[quote]TKOWKD1 wrote:
Comrad Aleksandr,
STFU you communist provokator, this is Amerika not USSR.
[/quote]
STFU you yankee-wannabe, this is Kanada, not Amerika,
[quote]Aleksandr wrote:
dollarbill44 wrote:
Aleksandr wrote:
By the way, you ought to look into how much folks with PhDs in business earn. Also look into how much therapists make.
Just to stir the pot a bit, it’s funny you mention a PhD in business when you are discussing misallocations of resources. Not putting down anyone who has a PhD in business, I’m jes sayin, that’s all.
I have no idea what you are saying.
[/quote]
What I’m saying is that if your goal is to make more money, an MBA is a far better value than a PhD.
[quote]Also, giving expensive gifts is no less valuable than bright colors on a male bird, evolutionally speaking. Do bright feathers help the bird fly better? No, but they sure help pulling in the ladies.
DB
A nice suit is a better analogy to bright feathers. By the time you’re buying a ring, you already have the girl. Unless to offer diamonds to random girls, hoping they’ll go out with you.[/quote]
Gift-giving has always been a sign of commitment and of one’s ability to provide for the mate and offspring, hence adding to the attractiveness of the mate. A diamond ring is just modern western society’s version of say, a horse, or a precious egg, substitute whatever item of value you want. You don’t necessarily have the girl(woman) before you give her the ring, nor after, for that matter. One must continue to provide evidence of the commitment and providership or risk losing the woman. I don’t want to hijack any more of this thread by geting into a whole debate about this stuff since it’s been discussed dozens of times elsewhere.
DB
Hi all,
Stopped back to check on my peeps and this gem pops up.
I got engaged a couple weeks ago and spent 0 on a ring. A ring signifies nothing. It is a peice of metal and a stone that people in africa work under slave like conditions or worse to get. Society has conditioned you all to think that a ring actually means something.
Has a diamond ring ever kept a marriage together when it was on the rocks? I can just see a wife and husband fighting and the wife looking down at the ring and saying, “oh hunny i’m sorry, you bought me this ring lets not fight”. It’s basically the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.
If you don’t have enough of a spiritual and emotional connection that you can tell the one you love, I want to marry you and spend every last second of my life with you without giving her some multi thousand dollar bribe, then you probably shouldn’t be getting married. Sheesh, and we wonder why 50% of marriages now end in divorce.
Dude, trust me, the ring means nothing, yes you girl has been conditioned by every older woman to expect a ring, but she wasn’t born with that desire, it has been a clever marketing campaign by one of the most brutal and lucrative industry in the world.
If you buy her a big rock, you are only supporting evil and the exploitation of poor people. Do your part and go no ring, she will understand, and if not, you don’t have the bond needed to make it through the rest of your lives together anyways.
Peace
V
[quote]dollarbill44 wrote:
Aleksandr wrote:
dollarbill44 wrote:
Aleksandr wrote:
By the way, you ought to look into how much folks with PhDs in business earn. Also look into how much therapists make.
Just to stir the pot a bit, it’s funny you mention a PhD in business when you are discussing misallocations of resources. Not putting down anyone who has a PhD in business, I’m jes sayin, that’s all.
I have no idea what you are saying.
What I’m saying is that if your goal is to make more money, an MBA is a far better value than a PhD.
Also, giving expensive gifts is no less valuable than bright colors on a male bird, evolutionally speaking. Do bright feathers help the bird fly better? No, but they sure help pulling in the ladies.
DB
A nice suit is a better analogy to bright feathers. By the time you’re buying a ring, you already have the girl. Unless to offer diamonds to random girls, hoping they’ll go out with you.
Gift-giving has always been a sign of commitment and of one’s ability to provide for the mate and offspring, hence adding to the attractiveness of the mate. A diamond ring is just modern western society’s version of say, a horse, or a precious egg, substitute whatever item of value you want.
You don’t necessarily have the girl(woman) before you give her the ring, nor after, for that matter. One must continue to provide evidence of the commitment and providership or risk losing the woman. I don’t want to hijack any more of this thread by geting into a whole debate about this stuff since it’s been discussed dozens of times elsewhere.
DB [/quote]
DB you dip shit, are you a sparrow or a friggin man. You need gifts to please your spouse? Treat people like you would be treated and show them unconditional love. You will never need a gift to cover your shortcomings again.
Something as small and harmless (and decidedly less evil) like flowers will be more than enough to let her know that you think about her when she isn’t in your presence, which the female type seem to hold in high regard. Also not sucking in bed helps alot, I mean you can give gifts that way, but then again, thats free so I can give that all the time.
PS. DB you suck monkey balls
V
[quote]Aleksandr wrote:
Geminspector wrote:
I’ll go further than “a whiff of attitude”. You overpaid for an item that has very little value outside of its industrial uses
Wrong. When the stock market goes to hell, banks go belly-up and your stocks, bonds and paper are worth nothing - This is the only thing that will have trading value. STONES (mainly diamonds), and METAL (gold, silver and platinum). Sure, your property will have value but you can’t buy a loaf of bread with it either.
