"How much should you spend on an engagement ring?"

Why is that surprising? Were you expecting more?

That surprises me too. I didn't know you could even get a center stone for less than $1,000. I've seen the appraisal on my ring (for insurance), and the center stone was just over 2k and the Verragio band was just over 3k. My fiancé bought it at Diamonds Direct at Christmas time, when they have 0% interest for 3 years. He put a large amount down and financed the rest - very tiny monthly payments with no interest. He wanted me to have something I truly loved...though I just love the sentiment and the engagement!

I was expecting the $3K - $5K to be the largest percentage.

Wow.

I'm a little surprised by that too...I also didn't know the 2 months salary thing was still a thing??

I heard this on NPR recently. I was honestly expecting the average to be around $2-3k. But I really dislike how guys are told a specific amount. DH thought he was supposed to spend $20k on my ring. But there is no way I would ever let him spend that much, but some of his coworkers have spent over $10k (he did not). I really feel strongly about the couple going to choose the ring together. I only knew about the cost of the ring because of warranty issues later, but when we were shopping, the sales person did not show me prices and had me walk away while they talked about cost, after I picked my favorites. But I let the sales person know ahead of time how I felt about the budget and that I did not want to go as high as he did.

It depends on the couples' priorities. Plus, there is increasing desire for/ acceptance of e-rings with gemstones other than diamonds.

I think a lot more people are moving away from diamonds these days, for ethical (obviously there are some ethical and lab diamonds) and financial reasons. A center stone doesn't need to be a multi-thousand dollar diamond.

If you think about it, their are a lot of people getting married, and everyone has different income levels so it would surprise me that a large percentage would say $1,000. There are also may different stone and metal options. Although the article seems to imply the survey was random... i.e. not recent or future groom. It also says a separate survey said more like $2,500, so I wouldn't take too much of it to heart. My fiance proposed with a titanium/meteorite ring while were on vacation, and then we went shopping after. I really wanted an antique ring, but we also looked at new. We had a budget and ended spending half of it on an antique ring from the 30's. I actually love it more than rings double the price (and double the carats!) I even tried on a antique ring with a center stone twice the carats, but it looked like the same exact size on my hand (and had a visible to the naked eye hair line in it!) I always thought I wanted X, but ended getting and loving Y. This also happened with my dress and venue. It's so much different to plan then to actually execute.

This doesn't surprise me. Our generation seems less and less inclined to blow 3 months salary on a lot of things, despite what older generations seem to say.

It's a little surprising, but I think that's only because most of the engagement rings you see online (pinterest, google, etc.) or TV are larger diamond rings. Not all engagement rings are diamonds or one bigger center stone. Every once in a while I find the "show me your ring" posts fascinating because it actually shows how different engagement rings are.

I would have expected 3-5 to be the highest.

I am also a part of that <$1,000.00, both in beliefs as well as what I have. I still think he spent too much ( I only know a ballpark), truth be told, but I absolutely LOVE my ring and get complimented on it endlessly by random strangers, so it can't be all my own bias. lol

I despise anything that tells couples what they SHOULD spend on an engagement ring. The only thing it should be is within your means.

I had to convince my FH not to spend more than $1000. I know what we both make and what we are able to afford. He felt like he "had" to get a diamond, which I talked him out of and showed him a lot of alternatives I loved a lot more. I'm glad he spent less, but when he talked with his friends who got engaged around the same time he couldn't believe how much they had spent. When it comes down to it, even if he made a ton of money, the two month salary thing is ridiculous and was completely made up by De Beers to get people to buy larger diamonds.

I could not agree more with Rebecca. That being said, this chart does not seem accurate according to my experiences (thinking of friends and family members here, not just me) but I could easily see it being accurate nationwide. People in general do not spend/save/earn money they way they used to and there are more less expensive ring options so it makes sense.

Although I would guess that people who spent a lot of money on their rings are probably not taking cost surveys on the Knot, let's be honest.

The two month salary thing always reminds me of the conversation my middle brother had with my dad when he was picking a ring. He was the first in our family and the first of most of his friends to get married. He told my dad that he kept hearing that he should spend two months' salary on the ring and my dad promptly quipped, "And who keeps telling you that, the jewelry stores I assume?"

My FH only had to pay to have my ring re-sized. The ring originally belonged to his grandmother and the center stone to his great grandmother. And I probably love this ring more than if he would have bought one at a store because it has a story and history behind it.

I once read an article that said geographics and social circle has a lot to do with how much a person spends on an engagement ring. Personally, I feel comfortable asking anyone how much something costs or how many carats their ring is. It's weird to me.

S and J - while you might be comfortable asking, lots of people are insanely uncomfortable answering that question. Maybe take that into consideration.