Five Fun and Romantic Ways to Propose on a Budget

It’s finally that time! You’ve been dating for several years, and every one of her family members has told you repeatedly what an amazing woman she is and that you should marry her. You know you love her with all your heart and can’t imagine life without her. You know you want to spend the rest of your life with her, but recent car problems have put you in a severe financial bind. Having limited funds for the ring of a woman’s dreams is an age-old problem, and in some cases, it has made men put off a long-overdue proposal.

So let’s assume for a minute that you are one of those guys. There’s no shame in it. In a tight economy, more and more people are living paycheck to paycheck and finding that coming up with that extra bit of cash for a proper engagement ring can be quite difficult. If times are tough for you, there’s no doubt that your girlfriend already knows it, and she’s not expecting you to present her with an expensive diamond ring. She knows you love her, and chances are she just wants a symbol of your eternal love and commitment.

As promised, I’m going to give you five fun and romantic ways to propose on a budget, but before I can do that, we need to figure out how you can fit an engagement ring into your tight budget. Shane Co. has engagement rings available in a wide range of prices. In fact, you can get a lovely solitaire for as little as $1,000 to $1,500. One of the many benefits of buying a ring from Shane Co. is the trade-up policy: if the ring you select today is not exactly what you want her to wear for the rest of her life, you can always trade it up at a later time for something else, and Shane Co. will gladly give you full credit for the original purchase price.

So how do you get a nice ring for around $1,500? In this case, you’d have two options for the engagement ring: either a smaller diamond or a larger white sapphire. In both instances, you will always have the trade-up option available to you and Shane Co.’s Free Lifetime Warranty.

Once you’ve bought an engagement ring that you’re proud of, it’s time to plan the proposal. Now what? Let’s look at some ways you can give her the romantic, unforgettable fairytale proposal that she’s dreamed of all her life.

Here are five fun and romantic ways to propose on a budget:

• Take her to the exact location where you first laid eyes on each other. Speak from your heart and tell her how much you love her and that you want to spend the rest of your life with her. Then drop to one knee and pop the question.
• If she’s a sports lover, take her to a professional sporting event in your area. If you plan ahead and get in touch with the right person, the team’s organization may help you do something special during the game at no additional cost. Professional organizations like the love and romance of a proposal because it makes people feel good and promotes business, and if it’s a major event, there are always cameras nearby.
• If you and she have discussed getting engaged and she knows at some point you will be proposing, take her with you to your local Shane Co. and ask her to show you what she likes. What she doesn’t know is that you’ve already been there and enlisted the help of the Shane Co. staff. As she is looking at rings and trying on different styles, the sales associate can show her a ring that has a diamond already mounted in it. You can then take the ring, drop to one knee, and ask her to marry you, with all your Shane Co. friends watching. You may even be able to get someone to secretly record it for you.

Note: For these final two ideas, proceed with caution. It is essential that your finance has a good sense of humor, otherwise her answer could be a resounding NO!

• You will need to have your Shane Co. engagement ring ready to give to her, and  you will also need to buy a cheap solitaire with a cubic zirconia or some sort of fake diamond in it. For this idea, the worse the ring looks overall, the better. Leave the fake ring out somewhere where she can easily find it (and where you can observe her doing so). Let her look at it for as long as you are comfortable and your hope is that she will know it’s of poor quality. Tell her she wasn’t supposed to find it and when you can’t take it anymore, show her the beautiful ring you got at Shane Co. and ask her to marry you.
• And finally, my favorite of the bunch. When you’re at Shane Co. picking out your engagement ring, kindly ask them if you can have a second ring box. Then go to a store that has costume jewelry and spend a few dollars on a fake ring that looks relatively authentic. Find a romantic location that is high up, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon or a romantic cliff overlooking the ocean. When the moment strikes and you’re ready to propose to your love, take out the fake ring in the extra box and hold it in front of her, but don’t open it until you see the moment of understanding on her face and she knows what’s about to happen. Once you see that look, slowly open the box and allow her to get a brief glimpse of the fake ring. Then, drop the box, with the fake ring still inside, into the depths of the water or down the cliff. Your reaction is key in this example. Briefly make a big deal about the fact that you’ve dropped her ring, then soon after show her the real ring, and ask her to marry you. Note: Please make sure you do not drop it on anyone’s head and please do not get yourself in trouble for littering.

These are just some ideas that you can modify to fit your needs. The most important thing is that you have fun and make your proposal a memorable event that you can someday proudly share with your grandchildren.