engagement rings - just a question

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: Fiat1
1. Set up date with girlfriend
2. Watch Blood Diamond
3. She is sad and doesn't want a real diamond
4. Profit....

Best plan ever.

Top it off by pulling a Homer Simpson and placing an onion ring on her ring finger. That woman will fall in love with you forever; if she doesn't, then you can find a better one anyway!

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: Fiat1
1. Set up date with girlfriend
2. Watch Blood Diamond
3. She is sad and doesn't want a real diamond
4. Profit....

:thumbsup:

 

[Jack Ryan]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
This is coming from someone who has a 8800GT with a 47" Westinghouse LCD and 4GB of ram. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. You had to spend at least several thousand dollars on the LCD with the computer. The fact is that computer will depreciate to basically nothing over the next several years. Do you know how much an $8,000 diamond will lose? Essentially nothing. It will hold its value for the life of a person or several generations (actually increasing in value in proportion to inflation).

So which is the best investment in the long term?

I find it odd that someone NEEDS an 47? LCD TV. Why don?t you invest that money and put it towards your retirement? Maybe there are some starving children in Africa that could use that money to feed themselves for several years.

Oh wait?you?re a hypocrite.

Note that ATOT is mostly full of young people. They all bitch about the cost of a ring and other things of that nature. Most of them are the same people who would purchase an outrageous sports car or other toys if they were rich. What they don?t understand is that a lot of times the cost of a ring is proportion to the size of your income. My wife has a custom made platinum and diamond ring that is in excess of what the OP is talking about. But guess what? Paying for it didn?t affect my retirement and our lifestyle. It has not affected the children we subsequently had after the fact either.

The great thing? The ring has appraised (for insurance) for more than what I originally paid for it over 10 years ago. How about your computer in 10 years? My wife loves what I gave her..and that's more important than the cost of it. I had something designed and made custom for her. She'll always remember it.

My electronics don't affect my retirement savings at all. At our current pace, my wife and I are on course to retire at age 59.5 on interest alone.

We give to charity and also work hard to instill those same values in our kids. For instance, before our kids (5 and 3) are allowed to open a single Xmas gift, they must first go through all their toys and pick out at least one toy per present they will receive to donate to the local Goodwill or homeless shelter. This Xmas we're also sponsoring a needy family that can't afford Xmas gifts for their family. When our kids are a little older we're going to volunteer at the local food pantry so they can see just how lucky they are.

I'd say our $1,600 TV and $1,000 computer are the largest of our "toys." We drive a 2000 and 1997 Taurus. We can afford newer cars but it's not worth the initial cost and depreciation while our current cars run fine.

The computer isn't that bad of an expense because as new parts come out, I sell the current ones and upgrade. For instance, my 8800GT cost $260 and I sold my old GPU, a X1900XT, for $150. I also sold some other computer parts I had laying around to offset the cost. I typically upgrade once a year for around $200-$300 net.

Sure, there is more we could do to help out in the community. But wearing something as gaudy as a $15k ring is deplorable when so many people out there are in desperate need. Would it hurt someone to wear a $2k ring and use the remaining $13k to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens?

I applaud your success in life in being able to afford such a nice gift for your wife. However, why would she need such an expensive ring to remember anything? Don't you think helping someone would have an even bigger impact?

For some reason you're automatically assuming that someone who buys a 15K ring is unable to do anything else in life but buy the ring. You then also assume that same person is not contributing to society or donating to charity.

You're perpetually spending money year to year to upgrade a computer that is constantly losing value the instant you open or use it. A ring keeps its value over the life of a person and potentially several generations. So you may only spend 2K every few years, but that adds up to the cost of a ring over the course of time.

You're just too hypocritical to understand the concept that people may want to spend money in their own way. Just because they don't choose to spend it like you doesn't mean it's a "waste". You choose to spend your money on junk that you turn around and sell down the road. A ring is a gift that last a lifetime.

There?s nothing that makes how you spend your money any better or worse than how someone else chooses to spend their money.

I am your new #1 biggest fan. Every time I read an engagement ring thread it ultimately comes down to everyone bashing someone for spending anything over 2K on a ring.

As you explained, it has become cliche (on this board) to buy your ring from Blue Nile and brag about what a great deal you got from a Walmart-esque retailer of a cookie-cutter piece.

Just know that, even though you are in the minority, I agree with you 100%. I'm pretty convinced that if anyone here had the money, they wouldn't be compensating for their own insecurities by bashing people who buy jewelry.

I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
This is coming from someone who has a 8800GT with a 47" Westinghouse LCD and 4GB of ram. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. You had to spend at least several thousand dollars on the LCD with the computer. The fact is that computer will depreciate to basically nothing over the next several years. Do you know how much an $8,000 diamond will lose? Essentially nothing. It will hold its value for the life of a person or several generations (actually increasing in value in proportion to inflation).

So which is the best investment in the long term?

I find it odd that someone NEEDS an 47? LCD TV. Why don?t you invest that money and put it towards your retirement? Maybe there are some starving children in Africa that could use that money to feed themselves for several years.

Oh wait?you?re a hypocrite.

Note that ATOT is mostly full of young people. They all bitch about the cost of a ring and other things of that nature. Most of them are the same people who would purchase an outrageous sports car or other toys if they were rich. What they don?t understand is that a lot of times the cost of a ring is proportion to the size of your income. My wife has a custom made platinum and diamond ring that is in excess of what the OP is talking about. But guess what? Paying for it didn?t affect my retirement and our lifestyle. It has not affected the children we subsequently had after the fact either.

