Am I crazy? (financial post).

[Love2Travel]

So I have been looking at rings for the g/f for the past few months. I would have to put it on a credit card. Along w/ doing so, I would have to try for an increase in credit. A part of me wants to hold off on proposal b/c of this. I am really anal now about my credit score (it has increased a ton from my past). I am in my late 20''s and I am really concentrated on building my credit score. Right now my credit is good but I want to get it up to excellent.

So, am I crazy for not wanting to ask for inc. in my credit limit to propose b/c I would take approx a 10-20pt hit on my credit? I monitor it monthly and in doing so, I try not to do anything that decreases my score.

But of course the other half of me really wants to propose. We are going on a "extravagant" vacation later this year and it would be the perfect setting.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I would forget about the credit card completely...buy her a ring you can afford without credit. I''m assuming you wouldn''t pay it off the same month? I''m not sure where you are getting her ring, but many vendors offer a bankwire price. Paying cash would not only save you money on the price, but would keep you from paying any interest that might acrue on your card.

Remember, a credit score is essentially a score used to borrow more money. I understand that increasing your credit limit is a good way to get a quick boost on your credit score, but remember that your actual goal should be to be debt-free (and not even need a credit score).

 

[phoenixgirl]

If you post this in RockyTalky or the Diamond Hangout you should get more responses.

A lot of people here would caution against using a credit card which you can''t immediately pay back to purchase the ring. It''s great that you are concerned about your credit score, and it sounds like you would be carrying a balance close to your limit, which as I understand it would decrease your credit score.

But moreso than that is that idea that going into debt to buy a symbol of your desire to join your lives together is kind of missing the point, right? You want your joined lives to be financially stable and to have money for other things like housing, kids, etc.

I have no limit on my American Express and could get a pretty sweet 5 carat ring I suppose, but of course, it''s not free money, and I''d be paying for it the rest of my life.

Good Old Gold and White Flash both have upgrade policies. You buy a stone with them, wear it a few years, then have more $ for a bigger stone so you trade it in and they apply that purchase price to the purchase of a new stone. If you are ready to propose and get married, then I''d get a ring that you can afford from one of those places and then promise her that on your five year anniversary you''ll get her the one carat stone, or whatever the case may be.

I will say, though, that I have a friend who used a no-interest for one year credit card to buy the engagement ring, split up the amount into 12 parts, and paid it off before the interest kicked in. If you are confident that you will follow a plan like this one and not accrue any interest, then a little hit in your credit score might be worth it. However, if you did this you would absolutely need to cut up the card as soon as the purchase was made. It''d be an easy road to go down to say, oh, I also need x, y, or z, put it on the card, and before you know it you can''t make the payments, accrue interest, and dig yourself into a hole you can''t get out of.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 8/15/2008 12:00:44 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
I would forget about the credit card completely...buy her a ring you can afford without credit. I''m assuming you wouldn''t pay it off the same month? I''m not sure where you are getting her ring, but many vendors offer a bankwire price. Paying cash would not only save you money on the price, but would keep you from paying any interest that might acrue on your card.


Remember, a credit score is essentially a score used to borrow more money. I understand that increasing your credit limit is a good way to get a quick boost on your credit score, but remember that your actual goal should be to be debt-free (and not even need a credit score).

Ditto to NEL. I wouldn''t buy a luxury purchase on credit, not worth it. Better to wait or buy something you can afford (i.e., without having to use CC''s).

 

[Love2Travel]

I don''t have the cash to do a bank wire transfer. I am assuming most people who buy rings don''t have the funds available either. I am going to look at 0%apr CC''s this weekend. I can def set up my own plan and have it paid off w/in a certain time frame ie: 6mos - 1yr.

 

[violet02]

Date: 8/15/2008 11:34:17 PM
Author: Love2Travel
I don''t have the cash to do a bank wire transfer. I am assuming most people who buy rings don''t have the funds available either. I am going to look at 0%apr CC''s this weekend. I can def set up my own plan and have it paid off w/in a certain time frame ie: 6mos - 1yr.

I''m not sure this is true.. is it? I thought I''ve read a lot of posts where people would NOT buy the ring unless they had the money saved up. I"d have to dig around for old posts to see though.

Personally I am really bad about charging things. Buy my FI is working to cure me of that habit quickly! He bought my ring with money he saved up and I bought his ring with money I saved up and so on. It''s a good feeling knowing it''s bought and paid for and I won''t continue to owe on it. Particularly since we have a wedding coming up that we''re paying out on. If we had ring debt on top of that it would be very hard.

