Wedding proposals are a whirlwind of surprise, dizzying romance, and celebrations. But before you get to pop the question, there’s a certain amount of planning required – especially when it comes to buying the engagement ring.
Unfortunately, it’s not cheap. Whether you go understated, vintage or full out bling, they’re likely to cost a bit. But how much should you be spending on The Ring?
Three Months’ Wages?
It’s often bandied around that the average proposer should spend three months’ earnings on the perfect ring for their special someone. But who says so? Interestingly, this ‘rule’ is a marketing myth. It was actually just part of an advertising campaign for a diamond retailer, who likely had an ulterior motive.
The average UK salary is around £2,535 per month. This would therefore set the typical budget for an engagement ring at £7,605. That’s extremely generous. In fact, the national average has been found to be much lower than that.
According to a National Wedding Survey by Hitched.co.uk, the average spend on an engagement ring is £2,419. But don’t take that as gospel, either, as another report found it to be £1,865.
In short – it hugely varies and no-one should be influenced by what others are spending.
How Does Location and Age Affect Budget?
Budgets were also found to vary greatly depending on where you live in the UK. The South West spends the most when shopping for the right ring, parting with no less than £3,784 on average. Londoners come in second, although it’s not a close call, with those in the capital spending £2,335. Northern Ireland follows Greater London with an average spend of £2,272, followed by the South East and Yorkshire & The Humber, forking out £1,877 and £1,769 respectively.
There are also discrepancies when looking at how much each age group spends on average, versus how much they think they should be spending. 18-24 year olds spend £1,446 on their ideal ring, but believed they should be parting with almost double that number – £2,714. At the other end of the scale, those 55 and over spend £3,610 but think that number should be much lower, at £2,237.
How Has Covid Affected the Numbers?
You wouldn’t be the first to think that these numbers probably don’t mean much anymore and surely engagement ring sales are at an all-time low thanks to Covid?
The opposite is actually true.
Although wedding ring purchases plummeted for many retailers thanks to lockdown putting a halt to all or most ceremonies, engagement ring sales actually spiked in 2020. Moreover, some retailers have even seen an increase in the average spend – likely because with no holidays or extravagant meals to put our money towards, the engagement ring budget can grow. Shops have catered for the pandemic through offering premium sales experiences online, with Zoom calls and live chat services making clients’ decisions easier.
There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to budgeting for the perfect rock. Ultimately, choosing an engagement ring for your future betrothed is an extremely personal matter and one where rules, trends and averages should go out of the window.
