Don’t feel bad going with a “modest” ring…in my experience the home, engagement period, wedding and first year of marriage completely dwarfed the size/cost of the ring…obviously this could vary depending on the woman, but I’d guess she’ll be just as ecstatic with a ring that doesn’t implode YOUR financial situation.

Also, completely agree with a previous commenter about getting a ring that fits your budget well over the next few months of saving diligently for it, then if you really want to - a nicer ring on say the 5 year wedding anniversary or something.

What I did: went ring shopping with her, got a good idea of what she really wanted. Researched the cost of that type of ring, set a date that I wanted to propose and the date i wanted to buy the ring, then worked backwards from that date to present day of how much I would need to save per paycheck to have that amount ready for the purchase.

Good luck and enjoy it!