Princess Cut Wedding Ring Set ?

Q: I'm engaged! heh.... since this past Sunday in fact. Well, here's my question: What are your experiences with buying a Wedding/engagement ring?

A:Price range really should be set before you go looking. You should set a limit. You can spend from $1,000-$10,000, but YOU need to set your limit according to your budget. Many of my friends only had a couple thousand or less to spend because they were in college. My husband had more (even though he was also in college) because he worked. His college was paid for by money left to him by his grandfather. Many people are not quite as fortunate, but don't break the bank on your ring. You don't want to be paying for it three years after you are married!! My husband and I pretty much pay for everything in full. I know most people pay things off. We dont' like to have debt (which is a good thing when you buy a house!), but sometimes it is unavoidable. We just don't buy things if we don't have the money. If you have to pay it off, I would advise that you be able to pay it off

in a year or less. I know you want a nice ring, but you don't want to regret writing the check every month for years to come. Trust me -- save your money for when you are married! We have all these things we want to buy now that we have been married for 2 years. Set a reasonable amount. Stick to it. If you want something nicer later, you can always get it later. If you can afford it now, do it now!! As with so many things, beware the Wedding Markup scam. Look at "wedding sets" (identical rings, the man's wider than the woman's) and compare them to individual bands. You will often find that bands sold singly are much, much less expensive than the sets.