The great thing? The ring has appraised (for insurance) for more than what I originally paid for it over 10 years ago. How about your computer in 10 years? My wife loves what I gave her..and that's more important than the cost of it. I had something designed and made custom for her. She'll always remember it.

My electronics don't affect my retirement savings at all. At our current pace, my wife and I are on course to retire at age 59.5 on interest alone.

We give to charity and also work hard to instill those same values in our kids. For instance, before our kids (5 and 3) are allowed to open a single Xmas gift, they must first go through all their toys and pick out at least one toy per present they will receive to donate to the local Goodwill or homeless shelter. This Xmas we're also sponsoring a needy family that can't afford Xmas gifts for their family. When our kids are a little older we're going to volunteer at the local food pantry so they can see just how lucky they are.

I'd say our $1,600 TV and $1,000 computer are the largest of our "toys." We drive a 2000 and 1997 Taurus. We can afford newer cars but it's not worth the initial cost and depreciation while our current cars run fine.

The computer isn't that bad of an expense because as new parts come out, I sell the current ones and upgrade. For instance, my 8800GT cost $260 and I sold my old GPU, a X1900XT, for $150. I also sold some other computer parts I had laying around to offset the cost. I typically upgrade once a year for around $200-$300 net.

Sure, there is more we could do to help out in the community. But wearing something as gaudy as a $15k ring is deplorable when so many people out there are in desperate need. Would it hurt someone to wear a $2k ring and use the remaining $13k to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens?

I applaud your success in life in being able to afford such a nice gift for your wife. However, why would she need such an expensive ring to remember anything? Don't you think helping someone would have an even bigger impact?

For some reason you're automatically assuming that someone who buys a 15K ring is unable to do anything else in life but buy the ring. You then also assume that same person is not contributing to society or donating to charity.

You're perpetually spending money year to year to upgrade a computer that is constantly losing value the instant you open or use it. A ring keeps its value over the life of a person and potentially several generations. So you may only spend 2K every few years, but that adds up to the cost of a ring over the course of time.

You're just too hypocritical to understand the concept that people may want to spend money in their own way. Just because they don't choose to spend it like you doesn't mean it's a "waste". You choose to spend your money on junk that you turn around and sell down the road. A ring is a gift that last a lifetime.

There?s nothing that makes how you spend your money any better or worse than how someone else chooses to spend their money.

I am your new #1 biggest fan. Every time I read an engagement ring thread it ultimately comes down to everyone bashing someone for spending anything over 2K on a ring.

As you explained, it has become cliche (on this board) to buy your ring from Blue Nile and brag about what a great deal you got from a Walmart-esque retailer of a cookie-cutter piece.

Just know that, even though you are in the minority, I agree with you 100%. I'm pretty convinced that if anyone here had the money, they wouldn't be compensating for their own insecurities by bashing people who buy jewelry.

I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

Imagine if a woman took her boyfriend to a Home Theatre store and said "Pick out whatever you would like" and he picks $10,000 worth of crap and she says to him "You chose... poorly." As one poster said regarding a ring.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

Not to disagree with you, but is there a noticeable difference between a 2k and 10k home theater setups in comparison to 2k and 10k engagement rings? Does a woman not get any entertainment value out of said ht system in comparison to a mans entertainment value out of a ring? For the comparison to be valid you'd have to weigh all these things.

If you buy a 10k ht system and then you and your gf watch it, but you also invite neighbors over and friends and lots of the big events are hosted at your house because of said system, how many people have benefited from that purchase? By comparison, how many people will ever benefit from that ring, is there any way multiple people could even gain any sort of entertainment value from a ring?

I'm all for the "spend whatever the hell you want crowd" but I'm not a fan of the "let's try and compare random things that don't really work well as valid comparisons crowd".

 

[Jack Ryan]

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

Not to disagree with you, but is there a noticeable difference between a 2k and 10k home theater setups in comparison to 2k and 10k engagement rings? Does a woman not get any entertainment value out of said ht system in comparison to a mans entertainment value out of a ring? For the comparison to be valid you'd have to weigh all these things.

If you buy a 10k ht system and then you and your gf watch it, but you also invite neighbors over and friends and lots of the big events are hosted at your house because of said system, how many people have benefited from that purchase? By comparison, how many people will ever benefit from that ring, is there any way multiple people could even gain any sort of entertainment value from a ring?

I'm all for the "spend whatever the hell you want crowd" but I'm not a fan of the "let's try and compare random things that don't really work well as valid comparisons crowd".

First, I believe you are reading too much into it. The comparison was merely an observation I've made about the different reactions towards spending money towards different items.

If you want to get into it, you cannot quantify the value that a piece of jewelry (in this case an engagement ring) that a woman puts on it. She may very well get more enjoyment out of that ring that you would ever get out of a big screen with all your buddies. Just because you don't understand, doesn't mean it isn't possible.

Also, a ring purchase is for one person only... Why would I want to have multiple people benefit from it?

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

Not to disagree with you, but is there a noticeable difference between a 2k and 10k home theater setups in comparison to 2k and 10k engagement rings? Does a woman not get any entertainment value out of said ht system in comparison to a mans entertainment value out of a ring? For the comparison to be valid you'd have to weigh all these things.

If you buy a 10k ht system and then you and your gf watch it, but you also invite neighbors over and friends and lots of the big events are hosted at your house because of said system, how many people have benefited from that purchase? By comparison, how many people will ever benefit from that ring, is there any way multiple people could even gain any sort of entertainment value from a ring?

