Each year, over 2.2 Million couples are married in the United States. And of those, 10% became engaged on Valentine’s Day and nearly all of them involve a diamond engagement ring. Which means there are an awful lot of men out there, in the month or so before Valentine’s Day, shopping for diamond engagement rings without a clue as to what they’re really looking for or how best to spend their money.

Old school rules of etiquette dictate that the man purchase an engagement ring that cost approximately what he earns in a 2 to 3 month period. That means that some men could end up spending more for an engagement ring than they would a car. And when that man goes into an automotive dealership, he’s prepared with all kinds of information and questions. What kind of mileage does it get? What size is the engine? How fast will it go? What kind of transmission does it have? Yet, when he goes to buy that diamond, one of the single largest investments he could possible make, the only concern he has is how big it is and can you wrap that up with a pretty bow?

These days, money is just to hard too come by for that kind of reckless spending. So I’m going to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision when you purchase that engagement ring for your girlfriend or those earrings for your wife. I realize that buying an engagement ring or an expensive piece of diamond jewelry often involves a lot of emotions. But let’s try to do it in such away that we don’t experience one emotion in particular AFTER the purchase – REGRET!