Been thinking about this myself. I'm not a cheapskate by any means, just got back from taking my lady on a week long vacation down in Playa Del Carmen which wasn't all that expensive, but the point is, I don't mind spending money once in awhile. I'm thinking about an engagement ring, and have been looking around. I'm always suspicious about the rule of thumb things because when an industry makes up a rule or ocassion, like Secretary Day (Florists) and 1,2 or 3 months salary (jewelers) I tend to ignore it. my gross monthly is about 10k, but I can't imagine spending 10K on an engagement ring. I've seen very nice rings that any woman should be happy with in the $1200 range. Even then, something tells me $1200 for a ring says "Hey everyone, we are planning to get married one day" seems a bit silly...