Does the Love of Your Life Watch “The Office”? Stay Tuned!

I don’t know if you caught the latest episode of “The Office”, in which dimwitted office manager Michael Scott proposes to his girlfriend Holly. Before he pops the question, he shows the ring he purchased to Pam, the receptionist, whose jaw drops open when Michael opens the ring box. To put it mildly, the diamond […]

 

I don’t know if you caught the latest episode of “The Office”, in which dimwitted office manager Michael Scott proposes to his girlfriend Holly. Before he pops the question, he shows the ring he purchased to Pam, the receptionist, whose jaw drops open when Michael opens the ring box. To put it mildly, the diamond is huge. When Pam expresses her wonderment, Michael replies something to the effect that he simply spent the traditional “three-years’ salary” on the ring. I’ve never understood why anyone would work for a manager like that. At the same time, I love the show! But I digress.

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A Close Look at the Ring

I couldn’t find a close-up photo of the ring, so I’m going to use some rough logic to show you what a ring purchased with three years’ salary of a corporate manager might look like. Let’s say Michael Scott makes $100K (give or take $20K) per year as a manager at Dunder-Mifflin. That means we’re looking at about a $300K diamond ring. Word on the street is that Hillary Duff’s engagement ring cost $300K. It’s almost six carats. That’s a photo of it on the right.

Some rock, huh? Of course, if any man contemplating a proposal saw the show and thought Michael Scott actually knew what he was talking about (which is impossible to believe if you’ve ever watched the show), his girlfriend is going to be one happy fiancee–unless her boyfriend isn’t working at all. Even if he doesn’t make anywhere near the kind of money Michael Scott’s managerial position might earn, she’s still going to get much more than she expects from her sweetie.
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Guys, Listen Up!

Previous conventional wisdom, probably straight from the marketing people at De Beers and other purveyors of diamonds, said the standard for figuring out how much to spend on an engagement ring was two-months’ salary, but apparently that rule isn’t etched in stone. In fact, according to the web site freeby50.com:

Do people spend 2 months? The average age of marriage in the U.S. is 26. Median income for people 18-24 is a little under $31,000. If you take 2 month rule for $30,000 income would result in a $5,000 cost for the ring. Yet people on average are spending $2,500 to $4,000. So it appears that on average people spend closer to 1 to 1.5 months salary on engagement rings.

There you have it. Don’t get caught up in the supposed rules and regulations surrounding engagements and weddings! Spend what you can safely afford, and keep the rest to buy a home and raise a family. (Unfortunately, there ARE rules and regulations when it comes to college tuition. Use the money where it will do the most good!)

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Gals, Listen Up!

Is he everything you ever wanted in a man? Do you love him? Do you want to spend the rest your life with him? Wouldn’t it be colossally stupid to let the size or cost of a symbol of your love and commitment to one another be a deal breaker?

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If You Simply MUST Have a Ginormous Stone…

Make it part of your wedding decor. There are wedding favors that celebrate the iconic engagement ring and place as much importance on the bauble as you do. Bridal shower planners–if you know the bride-to-be is materialistic enough to complain about the size of her wedding ring, here’s a bridal shower favor that might help her put her priorities in perspective!