The High’s and Low’s Of Financing A Ring
Nobody on this earth would propose to their partner and anticipate them saying no. Unfortunately, this does happen though. What does that mean if you financed the ring?
If you obtained a loan for the ring, this is where things get tricky. Sure, it may be possible for you to find a lender to let you out of your agreement before you paid them back, but it’s not the easiest task if you’ve already spent the money to buy something, such as an engagement ring. If your loved one has said “no” to your proposal and find yourself with a ring that you have a loan on and need to give back, you can always check with the lender to see if they charge a prepayment fee. However, you will still need to pay back the interest that has accrued even though you can pay the loan off ahead of time.
Pros & Cons
There are some pros and cons of financing an engagement ring. Here they are:
Pros
The upside to all of this is that you can access the ring you want, even if you are running low on funds. A loan would be the ideal way to buy the ring and choose to pay it off at a later time.
If you choose to take out a loan, the process is very quick and not overly difficult. You can get your results as soon as instantly or it may take a day or so.
If you are a careful shopper, you may be tempted to take one of those interest-free offers, but it’s only a good choice if you can pay off the loan within that 12-month interest-free payment time.
Cons
You should already know this, but a con of financing a ring is the debt that comes with it. You can’t skip out on payments or default on your loan because it can destroy your credit score.
Additionally, if you have a high-interest rate, you will be paying more for the ring than what it’s worth in the long run.
You will also have to think about the math that goes into it. If you have a good credit score, it means that you will have a low-interest rate. If you have poor credit, then you are going to have a high interest. Even if it’s low due to no fault of your own, you will still have those higher fees. You should always try to keep your credit score high if you want to be on a better foot.
Is A Credit Card A Good Choice?
If you plan to open a credit card, just know that it’s going to affect your credit score. This is especially true if your credit line isn’t much more than what you want to buy. You will be scored based on your application and recent credit history to compare the credit you already have, what balances you may have, and this calculates your debt usage ratio. If the balances of your credit equal more than 20-25 percent of the credit that you have readily available on any card, then it could negatively impact your credit score.
Another downfall is that if you take a credit offer that gives 0% interest for 12-months and it takes you longer than that time to pay it off, you’ll be buried up to your ears in interest payments.