Yes, jewelry has a mark-up. Most everything you buy has a big mark-up. 300% is the norm - It’s called triple-key. Furniture has the biggest mark-up of all - as high as 700% Try to sell your 3,000 - 5,000 10 yr. old sofa on the used market. You might get $50 bucks in your yard sale.
Oh, BTW - The bigger the stone, the smaller the mark-up.
So you’re saying that they are a good investment, because when our entire society collapses, a luxury item with no practical purposes is going to be the only thing with trading value?
If you want to invest in something that will have value “when” our entire financial system collapses, buy guns and ammo. Or a farm. Or move to the forest and learn to live off of squirrel droppings.[/quote]
Watching “Red Dawn” are we?
As far as luxery items go, yes, it is a good investment. Machinery and soft goods will rust or rot away. Stones and gold will always hold value. Depending on the market you may get more or less than you paid for it - it’s better than holding squat.
As I said before, land will always hold value, but you can’t sell off a chunk to get groceries. It beleive it is a good idea to put some of your investment $$ into metal. Not Bling, but bar and coin.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Geminspector wrote:
I’ll go further than “a whiff of attitude”. You overpaid for an item that has very little value outside of its industrial uses
Wrong. When the stock market goes to hell, banks go belly-up and your stocks, bonds and paper are worth nothing - This is the only thing that will have trading value. STONES (mainly diamonds), and METAL (gold, silver and platinum). Sure, your property will have value but you can’t buy a loaf of bread with it either.
Yes, jewelry has a mark-up. Most everything you buy has a big mark-up. 300% is the norm - It’s called triple-key. Furniture has the biggest mark-up of all - as high as 700% Try to sell your 3,000 - 5,000 10 yr. old sofa on the used market. You might get $50 bucks in your yard sale.
Oh, BTW - The bigger the stone, the smaller the mark-up.
Who would even dream of spending $ 3000 to $ 5000 on a sofa?
No wonder people are so far in debt![/quote]
Er, that’s what sofa’s cost. I mean the real ones, made with WOOD frames. Rooms-to-go cardboard is much cheaper and will last about a year before it’s covered with giant ass dents - oh, and they have a 700% mark-up too.
Diamonds Are Forever
Original:
Modern:
Hip-Hop:
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Hi all,
Stopped back to check on my peeps and this gem pops up.
I got engaged a couple weeks ago and spent 0 on a ring. A ring signifies nothing. It is a peice of metal and a stone that people in africa work under slave like conditions or worse to get. Society has conditioned you all to think that a ring actually means something.
Has a diamond ring ever kept a marriage together when it was on the rocks? I can just see a wife and husband fighting and the wife looking down at the ring and saying, “oh hunny i’m sorry, you bought me this ring lets not fight”. It’s basically the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.
If you don’t have enough of a spiritual and emotional connection that you can tell the one you love, I want to marry you and spend every last second of my life with you without giving her some multi thousand dollar bribe, then you probably shouldn’t be getting married. Sheesh, and we wonder why 50% of marriages now end in divorce.
Dude, trust me, the ring means nothing, yes you girl has been conditioned by every older woman to expect a ring, but she wasn’t born with that desire, it has been a clever marketing campaign by one of the most brutal and lucrative industry in the world.
If you buy her a big rock, you are only supporting evil and the exploitation of poor people. Do your part and go no ring, she will understand, and if not, you don’t have the bond needed to make it through the rest of your lives together anyways.
Peace
V[/quote]
[Looking in a jewelery store with GF]
GF: Wow! I want this ring
me: Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn’t mind buying it.
GF: Yes, then I can wear it all the time and brag to my friends.
me: Do women actually do that?
GF: Some do (laughs). Just kidding about the ring though, I wouldn’t want you to buy me a ring like that. We could have a lot of fun elsewhere for that much money.
So it’s been comfirmed. A wedding ring for a woman is, deep down, a status symbol. I mean seriously… 12K on a ring?
Think about all the things that 12K could get you:
- trip for 2 to a few 5 star destinations around the world
- 2 dirtbike’s to ride around on
- A nice ultra-light to go camping
- etc etc
I guess nobody answered my original question of it being more of a tradition/generational thing.
[quote]ab_power wrote:
I guess nobody answered my original question of it being more of a tradition/generational thing.[/quote]
It’s what people insecure about their social standing do.
“Oh look, I bought this expensive ring for my wife-to-be! Look how rich I must be!”
And yet people forget that the beginning of a marriage is probably NOT the best time to get into debt.
Who says anything about debt if you have the cash for it?
I’m thinking $2k or so would buy a decent ring (not from a mall store that is), any more and I’d probably be thinking how it could have went to better use (down payment on a house or car)
If there was a way to measure bitterness this thread would cause the testing equipment to explode.
(there is an international bitterness scale but thats for beer)
[quote]Vegita wrote:
dollarbill44 wrote:
Aleksandr wrote:
dollarbill44 wrote:
Aleksandr wrote:
By the way, you ought to look into how much folks with PhDs in business earn. Also look into how much therapists make.
