If you’re proposing on Valentine’s Day, two rules: 1) Don’t do it over the “special” V-Day dinner at White Castle, no matter how funny you think it’ll be (trust us — it’ll fall miserably flat); and 2) Don’t overspend on the ring.
A study at Emory U. found that men (married since 2008) who had spent $2,000– $8,000 on an engagement ring divorced at a rate of about 1.5 times that of men who had spent $500–$2,000. And spending less than $500 didn’t raise divorce rates, either. “The wedding industry might have us believe that very low spending is linked to worse marital outcomes,” says study head Hugo Mialon, Ph.D., “but we don’t find this to be the case.”
You could also tell your beloved that women who dropped $20,000 — plus on their wedding divorce at a rate of roughly 3.5 times that of those who spent $5,000– $10,000. Then again, why push your luck?