I'm all for the "spend whatever the hell you want crowd" but I'm not a fan of the "let's try and compare random things that don't really work well as valid comparisons crowd".

I can't speak for all women but I don't think I'd view "having lots of the big events hosted at my house"" as any sort of benefit to me, what that gets most women is a lot of extra work preparing food and cleaning for such events.

There are 3 people in my house,guess which person watches the tv the least?

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
This is coming from someone who has a 8800GT with a 47" Westinghouse LCD and 4GB of ram. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. You had to spend at least several thousand dollars on the LCD with the computer. The fact is that computer will depreciate to basically nothing over the next several years. Do you know how much an $8,000 diamond will lose? Essentially nothing. It will hold its value for the life of a person or several generations (actually increasing in value in proportion to inflation).

So which is the best investment in the long term?

I find it odd that someone NEEDS an 47? LCD TV. Why don?t you invest that money and put it towards your retirement? Maybe there are some starving children in Africa that could use that money to feed themselves for several years.

Oh wait?you?re a hypocrite.

Note that ATOT is mostly full of young people. They all bitch about the cost of a ring and other things of that nature. Most of them are the same people who would purchase an outrageous sports car or other toys if they were rich. What they don?t understand is that a lot of times the cost of a ring is proportion to the size of your income. My wife has a custom made platinum and diamond ring that is in excess of what the OP is talking about. But guess what? Paying for it didn?t affect my retirement and our lifestyle. It has not affected the children we subsequently had after the fact either.

The great thing? The ring has appraised (for insurance) for more than what I originally paid for it over 10 years ago. How about your computer in 10 years? My wife loves what I gave her..and that's more important than the cost of it. I had something designed and made custom for her. She'll always remember it.

My electronics don't affect my retirement savings at all. At our current pace, my wife and I are on course to retire at age 59.5 on interest alone.

We give to charity and also work hard to instill those same values in our kids. For instance, before our kids (5 and 3) are allowed to open a single Xmas gift, they must first go through all their toys and pick out at least one toy per present they will receive to donate to the local Goodwill or homeless shelter. This Xmas we're also sponsoring a needy family that can't afford Xmas gifts for their family. When our kids are a little older we're going to volunteer at the local food pantry so they can see just how lucky they are.

I'd say our $1,600 TV and $1,000 computer are the largest of our "toys." We drive a 2000 and 1997 Taurus. We can afford newer cars but it's not worth the initial cost and depreciation while our current cars run fine.

The computer isn't that bad of an expense because as new parts come out, I sell the current ones and upgrade. For instance, my 8800GT cost $260 and I sold my old GPU, a X1900XT, for $150. I also sold some other computer parts I had laying around to offset the cost. I typically upgrade once a year for around $200-$300 net.

Sure, there is more we could do to help out in the community. But wearing something as gaudy as a $15k ring is deplorable when so many people out there are in desperate need. Would it hurt someone to wear a $2k ring and use the remaining $13k to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens?

I applaud your success in life in being able to afford such a nice gift for your wife. However, why would she need such an expensive ring to remember anything? Don't you think helping someone would have an even bigger impact?

For some reason you're automatically assuming that someone who buys a 15K ring is unable to do anything else in life but buy the ring. You then also assume that same person is not contributing to society or donating to charity.

You're perpetually spending money year to year to upgrade a computer that is constantly losing value the instant you open or use it. A ring keeps its value over the life of a person and potentially several generations. So you may only spend 2K every few years, but that adds up to the cost of a ring over the course of time.

You're just too hypocritical to understand the concept that people may want to spend money in their own way. Just because they don't choose to spend it like you doesn't mean it's a "waste". You choose to spend your money on junk that you turn around and sell down the road. A ring is a gift that last a lifetime.

There?s nothing that makes how you spend your money any better or worse than how someone else chooses to spend their money.

I am your new #1 biggest fan. Every time I read an engagement ring thread it ultimately comes down to everyone bashing someone for spending anything over 2K on a ring.

As you explained, it has become cliche (on this board) to buy your ring from Blue Nile and brag about what a great deal you got from a Walmart-esque retailer of a cookie-cutter piece.

Just know that, even though you are in the minority, I agree with you 100%. I'm pretty convinced that if anyone here had the money, they wouldn't be compensating for their own insecurities by bashing people who buy jewelry.

I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

Imagine if a woman took her boyfriend to a Home Theatre store and said "Pick out whatever you would like" and he picks $10,000 worth of crap and she says to him "You chose... poorly." As one poster said regarding a ring.

I'd cry. =(

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
This is coming from someone who has a 8800GT with a 47" Westinghouse LCD and 4GB of ram. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. You had to spend at least several thousand dollars on the LCD with the computer. The fact is that computer will depreciate to basically nothing over the next several years. Do you know how much an $8,000 diamond will lose? Essentially nothing. It will hold its value for the life of a person or several generations (actually increasing in value in proportion to inflation).

So which is the best investment in the long term?

I find it odd that someone NEEDS an 47? LCD TV. Why don?t you invest that money and put it towards your retirement? Maybe there are some starving children in Africa that could use that money to feed themselves for several years.

Oh wait?you?re a hypocrite.

Note that ATOT is mostly full of young people. They all bitch about the cost of a ring and other things of that nature. Most of them are the same people who would purchase an outrageous sports car or other toys if they were rich. What they don?t understand is that a lot of times the cost of a ring is proportion to the size of your income. My wife has a custom made platinum and diamond ring that is in excess of what the OP is talking about. But guess what? Paying for it didn?t affect my retirement and our lifestyle. It has not affected the children we subsequently had after the fact either.

