Women Are Now Buying Their Own Tacky-Ass Engagement Rings

Apparently ladies are now opening up their pocket books to ensure they receive the rock that their hand both needs (?) and deserves (?). Hey, maybe the sandwich lady will buy her own in the shape of a miniature foot-long sub? Romance!

From The Cut (via the Knot’s Facebook page):

[A]n increasing number of heterosexual couples are splitting the cost of an engagement ring. Female respondents reported putting money down on their own ring to help out a less financially stable partner, paying for a ring with a joint account, or, in a few cases, agreeing to contribute in exchange for a larger rock.

As The Cut points out, American women are on the rise as breadwinners so it makes sense that they want to contribute to their own bling. That all sounds fine — I mean, the lady is the one wearing it on her hand so why shouldn’t she be more involved? If it’s a mutual decision that both parties are happy with, more power to them.

However, if this is just because some couples want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on a tiny piece of hand jewelry, then it can seem a bit ridiculous. There are perfectly lovely rings out there that won’t set anyone back a month’s pay — or even a couple day’s pay, depending on how fancy your job is — and if cash is an issue, why not just buy a cheaper ring? And, you know, save the extra money to do fun stuff like take a vacation or pay rent on time.

That’s not to devalue the importance of the ring that signifies your undying and never-ending love and devotion, but there are so many options out there — you can have a metal finger circle you adore and save money for things that might matter more to your coupledom in the long run. You might want a $5,000 ring, but a $250 one leaves you with a nice chunk of change to put towards a down payment on a home (or an amazing vacation) (or paying off your student loans) (or donating to a blind dog charity) (or not going into debt) (or giving it to me for an Infinity pool) (I could go on all day).

Finally, I wonder how the negotiations for a larger rock goes. Is the dude all “So, I got thought this ring was nice,” pointing to a nice ring and then the lady says “Here’s five grand, why don’t you make sure that sucker SHINES.”?