Engagement rings are a lifetime purchase that can become very costly.  Fortunately, there are options to allow you to be able to afford an engagement ring of your dreams through engagement ring financing.  You want to take into consideration several factors when making the choice for financing.

What is financing?

Financing is obtaining a small loan to pay for your new engagement ring.  The loan can be directly from a store, from a credit card or from a financial company that works with the jewelry store on behalf of customers.

Three Month In-Store Financing

Many jewelry stores offer a three month in-store engagement ring financing option.  There is typically no minimum ring price.  Additionally, if your credit score is low you can often still purchase through this finance option.  The nice thing is that for the three month option stores traditionally do not require any money down and they will not charge interest on the engagement ring.  You will need to check with the store’s policy on when they will release the ring into your actual physical custody.  The policies vary from store to store.  There typically is no rate for this because it is paid off with no interest.

Six Month In-Store Financing

A longer term financing option is the six month in-store engagement ring financing option.  Traditionally, the buyers will need to put 10% to 25% of the total ring cost for a down-payment.  Payments are scheduled to be paid either bi-weekly or monthly.  The rate for this type of financing varies greatly from store to store and is heavily dependent on your credit store.  The better your credit score, the lower the interest that should be charged.  Some stores will offer specials with no interest rate fees on the six month payment option. The rate for this is typically 9% to 15% depending on your credit score but you want to select the no interest option if the store provides it.

One Year plus In-Store Financing

For very expensive engagement ring financing some stores offer a year or more to pay for the ring.  These typically charge between 25% to 30% down-payment on the ring.  Monthly payments are set up and there is normally interest charged on the loan as well as a financial processing fee.  Depending on the store will determine if you can qualify for this payment option or not based on your current credit score rating.  Typically you will have to pay interest on this payment option of 9% to 20% depending on your credit score.

Jewelry Store Credit Card Financing

Larger jewelry stores offer store credit cards for financing engagement rings and any other jewelry in their store.  The amount of available credit on these store cards varies from store to store and is also based on other financial information that you will provide to them.  These cards traditionally carry very high interest rates, processing fees, late fees and going over credit fees.  Many even carry a monthly service fee even if you do not make a purchase on the card. These can run as high as 20% rate so often you will want to use a regular credit card at a lower rate if you have one.

What is your best option for engagement ring financing?

No matter what you purchase, it is important to look at your finances and your budget.  If possible, you want to completely pay for your engagement ring as quickly as possible.  If you can afford it, you want to select an option that will not charge you financial processing fees, credit fees or interest on the ring.  You can stretch out the payments over a few months if there are no additional fees attached to it.

If you cannot afford to pay for the ring up front, find the lowest rate of interest that you can for financing the engagement ring.  Try to avoid finance fees, processing fees and monthly fees that can increase the over-all cost of your ring.

If you have to get a credit card to pay for your ring, make sure that you can afford the monthly fees and the interest charges.  Typically a regular credit card will offer you lower rates and lower fees than obtaining a jewelry store credit card.  You will want to compare the fees and interest rates of both cards before making a purchase to decide which one offers the best rates and lowest fees.