prefer, try to find out. The best way is to have one of her friends (that you trust!) ask her and then let you know. Girls talk about jewelry so she won’t automatically suspect anything. You will feel a lot better knowing you got her the right one.

You can now get to the fun part since you have done the three first steps – selecting the diamond! Since she will wear this ring for life make sure to concentrate on getting a diamond that is truly stunning – it is such a pleasure watching my wife receive positive remarks on hers. Lets me remember that I did good picking it out!

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My future wife and I had been in need of a getaway in an urgent way. Our busy lives were taking a toll on both of us. What she didn’t know was that I was planning this trip for over a year to propose to her in an exciting and fun way.

Asking her to marry me on the beaches of the Caribbean was as romantic as it could get. However I wanted to do it in a way that would be a forever memory. An amazing story she could tell her girlfriends.

To be able to pull my plan off I firstly hid clues around the resort. I then told my significant other that the resort was holding a treasure hunt for the patrons. Each clue would send us to the next and so on.

My girlfriend was not really into it at first, as we had planned to have dinner at a restaurant in town. I told her that I thought we could actually win the treasure hunt so she started getting more involved. We set off to find the first clue and found it pretty easily (wink wink). She was getting excited every time we found another clue.

At one point she sees another couple with a flier in hand appearing that they were looking for clues too. Perfect, the competition was on as my fiance is very competitive. Soon we were next to the last clue leading us to the beach.

I was careful that afternoon to plant, in a little clay heart shaped box, the engagement ring. I buried in the sand with a philodendron plant as a marker. I could only hope no one saw me bury it and would uncover the diamond ring.

We approached the beach my heart began to boom in my chest. The game had made me totally forget that I was about to propose to my girlfriend. The second to last clue had told us to look for a small plant on the beach in front of the bar area. We were in the dusk now and it was really hard to see. I kept leading her in the right direction even though she thought it was the other way.

As we stumblrd in the near dark I began to coax her towards where the plant was. I finally had to move towards it and yell that I thought I had found it. She scrambled over and picked up the plant and examined it. I told her to dig a little under where it had been. She did and found the box pretty easily. I sauntered onto one knee and when she opened the box I popped the question. She was dumbfounded and began to cry. She looke d at me and smiled and said yes I will marry you. It was a remarkable and fun proposal.

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