The great thing? The ring has appraised (for insurance) for more than what I originally paid for it over 10 years ago. How about your computer in 10 years? My wife loves what I gave her..and that's more important than the cost of it. I had something designed and made custom for her. She'll always remember it.

My electronics don't affect my retirement savings at all. At our current pace, my wife and I are on course to retire at age 59.5 on interest alone.

We give to charity and also work hard to instill those same values in our kids. For instance, before our kids (5 and 3) are allowed to open a single Xmas gift, they must first go through all their toys and pick out at least one toy per present they will receive to donate to the local Goodwill or homeless shelter. This Xmas we're also sponsoring a needy family that can't afford Xmas gifts for their family. When our kids are a little older we're going to volunteer at the local food pantry so they can see just how lucky they are.

I'd say our $1,600 TV and $1,000 computer are the largest of our "toys." We drive a 2000 and 1997 Taurus. We can afford newer cars but it's not worth the initial cost and depreciation while our current cars run fine.

The computer isn't that bad of an expense because as new parts come out, I sell the current ones and upgrade. For instance, my 8800GT cost $260 and I sold my old GPU, a X1900XT, for $150. I also sold some other computer parts I had laying around to offset the cost. I typically upgrade once a year for around $200-$300 net.

Sure, there is more we could do to help out in the community. But wearing something as gaudy as a $15k ring is deplorable when so many people out there are in desperate need. Would it hurt someone to wear a $2k ring and use the remaining $13k to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens?

I applaud your success in life in being able to afford such a nice gift for your wife. However, why would she need such an expensive ring to remember anything? Don't you think helping someone would have an even bigger impact?

For some reason you're automatically assuming that someone who buys a 15K ring is unable to do anything else in life but buy the ring. You then also assume that same person is not contributing to society or donating to charity.

You're perpetually spending money year to year to upgrade a computer that is constantly losing value the instant you open or use it. A ring keeps its value over the life of a person and potentially several generations. So you may only spend 2K every few years, but that adds up to the cost of a ring over the course of time.

You're just too hypocritical to understand the concept that people may want to spend money in their own way. Just because they don't choose to spend it like you doesn't mean it's a "waste". You choose to spend your money on junk that you turn around and sell down the road. A ring is a gift that last a lifetime.

There?s nothing that makes how you spend your money any better or worse than how someone else chooses to spend their money.

You are the man LikeLinus.

Plain and true, the internet is, among other things, a soapbox for the socially inept (it also is for the opposite but moreso it is seen as a tool for the socially inept) who believe that their decisions are the most informed and they are overconfident that the way they live is the ONLY way - anything else is so idiotic (and in the case immoral) that they should be shunned from society (ironically this is the same society that shuns them).

Child of Wonder's response that he does this and that for charity and his computer costs this and his TV costs that is his way of justifying his overconfident opinion on how to spend money and live life - when in turn, to me, it appears as a subconscious "excuse" he uses to mask some sort of insecurity and his own immorality... i.e. I do charity - I didn't spend XXXXX on an engagement ring - I can spend XXXXX on a computer and TV - I made the right choice, and hey remember I do charity !

All in all he uses the internet soapbox to mask his own sense of immorality (which appears just as immoral in the sense - why buy a $1600 TV and a $1000 Computer - when you can buy a $200 and $200 computer and give the remaining $2200 to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens, just because it isn't 13k like his example - does that justify that he is right and others are wrong? His whole post is his method to justify his "holier than thou" no pun intended, but it is inherently flawed to the point of being dead wrong.

Which reminds me of a quote

?I have come to the conclusion that charity is only charity when you give goods, services or money without personal gain, benefit or recognition of any kind. True charity is anonymous. It begins and ends within your self.?

True charitable giving is the charitable you don't brag about - especially as a defense in a topic like this.



Truly Yours,

Don Guillermo Santana-Rodriguez

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: Jack Ryan
I always found it amazing how different these two questions get answered...
1) I want to spend 10K on a home theatre setup
2) I want to spend 10K on an engagement ring

Not to disagree with you, but is there a noticeable difference TO ME between a 2k and 10k home theater setups in comparison to 2k and 10k engagement rings? Does a woman not get any entertainment value out of said ht system in comparison to a mans entertainment value out of a ring? For the comparison to be valid you'd have to weigh all these things.

If you buy a 10k ht system and then you and your gf watch it, but you also invite neighbors over and friends and lots of the big events are hosted at your house because of said system, how many people have benefited from that purchase? By comparison, how many people will ever benefit from that ring, is there any way multiple people could even gain any sort of entertainment value from a ring?

I'm all for the "spend whatever the hell you want crowd" but I'm not a fan of the "let's try and compare random things that don't really work well as valid comparisons crowd".

Fixed. Just because you think something, doesn't mean someone else does - no matter how inane you believe it to be.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
For some reason you're automatically assuming that someone who buys a 15K ring is unable to do anything else in life but buy the ring. You then also assume that same person is not contributing to society or donating to charity.

You're perpetually spending money year to year to upgrade a computer that is constantly losing value the instant you open or use it. A ring keeps its value over the life of a person and potentially several generations. So you may only spend 2K every few years, but that adds up to the cost of a ring over the course of time.

You're just too hypocritical to understand the concept that people may want to spend money in their own way. Just because they don't choose to spend it like you doesn't mean it's a "waste". You choose to spend your money on junk that you turn around and sell down the road. A ring is a gift that last a lifetime.

