You don’t usually look to Britain’s royal family for smart money-saving tips. Let’s face it. They’re hardly the brightest jewels in the jewelry box. And most of the time they’re about 100 years out of date.
But let’s give Prince William and Kate Middleton their due. If you’re planning your own big day, you could pick up some useful tips from the royal couple. Here are six.
1. Don’t waste money on an engagement ring.
The world’s top groom just gave the world’s most envied bride a second hand ring.
Or, to put it another way: Royal Air Force flight lieutenant William Windsor just provided bridegrooms everywhere with air cover.
“I think a lot of grooms are going to be digging around in their mothers’ jewelry boxes for hand-me-down rings,” says Carley Romey, editor in chief of weddings website TheKnot.
How much did William and Kate save?
Tying the knot soon? Brett Arends has some tips for an economical wedding from an unlikely source: Prince William and Kate Middleton.
According to the latest survey by TheKnot, the average bridegroom spent $5,400 on an engagement ring last year. Admittedly, this survey only covers those couples which hired a professional vendor for their wedding, so the sample is skewed towards the bigger spenders. But the figure’s not totally out of touch with reality.
Talk to any young couple today. It’s become a competition.
The wedding-industrial complex, and most especially the jewelry industry, likes to tell grooms that they should spend “six weeks’” or even “two months’ salary” on a rock.
Prince William works as a search and rescue pilot for Britain’s Royal Air Force, where he is a flight lieutenant. Her Majesty’s Ministry of Defence (sic) tells me the prince’s annual salary is between 37,000 and 44,000 British pounds. On a purchasing-power basis that’s the equivalent of between $47,000 and $56,000 a year.
In addition he gets an undisclosed income from his father’s estate, the Duchy of Cornwall.
If he spent two months’ of his flight lieutenant’s salary on a ring, it would have cost him between $7,800 and $9,300 on the rock. Even if he only spent six weeks’, we’re talking $5,400 to $6,500.
If he spent two months or six weeks of his full income, including his royal stipend, the sum would be a lot more.
Instead he pulled a smart trick. He gave Kate a ring that was already in his family.
It’s true, maybe he could have chosen something other than that old Dynasty prop. But at least it didn’t cost him a penny.
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