Its the same rhetoric you hear from numerous sources about financing anything. Listen, if you have a steady income that is more than enough to pay the bills, eat, and put some money into savings AND you have enough left over to make a monthly payment on your ring, do that.
Exceptions: if the interest rate is abnormally high. Find a payment calculator online where you can input the interest rate and the term (no. of months) along with how much you are borrowing, and you should see exactly how much interest you will be paying. If you can afford the monthly payment and don't mind the interest charge, then go for it.
If you can find 0% financing for any period of time but choose to just pay for it all upfront, then you're an idiot.
Whatever you do, don't listen to the guy below. You should be getting engaged at least a year before the wedding... plenty of time to pay the ring off.
There is no good way. Financing a piece of jewelry is a bad financial move. Save your money for a few months, and then spend what you can save. Your girlfriend will be happy with whatever you can afford (if she's in it for the right reasons) and she will appreciate that she isn't entering into a marriage with debt.
Answer I had a pickup that was paid off. I sold the pickup to pay cash for the ring and then went and bought another pickup with zero down. Interest rates are much lower for vehicles than anything you could swing as far as signature loans or jewelry store financing.
Another option would be to call up one of your credit card companies and see if they will send you a balance transfer check with a special rate.
If you have decent credit, a lot of big jewelry stores have a financing program. If you have poor credit, you may have to get creative. Maybe work a side job or something. I'm not saying that to be spiteful. Face it; as much as you want to get her a great ring, she isn't going to be to thrilled to be marrying a guy who is in debt up to his neck. Personally, I bought mine with a credit card because I didn't want to part with all of my cash, but if you don't think you can pay up when the time comes, don't do it. Nothing could be uglier. In addition to jewelry stores having programs, there are engagement ring financing plans online too, ie Prosper.
If at all possible, save up enough to pay for the ring in cash. That said, don't actually use cash to buy the ring. If you can, buy it with a credit card and immediately pay the credit card company the money you saved up. If you wait for the bill from the credit card company, you'll have to pay interest. If you pay immediately, you won't.
If it is possible to use a credit card with rewards, consider this. Especially if those rewards can help pay for a honeymoon with airmiles or free hotel stays.
The reason you want to buy it with a credit card (along with any other stuff for the wedding or other large purchases) is that you have more legal rights, privlidges, and protections if you use a credit card. This will vary from state to state, but in some cases you have three full days to change your mind and bring something back for a full refund if it was bought on a credit card. This could be helpful if (God forbid) she declines or would rather a different ring (although you might have to buy a different ring at another store to make that work).
If you can't pay witha credit card and immediately pay it off, it is probably a bad idea to let the jewelry store finance you. They understand that you are making a ridiculously overinflated purchase based on emotion. Therefore, they can screw you and have no need to be nice to you.
If you have the cash but don't have a credit card, use a check so there is a paper trail if there is a problem with the ring. Better yet, get one of those pre-paid credit cards, which might give you some of those credit card protections too.
If the matter is paying for it at all, consider that she ought to be happy with a ring you made from a dollar bill or one you bought from a gumball machine. If she is going to freak out because it isn't platinum or it isn't a full carat or it isn't flawless, etc. then you might reconsider why you want to marry the person. Honestly, if one you and she and the guy that cleans the ring and the insurance company can tell it is a fake, then who cares?
That being said, make sure you get a good value for your money. If the quality is far better for a small difference in price, then consider it. But remember that jewelry has one of the highest mark ups. And it doesn't retain its value. And the certifications and appraisals they give you are essentially worthless. But you do have to look at it every day, so it is not something to go cheap with just because. I mean, you don't want it to turn your finger green when the plating comes off, but that doesn't mean it can't be sterling silver instead of white gold or platinum.
The normal perspective is that it is "dirty" to talk about money and love together. But, most people are relatively young and as such don't make a whole lot when they marry. They have to struggle to pay for a wedding and honeymoon and house and kids and cars and such. So, maybe 3k for a ring is a little excessive if your whole wedding is going to be 1k, ya know?
Also, make sure they throw in a coupon or something for a discount on your wedding bands. We saved 50% on our wedding bands that way.
And be wary of those balance transfer checks or cash advances on your credit cards. If you can get a good rate (as is suggested above) then that is fine (but you may not get those credit card protections), but most times the rate is waaaaay higher than your regular rate.
I think all this answer are good. But sometimes you just can't afford to pay out all that money and why should you all at once. You want to start a new life with someone. You can now put your wedding ring and dress and all your expenses on layaway and pay weekly or bi weekly or even money and there is no pay out limit time. Take 12 months or 24 months to pay on your dream layaway for your wedding and make your special one happy