The Cost Of Your Engagement Ring May Lead To Your Marriage Ending In Divorce

Beyonce sang, “If you liked it, then you shoulda put a ring on it” and I totally agree, but does the size and cost of the ring matter? It seems it does! An over-the-top engagement ring seems to be the predictor of divorces among couples according to a new study.

The research found that men who spent between $2,000 and $4,000 on a ring were 1.3 times more likely to divorce, and spending more than $30,000 on a wedding led to divorce 3.5 times more frequently than those who spent less.

Titled "A Diamond is Forever' and Other Fairy Tales: The Relationship between Wedding Expenses and Marriage Duration", the study from Emory University economics professors seems to suggest that longer and stronger marriages result when the couple keep engagement and wedding costs moderate.

The professors; Andrew M. Francis and Hugo M. Mialon, surveyed 3,000 U.S. adults who had previously been married and divorced a member of the opposite sex and made the following conclusions:

Spend no more than $2,000 on the engagement ring
Men who shelled out between $2,000-$4,000 on engagement rings were 1.3 times more likely to get divorced than men who spent between $500 and $2,000. But that doesn't mean you should just use a plastic ring you got out of a gumball machine, either. Spending less than $500 on a ring also led to higher divorce rates.

Keep your wedding costs under control
Spending more than $20,000 on a wedding led to divorce 3.5 times more frequently for women than for those who spent between $5,000 and $10,000. (The average cost of an American wedding is nearly $30,000, according to The Knot.) And maybe a reception at a fast food restaurant is warranted: Spending less than $1,000 on a wedding decreased chances of divorce.

By the way guys, this is not an excuse for guys to become too cheap when deciding on a ring, either! Remember our post here, ladies will take a small ring for love, but show some appreciation, it's not all about the money!