There?s nothing that makes how you spend your money any better or worse than how someone else chooses to spend their money.

I'm not assuming whether someone who owns a ring contributes. It's the fact of owning something so frivolous that's upsetting. I find that much money spent on a ring absurd simply because the ring serves no purpose other than to give the wearer and giver an elevated sense of self worth in comparison to other people. The man can look on with satisfaction because he is proving himself to be a better provider than most other men. The woman can show off her ring with a smile knowing that her man can afford such an extravagance while most other women's men cannot.

If the ring had some practical purpose other than ego stroking, I wouldn't have much of a problem with it.

As to the ring retaining value, that really isn't pertinent to this conversation. We all purchase things that increase or decrease in value. Do I take it to mean that since your wife's ring will hold it's value you plan on selling it someday? Otherwise it's monetary value serves no purpose.

My computer upgrades also do not compare with a $15,000 ring. It would take me 50 years of upgrades at $300 per year to equal $15,000. Who would gain more benefit from that $15,000? My 50 years of enjoyment from having new computer hardware to share with my family and friends or a rock on your wife's hand?

In the end, since you have the means to spend $15,000 or more on jewelry you will adamantly defend your right to do so. It is your right and even if I had the power to stop you, I wouldn't.

I'm a huge sports fan and I also cringe when I see athletes wearing $150,000 earrings. That money could be used to help so many people but, instead, it is sitting in someone's ear to outwardly display their dominant financial status over others.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
You are the man LikeLinus.

Plain and true, the internet is, among other things, a soapbox for the socially inept (it also is for the opposite but moreso it is seen as a tool for the socially inept) who believe that their decisions are the most informed and they are overconfident that the way they live is the ONLY way - anything else is so idiotic (and in the case immoral) that they should be shunned from society (ironically this is the same society that shuns them).

Child of Wonder's response that he does this and that for charity and his computer costs this and his TV costs that is his way of justifying his overconfident opinion on how to spend money and live life - when in turn, to me, it appears as a subconscious "excuse" he uses to mask some sort of insecurity and his own immorality... i.e. I do charity - I didn't spend XXXXX on an engagement ring - I can spend XXXXX on a computer and TV - I made the right choice, and hey remember I do charity !

All in all he uses the internet soapbox to mask his own sense of immorality (which appears just as immoral in the sense - why buy a $1600 TV and a $1000 Computer - when you can buy a $200 and $200 computer and give the remaining $2200 to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens, just because it isn't 13k like his example - does that justify that he is right and others are wrong? His whole post is his method to justify his "holier than thou" no pun intended, but it is inherently flawed to the point of being dead wrong.

Which reminds me of a quote

?I have come to the conclusion that charity is only charity when you give goods, services or money without personal gain, benefit or recognition of any kind. True charity is anonymous. It begins and ends within your self.?

True charitable giving is the charitable you don't brag about - especially as a defense in a topic like this.



Truly Yours,

Don Guillermo Santana-Rodriguez

I couldn't care less about garnering any recognition for any charitable work I do. In fact, I wish I could do more. The only reason I made any reference to the things I do now is because LikeLinus had called me out as a hypocrite for having a nice computer and TV.

However, if that makes me a bad person then I'll happily delete those references.

Could you also tell me more about myself, my thoughts, my immorality, and about my social ineptitudes? I feel I should be paying for your psychic services. Do you do birthday parties?

 

[nace186]

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
For some reason you're automatically assuming that someone who buys a 15K ring is unable to do anything else in life but buy the ring. You then also assume that same person is not contributing to society or donating to charity.

You're perpetually spending money year to year to upgrade a computer that is constantly losing value the instant you open or use it. A ring keeps its value over the life of a person and potentially several generations. So you may only spend 2K every few years, but that adds up to the cost of a ring over the course of time.

You're just too hypocritical to understand the concept that people may want to spend money in their own way. Just because they don't choose to spend it like you doesn't mean it's a "waste". You choose to spend your money on junk that you turn around and sell down the road. A ring is a gift that last a lifetime.

There?s nothing that makes how you spend your money any better or worse than how someone else chooses to spend their money.

I'm not assuming whether someone who owns a ring contributes. It's the fact of owning something so frivolous that's upsetting. I find that much money spent on a ring absurd simply because the ring serves no purpose other than to give the wearer and giver an elevated sense of self worth in comparison to other people. The man can look on with satisfaction because he is proving himself to be a better provider than most other men. The woman can show off her ring with a smile knowing that her man can afford such an extravagance while most other women's men cannot.

If the ring had some practical purpose other than ego stroking, I wouldn't have much of a problem with it.

As to the ring retaining value, that really isn't pertinent to this conversation. We all purchase things that increase or decrease in value. Do I take it to mean that since your wife's ring will hold it's value you plan on selling it someday? Otherwise it's monetary value serves no purpose.

My computer upgrades also do not compare with a $15,000 ring. It would take me 50 years of upgrades at $300 per year to equal $15,000. Who would gain more benefit from that $15,000? My 50 years of enjoyment from having new computer hardware to share with my family and friends or a rock on your wife's hand?

In the end, since you have the means to spend $15,000 or more on jewelry you will adamantly defend your right to do so. It is your right and even if I had the power to stop you, I wouldn't.

I'm a huge sports fan and I also cringe when I see athletes wearing $150,000 earrings. That money could be used to help so many people but, instead, it is sitting in someone's ear to outwardly display their dominant financial status over others.

