You can save money on an engagement ring without compromising quality or beauty. In fact, a little planning can help you choose the perfect engagement ring for your bride-to-be without breaking the bank.

Reasons to Consider a Cheaper Engagement Ring

A beautiful ring symbolizes your love for one another, but why should love max out your credit card? An engagement ring can serve the same purpose whether you spent thousands of dollars or just a few hundred.

Weddings are becoming increasingly expensive. Add to that saving up a “nest egg,” buying a house and starting a family and you’ll soon see everything adding up!

You don’t have to postpone the wedding, but you should carefully consider your alternatives when it comes to a ring.

Alternative Metals

Before buying an engagement ring, consider purchasing one made with a lower quality metal. White and yellow gold is much cheaper than platinum, for instance; silver, on the other hand, is cheaper than gold.

Cheaper metals can help you save quite a bit on the ring. If you don’t plan to wear your engagement ring and wedding band together, you can even save up for a higher quality wedding ring and leave the inexpensive band for your engagement.

If you do plan to wear your wedding band and engagement ring together however, you should buy each band in the same metal. Wearing a lower quality metal against a higher grade metal can cause the higher grade metal to sustain damage.

Gemstones

While diamonds have always been the most popular choice for engagement rings, more couples are turning to other gemstones for their center stone. Colored gemstones are a beautiful alternative to traditional diamonds and can be found for much less.

Fortunately, there are many gemstones other than diamonds that would be suitable as the center stone in an engagement ring. Sapphires, rubies and emeralds are all beautiful choices, but others can work just as well.

Provided your choice is symbolic of your love and commitment to one another and has meaning to you, an alternative gemstone engagement ring can help save you money and look just as striking as a diamond.

Buy a Loose Diamond

If you are intent on giving your bride to be a beautiful diamond ring, consider purchasing a loose diamond from a dealer and having it set at a professional jeweler. Provided you aren’t having anything too fancy created for you, this can oftentimes save you quite a bit of money over buying the entire ring at one place.

Save on Settings

A simple, classic setting can save you a lot of money on an engagement ring. Chances are, your significant other will only be showing off the center stone – no one will be paying much attention to what it’s mounted in!

After a few years of marriage, you can always upgrade the ring to something a little more elaborate.

Buying an engagement ring symbolizes a lifetime of happiness, commitment and love for another person – but it shouldn’t cost a fortune! These money saving tips can help you find a beautiful engagement ring she’ll be proud to wear without skimping on quality.