Sure, engagement rings can be expensive, but a very practical teenager recently took to Reddit to share his unusual (but kind of brilliant) plan for paying for his future engagement ring.
Reddit user Imriayalde posed the question, "What's the silliest thing you've done to save money on your wedding?" to the Reddit community Tuesday. In response, Sean Clayton (Reddit username SeanAir) explained that when he was 14, he decided to save every quarter he got and use that money to offset the cost of an engagement ring. He's now 19, not engaged or married, and still saving.
"Pretty much been taxing myself for 5 years. Hope it pays off," he wrote. "My friends have been calling me crazy for years."
Clayton, who lives in Snellville, Georgia, told HuffPost Weddings that he began thinking about his future at young age, and was inspired to save money after listening to a radio program in which a woman was encouraged to save dollar bills and put them towards an important future purchase. Since he was only 14 and not earning any money, he decided to save quarters instead.
"I figured that the only guaranteed, big-time spending I would likely conduct in the next 15 years would be at the beginning of a marriage," Clayton said. "I decided from that point that I would save those quarters over a long period of time in the hope that I would avoid a serious financial strain as I enter into marriage, an even greater financial commitment."
Clayton estimated that he has saved about 15 pounds worth of quarters so far. Another Redditor, Kalypso_, wrote that at 80 quarters to the pound, Clayton has probably saved about $300.
"That is actually kind of adorable. I mean, please don't feel like you have to buy an expensive ring (not all girls are into that, believe it or not), but it's very responsible to set money aside for big purchases you anticipate in the future. I hope your lucky girl realizes that when the time comes," Redditor keakealani commented.
Other Redditors responded to the original poster's question with their own money-saving tips. Check them out in the slideshow below.