Comments on: Engaged at $5,000 with 27% interest. http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/ Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:34:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: WealthBoy http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-5511 WealthBoy Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:11:02 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-5511 I like the idea of peer-to-peer lending. I think the credit card oligopoly needs some competition to bring their outrageous interest rates down. I don't know if the peer-to-peer lenders will take enough market share to really do this, but it will be interesting to see what happens. I like the idea of peer-to-peer lending. I think the credit card oligopoly needs some competition to bring their outrageous interest rates down. I don’t know if the peer-to-peer lenders will take enough market share to really do this, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

]]> By: Shauna http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-5115 Shauna Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:43:01 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-5115 That's depressing that someone would buy a ring they can't afford--what a terrible way to start a marriage! Hopefully the person is adult enough to realize what marriage is about, and understand that newly-weds are SUPPOSED to make sacrifices together! My only wish for my ring is that it's "conflict free," (another issue entirely) otherwise I don't care how big or expensive it is. That’s depressing that someone would buy a ring they can’t afford–what a terrible way to start a marriage! Hopefully the person is adult enough to realize what marriage is about, and understand that newly-weds are SUPPOSED to make sacrifices together! My only wish for my ring is that it’s “conflict free,” (another issue entirely) otherwise I don’t care how big or expensive it is.

]]> By: Anitra http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4894 Anitra Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:41:20 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4894 My hubby had my engagement ring custom-designed (not cheap, but a lot less than $5000! IIRC, it was somewhere between $1200 and $2000.) HOWEVER, even as a poor student, he saved up his money and paid the jeweler the entire amount (in installments) before receiving the ring and proposing. Buying engagement rings on credit seems to me to be just another symptom of our gotta-have-it-now society. My hubby had my engagement ring custom-designed (not cheap, but a lot less than $5000! IIRC, it was somewhere between $1200 and $2000.) HOWEVER, even as a poor student, he saved up his money and paid the jeweler the entire amount (in installments) before receiving the ring and proposing.

Buying engagement rings on credit seems to me to be just another symptom of our gotta-have-it-now society.

]]> By: wealthy_1 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4782 wealthy_1 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:34:06 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4782 I think we're pretty much all on the same page. And like racerx said the jewelry store probably would have loaned him the money for the ring. And why did she need a $5000 ring?????????? As someone who has been with the same guy for 30 years, now is the time I appreciate when we had no money and relatively little debt and he would give me inexpensive homemade items as tokens of his love. I think we’re pretty much all on the same page. And like racerx said the jewelry store probably would have loaned him the money for the ring. And why did she need a $5000 ring??????????

As someone who has been with the same guy for 30 years, now is the time I appreciate when we had no money and relatively little debt and he would give me inexpensive homemade items as tokens of his love.

]]> By: Becky http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4753 Becky Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:52:08 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4753 I agree with everyone here - this guy needs to get his financial priorities in order. Bought just 6 months ago, my engagement ring and wedding ring together cost under $800 (of course, I actually dislike large diamonds and requested a small ring from my now-husband). Also, if this guy has been on Prosper for a while now not getting any bites, he should have saved up some of the $5000 in the time he's spent waiting for someone to give him a loan. Why do I have a feeling he still has $0 saved for a ring purchase? I agree with everyone here – this guy needs to get his financial priorities in order. Bought just 6 months ago, my engagement ring and wedding ring together cost under $800 (of course, I actually dislike large diamonds and requested a small ring from my now-husband).
Also, if this guy has been on Prosper for a while now not getting any bites, he should have saved up some of the $5000 in the time he’s spent waiting for someone to give him a loan. Why do I have a feeling he still has $0 saved for a ring purchase?

]]> By: deepali http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4749 deepali Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:47:38 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4749 My issues with diamonds aside, that type of loan rate is just not worth it for a luxury item. Luxury is just that - luxury. Financing it doesn't seem to make much sense to me. My issues with diamonds aside, that type of loan rate is just not worth it for a luxury item. Luxury is just that – luxury. Financing it doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.

]]> By: CatherineL http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4746 CatherineL Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:48:54 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4746 Mrs M - I would tell him to buy a fake diamond ring from QVC. Seriously - there is no way I would lend the guy the cash. Because if he is willing to get into a huge amount of debt to pay for a ring, he might borrow to buy other things and get into so much debt that he is unable to pay you back. Mrs M – I would tell him to buy a fake diamond ring from QVC.

Seriously – there is no way I would lend the guy the cash. Because if he is willing to get into a huge amount of debt to pay for a ring, he might borrow to buy other things and get into so much debt that he is unable to pay you back.

]]> By: Susan http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4737 Susan Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:41:40 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4737 My BFF's hubby not only charged her ring, he had to put it on his roommates credit card because his credit was so trashed he couldn't get financing. I don't know how much he paid, but I suspect it was in the $3K range for the set. The mindset is that it's an "investment." Uh huh. My first engagement ring came out of a 25 cent gumball machine at Taco Bell, but that's another story. My real set was under $1,000 for both rings. We didn't have money to "invest" at the time. Today, just a little over a year later, we're 6 months from having our mortgage paid off, THEN we'll have money to invest. In index funds! My BFF’s hubby not only charged her ring, he had to put it on his roommates credit card because his credit was so trashed he couldn’t get financing. I don’t know how much he paid, but I suspect it was in the $3K range for the set. The mindset is that it’s an “investment.” Uh huh. My first engagement ring came out of a 25 cent gumball machine at Taco Bell, but that’s another story. My real set was under $1,000 for both rings. We didn’t have money to “invest” at the time. Today, just a little over a year later, we’re 6 months from having our mortgage paid off, THEN we’ll have money to invest. In index funds!

]]> By: Money Blue Book http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4685 Money Blue Book Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:12:27 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4685 With nearly half the world's diamond production, DeBeers has one heck of a marketing team. They've managed to make us all think that buying expensive diamond jewelry equals love - myself included! -Raymond With nearly half the world’s diamond production, DeBeers has one heck of a marketing team. They’ve managed to make us all think that buying expensive diamond jewelry equals love – myself included!
-Raymond

]]> By: Fabulously Broke http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4678 Fabulously Broke Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:32:48 +0000 http://financefreelancelife.com/2007/12/30/engaged-at-5000-with-27-interest/#comment-4678 Even if he could pay it back, $5k is nuts for a ring if he cannot afford it. The point of a ring is to save your cash so you can buy it in full and propose to your gf to show that you have a commitment to her, and you're 'storing' $5k (or whatever) in that ring as a promise of being together forever... That's important because it's a strong symbol of their eternal (supposedly) love, because in a famine you cannot eat the $5k ring or sell it for exactly $5k (maybe hock it for less?)... Man I just read that and I feel incredibly hypocritical but then again, I have other ways of justifying what happened afterwards .. unfortunately. He should've saved as much as he could even if it ends up being only $2k (if he says he can pay it back in no time it means he can SAVE in no time as well), and then buy the ring... Even if he could pay it back, $5k is nuts for a ring if he cannot afford it.

The point of a ring is to save your cash so you can buy it in full and propose to your gf to show that you have a commitment to her, and you’re ’storing’ $5k (or whatever) in that ring as a promise of being together forever…

That’s important because it’s a strong symbol of their eternal (supposedly) love, because in a famine you cannot eat the $5k ring or sell it for exactly $5k (maybe hock it for less?)…

Man I just read that and I feel incredibly hypocritical but then again, I have other ways of justifying what happened afterwards .. unfortunately.

He should’ve saved as much as he could even if it ends up being only $2k (if he says he can pay it back in no time it means he can SAVE in no time as well), and then buy the ring…

]]>