 

[trillionaire]

Date: 8/16/2008 12:00:12 AM
Author: violet02

Date: 8/15/2008 11:34:17 PM

Author: Love2Travel

I don''t have the cash to do a bank wire transfer. I am assuming most people who buy rings don''t have the funds available either. I am going to look at 0%apr CC''s this weekend. I can def set up my own plan and have it paid off w/in a certain time frame ie: 6mos - 1yr.

I''m not sure this is true.. is it? I thought I''ve read a lot of posts where people would NOT buy the ring unless they had the money saved up. I''d have to dig around for old posts to see though.


Personally I am really bad about charging things. Buy my FI is working to cure me of that habit quickly! He bought my ring with money he saved up and I bought his ring with money I saved up and so on. It''s a good feeling knowing it''s bought and paid for and I won''t continue to owe on it. Particularly since we have a wedding coming up that we''re paying out on. If we had ring debt on top of that it would be very hard.

I do think that the average consumer buys their rings on credit. That is what the jewelry stores bank on! I think the average PSer would tell you NOT to do that, but I think that most people aren''t nearly as informed as people who have been "processed" by PS.

Just my .02

 

[pennquaker09]

I''m with everyone else don''t charge a ring to a credit card. The year is half over, why not just save up a portion of your pay for the next 5 months and then use what you have to buy a ring?

 

[LaraOnline]

Date: 8/16/2008 1:53:32 AM
Author: pennquaker09
I''m with everyone else don''t charge a ring to a credit card. The year is half over, why not just save up a portion of your pay for the next 5 months and then use what you have to buy a ring?

Because life is busy making other plans... such as a GF who feels the marriage vibes and can''t understand why her man is not proposing?

I think Phoenixgirl''s idea of an upgradeable stone is really fantastic, a win-win all around I''d think.
otherwise, you could propose with an IOU (a ring), I guess!

 

[CrookedRock]

I agree with not making luxury purchases on credit. I know it''s easier said than done, but it isn''t a great idea IMHO.
Just curious though how you are taking an "extravagant" trip if there aren''t funds for a ring?
If the ring is a must I would suggest either a small stone with an upgrade policy or buy the band now and you can buy the engagement ring later on when the funds are available.

 

[Love2Travel]

CrookedRock: The trip has been planned for about a year now. The whole payment wasn''t due at once so we both could make installment payments towards the trip (almost paid off woohoo!).

I am in a better financial position now then I was when I 1st booked the trip as well. So along w/ that and my feelings for her, I want to propose while on vacation (it''s our 1st BIG vacation together).

 

[DivaDiamond007]

DH and I financed my ring on a cc and paid it off within 12 months - before the interest kicked in. If you think you will have the discipline to do this it can work and shouldn''t affect your credit that much so long as you pay on time every time and get it paid off asap.

Make sure you post pics of the ring too!

 

[Julianna]

Date: 8/18/2008 12:48:39 PM
Author: DivaDiamond007
DH and I financed my ring on a cc and paid it off within 12 months - before the interest kicked in. If you think you will have the discipline to do this it can work and shouldn''t affect your credit that much so long as you pay on time every time and get it paid off asap.

Make sure you post pics of the ring too!

Along these lines (sorta), I''d have told you to get a new cc with a promotional low rate, ie. 0% for a year or whatever, and knock it out that way. Even if you couldn''t fit the whole ring on a brand new card, you could put a lot of it on there and pay the rest with another card or cash. I am not sure how your personal credit would stand up to that, but I do know that the credit bureaus 1. love you to have quite a few open accounts, but with not a huge amount of revolving balance, and 2. LOVE to see you making purchases and prompt payments on said accounts. I personally have very shiny credit right now, but, as shiny as it is, they still tell me on the report that it''d be better if I''d just agree to open a few more accounts. That ain''t gonna happen, incidentally, but the report always says it.

 

[MMT]

You don''t want to start out a new marriage with alot of credit card debt. Save up what you can. You can always upgrade later. You can also save alot on a simpler setting and save your money for the diamond. Good luck!

 

[noelwr]

FI and I live by the golden rule: don''t buy something you can''t afford. everything we use our credit cards to buy we have the money on our bank accounts for.

does there have to be a ring? the purpose of being engaged is a promise to get married. the fact that you want to spend the rest of your life with her as her spouse is more than the worth of any ring. if she isn''t willing to marry you without a ring then I would question what she''s trying to get out of the relationship. then you can save up to buy her a great wedding ring.

otherwise save up your money and propose next year.