Five ways to save on buying an engagement ring

Deciding to propose to your partner is one of the most exciting and thrilling times in your life. Will they say yes? Will they like the ring you picked out? Where are you going to propose? All of these questions are probably running through your head, along with - how am I going to afford this?

Marriage proposals can be quite costly, so to help you out, here are 5 ways to save on buying an engagement ring!

1. Shop online! There is a certain experience when you buy an engagement ring at a local jeweller that you can’t receive by buying online, but if you’re looking to save money, the internet may be the way to go for many reasons. To start with, there’s a good chance that you’ll find a wider selection of rings online that are on sale. Stores typically carry a limited stock, which isn’t always discounted as much as online prices often are. In addition, outside of regular jewellry stores, when shopping online, you have websites like Etsy where you can find both traditional engagement rings and very unique and one of a kind rings. When working with a smaller jeweller on Etsy, you have the option to negotiate on what the ring looks like, the stone size and the price.

2. Sticking with the online theme, auction websites like eBay are also a great place to start shopping for engagement rings if you’re looking to save money. eBay has a wide selection of brand new engagement rings, and they also have used engagement rings which may help reduce how much you spend.

3. Buy a gently worn engagement ring! Sometimes you’ll be able to find great deals at jewellers and from personal sellers on rings that are either gently worn or never worn at all. Keep in mind that these returns don’t always mean that someone said “no” - it can also mean that they simply didn’t like the style and they exchanged it for something else. If buying from another person, you can often find antique or vintage style rings that aren’t available today.

4. Skip the diamond! Traditionally, most engagement rings are made of mostly diamonds, but in today’s world, many couples are deciding to break from tradition and choose another type of stone. It can be a gemstone like a blue sapphire, or even the birthstone of the person being proposed to. Gemstones are typically less expensive than diamonds and going down this route will tend to save a lot of money.

5. Buy what you can afford now and upgrade later. Many people think that if they purchase a ring, they are going to be stuck with the diamond in it forever, but this isn’t true! If you like the setting, but the diamond is too small, when you can afford to later on, you can always replace the smaller diamond with a larger one, or have the ring remade into something unique using the original stones.

And if you need a little financial help with the purchase of an engagement ring, check out our flexible mini-loans. It's really easy to apply, and once a loan is approved, we can usually get the funds into your bank account within 24 hours - so you'll be ready to go ring shopping by the weekend!