Frugal Babe

We ordered my new engagement ring last night.  It’s slightly different than the first one I had picked out - we both like the 4 prong setting better than 6.  It cost $231 - and they have free shipping, so that’s it - $231.  The guarantees that they provide sound just about identical to the ones we got from the Shane Company four years ago.  We’re stoked!  I can’t wait for it to get here!  They said it will take about two weeks, so I’ll just have to be patient. 

My husband went to the Shane Company yesterday to meet the people who were buying our ring.  They had a few different rings that they had bought from other people - all Shane Co originals.  They were trading them in for credit towards the ring set they were buying.  (huge, with tons of diamonds - a bit tacky, but if that’s what you like, they sure were resourceful about how they were paying for it).  Shane Co will allow you to trade in your ring at any time, for the price that you paid for it, as long as you use the money as credit towards a more expensive ring.  So this couple paid us $1150, then gave the ring back to Shane Co and got a $2000 credit towards their own ring.  And they did this with a few other rings as well, so they probably saved a few thousand dollars on the ring they were buying.  Quite creative, and if you really feel that you gotta have a real diamond, this is a pretty frugal way to go about it. 

My husband said the guy wished him good luck when they were finished.  I’m sure they thought that we must be getting a divorce.  It must have confused them that he was wearing his wedding ring.  We went out for sushi last night to celebrate (we didn’t go crazy - it was $32, and we drank water).  Tomorrow we’ll put the money in the bank, and then divide it between a new Roth IRA and our HSA.  Right now my hand looks a little naked, since I’m just wearing my wedding ring.  But soon I’ll have a beautiful engagement ring, plus $900 working hard for our future.  Life is good.