Webtrify.com Survey Reveals that Young Couples are Risking Debt and their Financial Security to Buy Engagement Rings

Sydney, Australia, April 2007 - Webtrify.com (www.webtrify.com) is a leading online blog providing information on engagement rings and jewelry, today revealed the results of a 3 week long survey of website visitors. The poll concentrated on the level of expenditure consumers were incurring when purchasing jewelry and also how they were able to finance it. The results showed that 78% of people purchase jewelry with credit cards, and of that 78% only 12% expect to pay off the transaction in full within 6 months.

According to Colleen Lester of webtrify ( http://www.webtrify.com ) the "survey revealed that after a car and a home a diamond ring is the 3rd biggest purchase a consumer is likely to make. We are finding that young couples are consistently risking their financial security in order to be able to have the diamond ring they desire"

They survey revealed that young couples between the ages of 20-30 report that the average cost of an engagement ring at $2.6k. That is compared to the next biggest purchase which was usually kitchen equipment such as washing machines, fridges and freezers. Colleen ( http://www.webtrify.com ) suggested a few reasons why this could be the case - "Young couples are going through the most exciting period in their life and they are happy to forget about the real brunt of the costs until the day comes along when they have to pay it off. At our website we try and encourage couples to spend within their budget but it is clear that not everyone is following our warning"

Colleen Lester of Webtrify ( http://www.webtrify.com ) suggests that increased availability of credit will not be helping the situation. She comments that "when young couples have easy access to credit cards it is so much easier to spend money that you simply do not have. That is why we are seeing many couples splash out on weddings and especially engagement rings. In our survey we found out that 68% of couples were not able to afford their engagement ring, however managed to purchase it anyway. Only 27% of couples received help from their parents which is lower than we would have expected."

With the rise in consumer debt, our survey also revealed that jewelers themselves are actively encouraging consumers to borrow. Many jewelers offer credit terms along with a jewelry purchase and consumers are often triggered to purchase when they at an earlier stage in the buying cycle. Although financing a purchase through the jeweler directly only accounted 6% of transactions, Colleen comments on the effect that this could have on consumers – "When a person visits a website or walks into a bricks and mortar jewelers they will see offers which involve credit terms. This could be enticing them to consider purchasing on credit terms, and that could be a stimulus in persuading them to purchase with their credit card when they cannot afford to"

"We intend to be proactive in tackling this issue" said Editor Colleen Lester. "In the coming months we will be providing further information to consumers via our email ezine and also explaining that despite the luxurious nature of diamond rings, they are not worth sacrificing your financial freedom for. Our loyalty is with the consumer, and we will be doing what we can to promote sensible money management"

About Webtrify Resources

Webtrify ( http://www.webtrify.com ) is an online blog that provides consumer advice in terms of purchasing, maintaining and evaluating jewelry. The websites authors include the consumer-centric Colleen who truly believes that diamonds rock!