Money doesn’t buy love, but $15,000 ring will help, Atlanta man says

An Atlanta man is seeking the generosity of others to pay for an expensive engagement ring for his longtime girlfriend.

William Oliver has started a fundraising campaign to purchase a $15,000 ring. He says he was inspired to come up with an innovative way to buy the ring after his girlfriend Alexandra celebrated his 30th birthday by showering him with 30 gifts.

By early Friday afternoon, the campaign had been shared 9,700 times on Facebook since it was posted Tuesday, and a total of $589 had been donated.

“Sometimes we can't quite afford expensive things by ourselves,” Oliver wrote on gofundme.com. “A lot of people lean on credit card companies and banks (that overcharge them) so that they appear to do nice things for people they love by themselves. My approach is a little different. We have friends, family, and colleagues that don't mind passing up a drink or a sandwich to help out. Anything helps.”

The average engagement ring costs $6,163, according to a 2016 study released by The Knot’s.

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Money doesn’t buy love, but $15,000 ring will help, Atlanta man says."