AHHAHAAHAHA

-- yet another evil lie perpetrated by the jewelry industry.

Does this 2 months salary mean after taxes and 401K deductions? It doesn't include end-of-year bonus either right? Because if that's the case I'm going to deduct everything, make bad stock picks and show a net loss for the year.

-Rudey

Exactly - if you go someplace reputable, and do your homework, you can get a very nice ring without bankrupting yourself. There's no magic number, unless you're just greedy.

Also, James - I've heard of a lot of people doing that, taking their fiancee with them to pick out the ring. I didn't want to go about it that way, but it happens frequently.

But $3,000 a month? That's killer. I do sympathize with him though as my annual bonus might be as big (hopefully) as his annual salary.

Now for the ladies. Take this as you wish but I hear all kinds of talk about expensive rings and big diamonds. Many of you should be so lucky as to even get a ring! Let alone an expensive one with a rock the size of one of Jenna Jameson's boobs.

Seriously - this talk of a "proper" ring is kind of funny.

Sounds like a good enough salary to me (I want to teach :) ) ... which is why I'm engaged to an engineer.

My best friend has a really gorgeous ring that suits her perfectly, she would not want anything else, we all think it's gorgeous - and it was $1500. I HATE girls who think they are entitled to huge rocks.

My boyfriend, while slightly more balling than CUgreekgirl's, isn't making a ton of money and has law school loans to pay off. I would think he was stupid if he spent as much money as some girls on here seem to think is necessary.

LOL I didn't do it to make fun of people that don't make money. I just thought it was strange making that out to be a high salary. I erased it anyway :)

Guys convince your fiances that your religion only allows sterling silver with cubic zirconia rings and be done with it.

-Rudey

Oh for sure. I read the post like "my guy makes 3,000 a month and homie is bling bling balling" or something like that.

Shit, I didn't mean to make it seem like he was some kind of a millionaire. But that is actually a pretty decent salary down here. My single parent mom made half that a year and we were considered upper middle class. Cost of living here is cheap as hell. You can get a nice, new 4bedroom, 3 bathroom house on a couple acres of land for less thant $100,000. Plus, He just started out in his current job. With two degrees he'd better be making more than that soon.

Um, I don't think $18,000 a year is upper middle class anywhere, seeing as though that is barely above the poverty line.

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml

So true. My engagement ring was about $2100. I think that's a lot, but it's a ring I had said I liked and he actually remembered and got it for me. It's not too huge, but not too small and I'd love it even if it was $200.

There are places in south Georgia where you definitely wouldn't be too bad off ...

Yeah? Is it called Somalia, Georgia?

LOL, you kids are too much for me today. I need to focus on work so I can make the bling bling.

Upper-middle class is the way to be when your takin' in that bling bling 18Gs.