:thumbsup:

Completely agree with you.

When I purchase things, I want to know what kind value is it giving me for the money I paid.

LCD TV allows me to watch movies, play games, entertain, etc.

what does a 15k ring do for me? Make my gf/so happy for like what 1 day?

I could do that with other cheaper, more sentimental gift.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
You are the man LikeLinus.

Plain and true, the internet is, among other things, a soapbox for the socially inept (it also is for the opposite but moreso it is seen as a tool for the socially inept) who believe that their decisions are the most informed and they are overconfident that the way they live is the ONLY way - anything else is so idiotic (and in the case immoral) that they should be shunned from society (ironically this is the same society that shuns them).

Child of Wonder's response that he does this and that for charity and his computer costs this and his TV costs that is his way of justifying his overconfident opinion on how to spend money and live life - when in turn, to me, it appears as a subconscious "excuse" he uses to mask some sort of insecurity and his own immorality... i.e. I do charity - I didn't spend XXXXX on an engagement ring - I can spend XXXXX on a computer and TV - I made the right choice, and hey remember I do charity !

All in all he uses the internet soapbox to mask his own sense of immorality (which appears just as immoral in the sense - why buy a $1600 TV and a $1000 Computer - when you can buy a $200 and $200 computer and give the remaining $2200 to put a smart kid through school? What about providing food for a few hungry families? Paying the heating bills for some senior citizens, just because it isn't 13k like his example - does that justify that he is right and others are wrong? His whole post is his method to justify his "holier than thou" no pun intended, but it is inherently flawed to the point of being dead wrong.

Which reminds me of a quote

?I have come to the conclusion that charity is only charity when you give goods, services or money without personal gain, benefit or recognition of any kind. True charity is anonymous. It begins and ends within your self.?

True charitable giving is the charitable you don't brag about - especially as a defense in a topic like this.



Truly Yours,

Don Guillermo Santana-Rodriguez

I couldn't care less about garnering any recognition for any charitable work I do. In fact, I wish I could do more. The only reason I made any reference to the things I do now is because LikeLinus had called me out as a hypocrite for having a nice computer and TV.

However, if that makes me a bad person then I'll happily delete those references.

Could you also tell me more about myself, my thoughts, my immorality, and about my social ineptitudes? I feel I should be paying for your psychic services. Do you do birthday parties?

No need to get fresh. I was just pointing out that those who live in a glass house should not throw stones; and your nasty attitude makes me feel that my assumptions about you are correct.

You are quick to jump on a soapbox about getting a cheaper ring and donating the money all while assuming that your $2600 on television & computer is justified because it is less money. So since you brought up the point, why did you spend $2600 on a computer and television when you could have bought a perfectly good television and computer for a fraction of the price and donate the remainder for those worthy causes that you previously mentioned?

 

[Mr Incognito]

It all goes to shit when the neighbor gets a bigger ring. I hope my future wife has the sense to not need a 10 thousand dollar piece of carbon.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

No need to get fresh. I was just pointing out that those who live in a glass house should not throw stones; and your nasty attitude makes me feel that my assumptions about you are correct.

You are quick to jump on a soapbox about getting a cheaper ring and donating the money all while assuming that your $2600 on television & computer is justified because it is less money. So since you brought up the point, why did you spend $2600 on a computer and television when you could have bought a perfectly good television and computer for a fraction of the price and donate the remainder for those worthy causes that you previously mentioned?

I'm merely responding in kind as you referred to me as "immoral," "socially inept," and that society "shuns" me. If you'd prefer the discussion remain civil I'd ask that you refrain from insults and I'll do the same.

My computer I've had for a very long time. It started years ago as an Athlon XP system and I've just continually upgraded since then. As I said, I sell the older parts that I replace with new ones. I also get my hands on lots of used hardware from consulting jobs and at work so those are also sold to offset the costs. Luckily, the computer really doesn't cost very much to maintain.

As for the TV, we had planned on getting a 37" LCD TV in celebration of finishing our basement. We had been working hard on it for over 7 months and were happy we could finally move our son into his new bedroom downstairs so that we could stop sleeping in the living room and move into our bedroom, not to mention the extra living space. A 37" LCD was going to cost approx. $1,000 at the time but I had found a 47" for $1,600 and we decided to go with that. The $1,600 actually came from us downgrading our car. One of our vehicles was a 2001 Ford ZX2 but we wanted to replace it with a second 4 door car. My parents traded us their 1997 Taurus plus cash for our ZX2 since my dad had changed jobs and needed something with better gas mileage for the long commute.

 

[AMCRambler]

So how much is a good number for buying an engagement ring?

Edit: And don't tell me it depends on the person. Because you're all blowing up at the guy for suggesting an 8k dollar ring. How much would you spend?

 

[SmoochyTX]

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
So how much is a good number for buying an engagement ring?

Edit: And don't tell me it depends on the person. Because you're all blowing up at the guy for suggesting an 8k dollar ring. How much would you spend?

If my fiance spent 8K on a ring, I'd slap him. But that's just me.

 

[Geekbabe]

I don't value jewelery very highly to begin with, give me gifts I can do things with,create things with. I'd also be afraid to regularly wear something that expensive,every single bracelet,neck chain or watch I've ever owned has ended up breaking,having the clasp come undone and getting lost etc, I'd totally freak out with anxiety sporting a a ring that cost 15k,it wouldn't be pleasant at all.

lol,give me a nice dog or cat,they'll provide,warmth,laughter and comfort to me for years
better than some silly ring

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Fixed. Just because you think something, doesn't mean someone else does - no matter how inane you believe it to be.

