There comes a time in all boy’s lives when we have to own up and get an Engagement Ring. The time when love populates the air and all in the world is right. It’s been some time since i made this adventurous trek myself (2+ years), but the memories are still vivid as the day I lost my power ;)

You see, up to the point where the “exchanging of the ring” occurs us men have all the power. As soon as that bling is snug on that finger though, the woman sucks it all up and we convert into cute little puppy dogs! haha….i dont’ really know what that means actually. I guess what i’m trying to say is it feels good going out there and being a man by putting that ring on your other half. (much better stated)

But if you’ve ever gone down this road before, you know of the crazy obstacles that lay in your way of the “perfect” ring. In fact, my man Doctor S over at Finance Your Life is about to go down it himself! So in honor of this beautiful time in his life, I shall unleash my 3 main tips that I can only hope will help him & all others down the line:

1. The Type of The Ring
Diamond cuts, princess cuts, colors, clarities, certifications, the variables go on and on. If you’re able to do so without spoiling the surprise, I’d highly recommend going ring browsing w/ the lady so you can get an idea of what she likes. As long as you get the big ones down, like the cut and if she’s a “silver/platinum” girl over “yellow gold”, it would be pretty hard to go wrong. And she may not even know what she likes all the way – it’s not like she’s been shopping for them all her life! Well okay, a few probably have, but you get the point ;) Or you can actually pick it out and buy it together if your one of those types. Either way, just be sure you have a decent idea.

2. The Cost of The Ring
Some say it should be 6 paychecks worth (3 months), while others say it should be 6 months worth. Wanna know what I think? MALARKEY. I don’t care what anybody says, you go out there and get a ring that you can afford without killing yourself. If the girl really truly loves you, she’ll admire and cherish it for the rest of your lives together. And if you can only afford a little compared to what you WISH you could give her? Then save up and get her another on your 5-year anniversary. I know someone that’s waiting to save up thousands and thousands of dollars because his girl won’t accept anything less. WTF? Seriously, something’s wrong with that picture.

You don’t wanna go in crazy amounts of debt when you’re about to start a whole new life together. Cuz you have to remember, the ring is just the BEGINNING! What comes next is a whole bunch of wedding planning, gift giving, honeymoon picking, etc etc…If you can barely afford a shiny new ring, you’re gonna have a lot more trouble when the wedding comes around Do everyone a favor and be smart about it :)

3. Financing The Ring
Cash is definitely king here, but I don’t know many that have this sorta cash just laying around. If you’re one of these people, ask about financing it @ the store/site you’ll be buying it from! There are some maaaaad deals out there, esp. during times like these. I was able to secure an interest-free loan for an entire year which saved me a LOT of heartache. I just divided up my payments by 12 so that by the end of the year the balance would be down to zero. It was basically like a credit card line of credit where the interest would jack up to 20%+ after the period ended – so be VERY sure it’s paid off by then ;)

Okay, that’s all i got for ya this round. I could seriously go on and on here as there’s just SOOOOO much you can get into, but ima stop before this gets any longer. I can totally feel word vomit coming on here ;) You can find other wedding goodness I’ve previously posted about here too if it helps. And if you have anything to add, please do so! Us boys can certainly learn a lot more…