<prompt> Human: Ive been thinking about taking out a personal loan to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend of 5 years. Im not 100 sure if this would be a good financial decision. I have about 40k in student loans but Im pretty comfortable with the payments. However its hard for me to save enough quickly to pay for a ring with cash. One of my loans is almost done so I figured I would just substitute the ring loan. Would this be a good route to go to take the next step in my life? Any advice is appreciated.EDIT: Wow I was not expecting this many responses. Im trying my best to respond to everyone, but thank you all for the advice! Definitely have a lot to consider.Assistant: Would this be a good route to go to take the next step in my life?Nope. This is the kind of thing you save up and buy. Human: The only thing is that its going to take me forever to save up. I have some family members that were going to give me money to help so I could pay off the loan faster.Assistant: How much are you going to spend on a ring?Human: I was going to spend about 8000. I have some family members that are going to help me with some of it.Assistant: That makes sense if you make about 250K a year.Seriously, dont spend that much on a ring. You will regret it.Human: 250k for 8000? From what Ive been told 8000 is a decent ring. She has a lot of friends that got married and their rings were way more.  <response>: Keeping up with the Jones ends up making most people in debt. Dont compare yourself to her friends. Buy what you can afford, when you can pay cash. 