I'm not sure how you think you fixed that, I was asking a question, not answering one. I was asking the reader, if they see a value difference between a 2k and 10k ht system.

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
I can't speak for all women but I don't think I'd view "having lots of the big events hosted at my house"" as any sort of benefit to me, what that gets most women is a lot of extra work preparing food and cleaning for such events.

There are 3 people in my house,guess which person watches the tv the least?

Personal experience, but the point still stands. The HT system is gender neutral. You may watch TV the least, but a guy may watch TV the least in another example. A 10K HT system benefits every person in the house, regardless of who uses it the most as well as (possibly, yes possibly) benefiting people not inside the house. That was my point.

I think it should be reminded, that nowhere in my post did I say people should buy 10K ht systems and then skimp on rings. I was just showing how it's a crappy poor comparison. To compare spending money on a ring, you have to compare spending money on something else with little to no function. Like a 10,000 dollar baseball card vs a 2,000 baseball card. That is much better.

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: skace

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez
Fixed. Just because you think something, doesn't mean someone else does - no matter how inane you believe it to be.

I'm not sure how you think you fixed that, I was asking a question, not answering one. I was asking the reader, if they see a value difference between a 2k and 10k ht system.

Originally posted by: Geekbabe
I can't speak for all women but I don't think I'd view "having lots of the big events hosted at my house"" as any sort of benefit to me, what that gets most women is a lot of extra work preparing food and cleaning for such events.

There are 3 people in my house,guess which person watches the tv the least?

Personal experience, but the point still stands. The HT system is gender neutral. You may watch TV the least, but a guy may watch TV the least in another example. A 10K HT system benefits every person in the house, regardless of who uses it the most as well as (possibly, yes possibly) benefiting people not inside the house. That was my point.

I think it should be reminded, that nowhere in my post did I say people should buy 10K ht systems and then skimp on rings. I was just showing how it's a crappy poor comparison. To compare spending money on a ring, you have to compare spending money on something else with little to no function. Like a 10,000 dollar baseball card vs a 2,000 baseball card. That is much better.

I so seldom watch tv that benefiting me only would mean that the 20 inch LCD in our kitchen with basic cable would more than meet my needs. However pleasing my husband and son benefits me greatly and so we have very ,very nice Sharp LCD in our living room, a panasonic Tau in my son's room, a PS3 for games and blu ray dvd, a hefty HDTV cable package and netflix. I don't "benefit" personally from these things,lol, I don't even know how to run most of them

There is a value in pleasing those you love and that value often makes purchasing something that is only for them well worth it.

Oh and in the event of a divorce my husband would get custody of all the electronics.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

No need to get fresh. I was just pointing out that those who live in a glass house should not throw stones; and your nasty attitude makes me feel that my assumptions about you are correct.

You are quick to jump on a soapbox about getting a cheaper ring and donating the money all while assuming that your $2600 on television & computer is justified because it is less money. So since you brought up the point, why did you spend $2600 on a computer and television when you could have bought a perfectly good television and computer for a fraction of the price and donate the remainder for those worthy causes that you previously mentioned?

I'm merely responding in kind as you referred to me as "immoral," "socially inept," and that society "shuns" me. If you'd prefer the discussion remain civil I'd ask that you refrain from insults and I'll do the same.

My computer I've had for a very long time. It started years ago as an Athlon XP system and I've just continually upgraded since then. As I said, I sell the older parts that I replace with new ones. I also get my hands on lots of used hardware from consulting jobs and at work so those are also sold to offset the costs. Luckily, the computer really doesn't cost very much to maintain.

As for the TV, we had planned on getting a 37" LCD TV in celebration of finishing our basement. We had been working hard on it for over 7 months and were happy we could finally move our son into his new bedroom downstairs so that we could stop sleeping in the living room and move into our bedroom, not to mention the extra living space. A 37" LCD was going to cost approx. $1,000 at the time but I had found a 47" for $1,600 and we decided to go with that. The $1,600 actually came from us downgrading our car. One of our vehicles was a 2001 Ford ZX2 but we wanted to replace it with a second 4 door car. My parents traded us their 1997 Taurus plus cash for our ZX2 since my dad had changed jobs and needed something with better gas mileage for the long commute.

I wont insult you, but you did not answer my question.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: AMCRambler
So how much is a good number for buying an engagement ring?

Edit: And don't tell me it depends on the person. Because you're all blowing up at the guy for suggesting an 8k dollar ring. How much would you spend?

It depends on the person is correct. It's what the couple puts on it as a value. To some multi-millionaires $10k is fine, others may drop 6 figures+. What generally happens in the lower income demographics is people overshoot their real budgets more and more as income drops.

Some do this thinking their potential mate will be overcome with the 'value' and become totally smitten. It never works though and getting engaged is the last thing one should do in bad relationship, but what many do anyway along with getting someone/themselves pregnant.

Shopping smart on the stone adds time, but the reward is a huge savings. My first ring I bought as a college student for about $1000 back in 1990-2 or so. It was a fraction of the real value due to the jeweler getting ready to file bankruptcy and blowing out all his assets and property. I caught wind of this from a real-estate friend.

My second ring was around $2000-2500 in 1998 roughly purchased from an online jeweler on DiamondTalk and spent to an independent appraiser in Boca (RockDoc also from DiamondTalk) to verify it's EGL cert. I got a hell of a deal on that stone too, easily could have paid double that locally.

My brother spent $12.5k recently on an extremely high quality stone.

