Eff Engagement Rings: Ladies Would Rather Have Down Payment on a House

Is the new proposal trend to offer up a mortgage instead of a blingy ring?

Full disclosure, if someone proposed to me with a mortgage and we did not live together, I would feel trapped, probably start sweating and scour the area for a quick exit. However, if we were already shacked up (and he presented a house I knew I’d want to live in) I would be thrilled about swapping a ring for a place to lay my head. Rich Dad Poor Dad, people.

A new survey of 1,000 people from ERA Real Estate says that 50 percent of the female participants in their 20s would rather get started on a home purchase than receive a diamond ring. A whopping 18 percent of these ladies already had skipped the ring, but when the women skewed older, the answers began to vary. Just eight percent of women in their 50s and two percent in their 60s agreed with swapping an engagement ring for a house note, according to Bridal Guide.

One of the contributing factors could be that 50 percent of these women felt that sharing the looming and terrifying debt that is a mortgage “strengthened” their bond. Nothing like companionship forged in the threat of bad credit, amirite?

But as the cost of homes rise, Sallie Mae continues to stalk us and the job market snakes around like Nagini from Harry Potter, a place to call home might not just be the contemporary romantic choice but the most practical. Homes in financially viable areas can increase in value… diamonds, not so much.

ps. Of course a real estate company would say that people are forgoing engagement rings for houses. Be appropriately skeptical, folks.