How to Buy an Engagement Ring With Bad Credit

How to Buy an Engagement Ring With Bad Credit How to Buy an Engagement Ring With Bad Credit How to Buy an Engagement Ring With Bad CreditA low credit score isnt any reason to call off an engagementâ€"but that doesnt mean you should be forking over three-months salary either.Congratulations! Youve found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with! In a world full of bad Tinder dates, you scored a keeper, and that  is no easy feat.  Now all thats left to do is find a ring and plan the perfect proposal.The thing is engagement rings are, uh, expensive. According to a recent survey from Wedding Wire, the average cost of an engagement ring is $4,758â€"not exactly chump change!So how can you get the bling you need to adorn her ring finger  when your budget is tight and your credit is shot? Never fear! There are  myriad ways someone with bad credit can snap up an engagement ring.Throw out the old rules.  Have you heard of the three-month rule?  Thats the  outdated notion that whoever is buying the engagement ring  (typically the dude) must spend the equivalent of THREE MONTHS SALARY on it.If youre considering getting engaged, youve probably heard about this expectation, and if youre the one doing the asking, youve likely spent a good amount of time stressing about  that.Heres the thing, though. You dont need to follow that rule. Think about it: that rule is insane. Most Americans dont even have $1,000 in savings, let alone three months of their salary ready to be spent on a diamond ring.If you DO have three months salary squirreled away, its probably in an emergency fund, and not something you can just liquidate to buy a symbol of your love for your partner. Think of what else that kind of money could buyâ€"it could be a down payment on a house, a seriously decadent honeymoon, a car, or even groceries for a year.If your future  fiancé(e) is likely to throw a fit about the price of his or her ring, you might want to reconsider tying your life to theirs forever.If all else fails, buy something you can afford for now, and start saving so you can ev entually replace it with something a little flashier.Open a credit card with a no-interest intro period.Because so few Americans have the money for an engagement ring already saved up, many cash-strapped lovers  turn to the noble credit card in order to finance their engagement dreams. But this approach  can be tricky.Even if you have a credit card with a limit that exceeds your three-month threshold, using it to charge a pricey engagement ring can cost you serious cash in the long run. Think about the interest that would  accrue every month on a $5,000 balance â€" its not pretty.If you insist on charging it,  the best thing to do  is to open a new credit card with an introductory zero-percent APR promotional period.  Typically these periods last for six, 12 or 18 months, during which time  you wont be charged interest on your credit card balance.If you can pay off the price of the ring within that time, you wont have paid a cent more than its retail value.Try financing through your jewelry store.The problem with relying on credit cards to buy an engagement ring? Not everyone has access to the same level of credit. Those zero-percent APR cards are typically only offered to people with good credit, so if you have bad creditâ€"or worseâ€"NO credit,  youre gonna be out of luck.Still, many jewelry stores offer zero-percent APR financing for customers, with a catch, of course. That catch? Youll be signing up for a store credit card. This sounds OK in theory, but in practice, it could get you into some hot financial waters.The amount youll be charging will likely be towards the top of your available credit limit on that card, your credit utilization rate will skyrocket, which  could bring down your score significantly until you can pay off that balance.Additionally, when that no-interest period (usually around six months) is up, if you havent yet paid off your purchase in full, you could be charged interest from the date of purchase, which kind of defeats the point. Look for vintage or pawned jewelry.  Do you really want to buy your future  spouse an expensive cookie-cutter ring? Why not look for options that fit their unique personality,  a ring  that none of their friends will be flaunting on their fingers.Check your local vintage shops for one-of-a-kind pieces  that wont break the bank. If your partner is more of a traditionalist, try your local pawn shop for more a more up-to-date selection of diamond rings at a fraction of their retail cost.Dont die for diamond.Yeah,  diamonds are pretty. Theyre sparkly and clear and they look like shiny, unmelted ice. We get it! But diamonds have only recently become the go-to stone for engagements, and there are other stones out there with a similar look and feel that dont cost as much as a used car. For example:Man-made (or lab-grown) diamonds:  Chemically, these are exactly the same as mined diamonds, but theyre typically priced 15 to 20 percent less than their Earth-grown counterparts.Moissanite:  Thi s crystal-clear stone is almost as tough as a diamond, and, according to TIME, actually has greater brilliance and fire  (gemologist jargon for sparkle and light-dispersion). Plus, moissanite is naturally found in meteorites, which makes it the perfect  stone for the star in your life.Ruby, emerald, topaz, etc:  Whats your sweethearts favorite color? Chances are, its not clear. Find out and buy a ring with a gemstone in that color. Even the more precious stones like ruby or  sapphire cost a fraction of the price of a comparably-sized diamond.Plain metal:  If your future spouse isnt the flashy type, get a solid gold or silver band instead.  My dad  proposed to my mom with a simple silver ring he found at an Irish flea market,  reports one of our bloggers. Theyve been married almost 30 years and she still wears it to this day.Take out a personal loan.  This is not a good option. Well say it again: if you are considering taking out a personal loan in order to finance a piece of jewelry , you should revaluate. There are cheaper options out there, and you shouldnt need to spend three months salary on this ring, no matter what it signifies to you.That being said, if  you cant be talked out of borrowing money in order to buy an engagement ring, you need to make sure youre doing it the right way.Dont be taken in by predatory lenders hawking sketchy no credit check loans like payday loans or cash advances. They might give you cash quickly, but you could end up in a cycle of debt that could affect your  finances (and your marriage!) for years to come.If youre going to take out a bad credit loan to fund an engagement ring purchase, make sure its an installment loan from a credible, responsible lender  that wont drag you down.If your lender isnt reporting on-time payments to the credit bureaus, doesnt give you an easy-to-understand summary of your loan terms, and doesnt offer longer-term payment options that bring down your monthly costs, you should reconsider borrowing fr om them, especially if you dont need to.Remember, at the end of the day, you dont need an engagement ring to get engaged. All you need is love. If you still want to buy a rock for your rock, go for it! Just make sure you stay within your means so you dont start off your married life on the wrong financial foot.To learn more about living with bad credit, check out these related posts and articles from OppLoans:Is Bad Credit Contagious?If You Have Bad Credit, Should You Buy or Lease a Car?How to Get an Apartment With Bad CreditWhat are some ways you or your spouse saved money on an engagement ring? We want to hear from you!  You can  email us  or you can find us on  Facebook  and  Twitter.