My wife didn't want an engagement ring at the time, she and I have been buying other things and doing vacations. She wants one some day after a couple high end watches though. She works in retail designing floorsets for the stores. She only wears smooth rings and never bracelets or even earrings that can snag/catch materials.

None of these purchases were financed. That is the big problem many do. They get 5 figures of store credit and rack it full of a ring purchase at insane interest rates along with the insane markup.

 

[child of wonder]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

No need to get fresh. I was just pointing out that those who live in a glass house should not throw stones; and your nasty attitude makes me feel that my assumptions about you are correct.

You are quick to jump on a soapbox about getting a cheaper ring and donating the money all while assuming that your $2600 on television & computer is justified because it is less money. So since you brought up the point, why did you spend $2600 on a computer and television when you could have bought a perfectly good television and computer for a fraction of the price and donate the remainder for those worthy causes that you previously mentioned?

I'm merely responding in kind as you referred to me as "immoral," "socially inept," and that society "shuns" me. If you'd prefer the discussion remain civil I'd ask that you refrain from insults and I'll do the same.

My computer I've had for a very long time. It started years ago as an Athlon XP system and I've just continually upgraded since then. As I said, I sell the older parts that I replace with new ones. I also get my hands on lots of used hardware from consulting jobs and at work so those are also sold to offset the costs. Luckily, the computer really doesn't cost very much to maintain.

As for the TV, we had planned on getting a 37" LCD TV in celebration of finishing our basement. We had been working hard on it for over 7 months and were happy we could finally move our son into his new bedroom downstairs so that we could stop sleeping in the living room and move into our bedroom, not to mention the extra living space. A 37" LCD was going to cost approx. $1,000 at the time but I had found a 47" for $1,600 and we decided to go with that. The $1,600 actually came from us downgrading our car. One of our vehicles was a 2001 Ford ZX2 but we wanted to replace it with a second 4 door car. My parents traded us their 1997 Taurus plus cash for our ZX2 since my dad had changed jobs and needed something with better gas mileage for the long commute.

I wont insult you, but you did not answer my question.

Why did we not purchase a smaller TV and donate the remaining money to charity? As I said, the TV was a reward for all the hard work we had put into the basement. Our old TV was a 27" hand me down from my wife's parents that makes a buzzing noise while on. Plus, since we had gotten extra money from downgrading our car, it was a nil expense.

Could we have gotten a 32" CRT and then donated the remaining $1,000? Sure. When I got a DVD last week I could have donated that $19 as well.

I suppose it all boils down to this: people who work hard deserve nice things. We all have our vices and waste money. The only reason I take such offense to expensive jewelry is because it's only purpose is to display financial dominance over others.

If this thread was about spending $15,000 on a home theater set up then at least the owner would get some tangible use out of that money. Jewelry, on the other hand, is merely for vanity.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

Originally posted by: child of wonder

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

No need to get fresh. I was just pointing out that those who live in a glass house should not throw stones; and your nasty attitude makes me feel that my assumptions about you are correct.

You are quick to jump on a soapbox about getting a cheaper ring and donating the money all while assuming that your $2600 on television & computer is justified because it is less money. So since you brought up the point, why did you spend $2600 on a computer and television when you could have bought a perfectly good television and computer for a fraction of the price and donate the remainder for those worthy causes that you previously mentioned?

I'm merely responding in kind as you referred to me as "immoral," "socially inept," and that society "shuns" me. If you'd prefer the discussion remain civil I'd ask that you refrain from insults and I'll do the same.

My computer I've had for a very long time. It started years ago as an Athlon XP system and I've just continually upgraded since then. As I said, I sell the older parts that I replace with new ones. I also get my hands on lots of used hardware from consulting jobs and at work so those are also sold to offset the costs. Luckily, the computer really doesn't cost very much to maintain.

As for the TV, we had planned on getting a 37" LCD TV in celebration of finishing our basement. We had been working hard on it for over 7 months and were happy we could finally move our son into his new bedroom downstairs so that we could stop sleeping in the living room and move into our bedroom, not to mention the extra living space. A 37" LCD was going to cost approx. $1,000 at the time but I had found a 47" for $1,600 and we decided to go with that. The $1,600 actually came from us downgrading our car. One of our vehicles was a 2001 Ford ZX2 but we wanted to replace it with a second 4 door car. My parents traded us their 1997 Taurus plus cash for our ZX2 since my dad had changed jobs and needed something with better gas mileage for the long commute.

I wont insult you, but you did not answer my question.

Why did we not purchase a smaller TV and donate the remaining money to charity? As I said, the TV was a reward for all the hard work we had put into the basement. Our old TV was a 27" hand me down from my wife's parents that makes a buzzing noise while on. Plus, since we had gotten extra money from downgrading our car, it was a nil expense.

Could we have gotten a 32" CRT and then donated the remaining $1,000? Sure. When I got a DVD last week I could have donated that $19 as well.

I suppose it all boils down to this: people who work hard deserve nice things. We all have our vices and waste money. The only reason I take such offense to expensive jewelry is because it's only purpose is to display financial dominance over others.

If this thread was about spending $15,000 on a home theater set up then at least the owner would get some tangible use out of that money. Jewelry, on the other hand, is merely for vanity.

Different people value different things in different ways - what is your home theater is someone elses diamond ring and vice versa. Try being a little more considerate of other's beliefs ideas and thoughts - see the other side of the coin, we are not always right on every situation, life is not a zero sum game, just because you think one way doesn't mean its the best way, etc.