Just to stir the pot a bit, it’s funny you mention a PhD in business when you are discussing misallocations of resources. Not putting down anyone who has a PhD in business, I’m jes sayin, that’s all.
I have no idea what you are saying.
What I’m saying is that if your goal is to make more money, an MBA is a far better value than a PhD.
Also, giving expensive gifts is no less valuable than bright colors on a male bird, evolutionally speaking. Do bright feathers help the bird fly better? No, but they sure help pulling in the ladies.
DB
A nice suit is a better analogy to bright feathers. By the time you’re buying a ring, you already have the girl. Unless to offer diamonds to random girls, hoping they’ll go out with you.
Gift-giving has always been a sign of commitment and of one’s ability to provide for the mate and offspring, hence adding to the attractiveness of the mate. A diamond ring is just modern western society’s version of say, a horse, or a precious egg, substitute whatever item of value you want.
You don’t necessarily have the girl(woman) before you give her the ring, nor after, for that matter. One must continue to provide evidence of the commitment and providership or risk losing the woman. I don’t want to hijack any more of this thread by geting into a whole debate about this stuff since it’s been discussed dozens of times elsewhere.
DB
DB you dip shit, are you a sparrow or a friggin man. You need gifts to please your spouse? Treat people like you would be treated and show them unconditional love. You will never need a gift to cover your shortcomings again.
Something as small and harmless (and decidedly less evil) like flowers will be more than enough to let her know that you think about her when she isn’t in your presence, which the female type seem to hold in high regard. Also not sucking in bed helps alot, I mean you can give gifts that way, but then again, thats free so I can give that all the time.
PS. DB you suck monkey balls
V
[/quote]
I thought you liked it, you monkey. How come we don’t talk like we used to? I don’t feel like I even know you anymore. Where do you get off treating me like this???
You write one good thread about fingering a chick and now you think you’re God’s gift to love? Suck on my diamonds, byatch!
DB
This whole fucking idea about buying some stupid rock as a symbol of love is ridiculous. Why should i have to scrimp and save to buy this useless piece of garbage that has no practical purpose?
Men usually want gadgets and items that can be used for mutual fun, but women want jewelery and other useless shit. What the hell has gone wrong with the world.
[quote]ab_power wrote:
I guess nobody answered my original question of it being more of a tradition/generational thing.
[/quote]
Actually, the history of engagement rings may be based on the concept of bondage, and women as property of the man.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
Who says anything about debt if you have the cash for it?
I’m thinking $2k or so would buy a decent ring (not from a mall store that is), any more and I’d probably be thinking how it could have went to better use (down payment on a house or car)[/quote]
Sensible enough. If you have the money for it, then OK. I guess that was more directed at the people who think 3 months salary is what you should spend. 
[quote]Yo Momma wrote:
Actually, the history of engagement rings may be based on the concept of bondage, and women as property of the man.
http://www.wedfrugal.com/files/engagementringhistory1.html
[/quote]
Wait, you’re saying women don’t belong to men? Next you’ll be telling me they deserve equal rights and a license to drive!
I bought my wife’s engagement ring at the Navy Exchange for about $850; 1/3 ct solitaire, yellow gold, round cut diamond. Found out a couple years later that it appraised for over twice the purchase price, came with all the GIA paperwork and such.
When my wife takes it to a jeweller’s for any reason(the prongs have broken before, thank God we didn’t lose the stone), they always ask what I paid for it, and then they don’t believe how little I paid.
Apparently all the details(clarity, imperfections, etc.) are very good on this diamond. I’m not taking any credit, the chick at the store gave me a very brief rundown on all the stuff, and I went with this one because it was the biggest one I could afford, and it looked best of the rings that size.
As was said before, look more at beauty of the ring, not size. Personally I wouldn’t go any bigger than a carat if I were to do it over(actually I’d buy the same ring), any bigger is a liability in my book.
Find a ring you can afford(I think it should hurt a little bit-this is supposed to be a symbol of your love for her-but three months salary is ridiculous) that looks really pretty, preferrably find out her ring size ahead of time so when you present it she can immediately put it on, not tell everyone you got engaged, but the ring is being sized.
If my girlfriend(now wife) had complained about the size of the ring, I think I would have taken it back and told her to pound sand. That to me would be a very big indication of what type of chick you are dealing with, but then you should have seen that before if you have bought her any type of present before at all.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
Who says anything about debt if you have the cash for it?
I’m thinking $2k or so would buy a decent ring (not from a mall store that is), any more and I’d probably be thinking how it could have went to better use (down payment on a house or car)[/quote]
Perfect.
Now decide on a presentation.
I pulled a fast one on my wife. Christmass morning I started acting all befuddled and sheepish trying to explain how I had a realy hard time finding her something nice.
Just as she gave the sympathetic head tilt I sprung the ring on her and offfered her my hand in marriage.
That got the waterworks flowing.
I spent one weeks pay on one. $1200 I think but I changed my mind about getting married and now I have a ring I can’t get rid of lol…maybe use it for the next one
Maybe buy her a decent gold band like yours and promise her a rock later on. Ive seen girls make a huge deal about the rock tho.