Apr 28, 2026
Dave Ramsey says anyone who thinks there's a link between pricier engagement rings and perfect marriages is just plain wrong.
"There is no direct correlation between the length and quality of the marriage to the expense of the ring," he said in a recent episode of The Ramsey Show (1). "As a matter of fact, there might be an inverse correlation that the more expensive the ring, the less likely you are to actually make it."
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According to The Knot's 2024 Jewelry & Engagement study (2), the average price of an engagement ring is $5,200. But the average cost continues to fall each year. It was $5,500 in 2023, down from $5,800 in 2022 and $6,000 in 2021.
Gen Z, which represents 41% of the $100 billion U.S. wedding market, is now driving prices even lower.
Today, the Gen Z cohort is paying an average $4,600 for engagement rings featuring lab-grown diamonds, which are reshaping the industry, according to The Knot's 2026 Real Weddings study (3).
In fact, 61% of engagement rings now feature lab-grown center stones, marking a 239% increase since 2020 and reflecting couples' evolving values and economic pragmatism.
So when a caller reached out to Ramsey about spending $4,000 of his $5,000 monthly income on an engagement ring, he wanted to know whether or not he was being a "cheapskate."
How much should you spend on an engagement ring?
While jewelry stores will likely recommend spending up to three months' income on a ring, Ramsey reminded the caller that sellers stand to benefit from bigger sales.
Spending $4,000, in the caller's case, was "not cheapskating" in Ramsey's mind.
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"That's OK with me," he said. "I tell people no more than a month's income."
If you earn $10,000 a month, spending $10,000 on an engagement ring is a lot more financially feasible than if you earn half that.
Pay more than a month's income, and you risk going into debt, which 27% of couples have done trying to afford out-of-budget engagement rings, according to a study by Sofi and Zola (4), a wedding-planning platform.
Any debt you may already have — coupled with your lifestyle and spending habits — should also be taken into account when determining how much you should spend on an engagement ring. Your income alone isn't enough to justify the cost if it will only exacerbate existing financial constraints.
Some jewelers, like Estate Diamond Jewelry, offer engagement ring cost calculators (5) to help shoppers determine the best budget, all considering.
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How to save money on an engagement ring without skimping on quality
One of the biggest factors in the price of a diamond engagement ring is the gem's carat weight. The average engagement ring is around 1.5 carats, according to Brilliant Earth (6), a ring retailer.
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That's why many Gen Z couples opt for lab-grown diamonds, according to The Knot. With an average size of 1.9 carats, they're about 60 to 75% cheaper than natural diamonds but of similar quality, according to Liori Diamonds (7).
A 1 carat lab-grown diamond can be produced for market within weeks and will cost just $1,000. In contrast, the same size natural diamond takes billions of years to form and must be extracted via expensive mining operations — so it may retail for $4,200.
Many couples are choosing other center stones in lieu of diamonds altogether, such as moissanite and sapphire.
Moissanite is a durable lab-created gemstone that's composed of silicon carbide. It's largely considered an ethical diamond alternative that's almost as hard as a diamond (9.25 on Mohs scale) and highly radiant with a high refractive index (2.65 to 2.69).
A synthetic stone generally costs about $200 to $800 per carat, according to The American Gem Society (8).
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Sapphire is another popular pick. Traditionally blue, it also comes in other colors like pink, yellow, green, orange, purple and violet due to trace elements like iron, titanium and chromium in corundum.
The pinkish-orange Padparadscha sapphire is the most valuable of the bunch, according to GIA (9). But a "white" sapphire stone — pure corundum without trace elements — is often used as a diamond alternative, as well.
Whatever stone or setting you choose, remember that engagement ring prices are primarily determined by the "4Cs" — cut, color, clarity and carat — followed by other factors like the setting design and complexity, which can be the difference of thousands of dollars.
While there are ways to reduce the cost of an engagement ring without sacrificing its quality, the final choice will always be individual to a couple's tastes.
At the end of the day, the quality of the relationship matters more than the quality of any ring.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
TikTok (1); The Knot (2); The Knot Worldwide (3); Zola (4); Estate Diamond Jewelry (5); Brilliant Earth (6); Liori Diamonds (7); American Gem Society (8); Gemological Institute of America (9)
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AnnaMarie is a weekend editor for Moneywise.
