>> her diamond ring will be worn forever

The divorce statistics say something else.

If this is their first marriage, it has something like a 70% of being worn until death. The Macbook has a >90% chance of being relegated to the trash heap in less than 10 years.

A diamond ring loses a large amount of its value when you purchase it, because engagement rings don't really ever sell for what they bought them for. If he uses that MBP for work, it is a return on the investment as it allows him to earn income with it, eventually (hopefully) more than what he spent on it.

The diamond just sits on her finger for bragging rights.

a 3k MBP provides a lot more value than a 3k diamond ring

if used correctly, a 3k MBP is a netgain

And a wife is a net loss monetarily. I guess you shouldn't get married then

You seem to get emotional. Because a guy on the internet does not want to by her GF a diamond ring? Why do you care at all?

Getting married is emotional.

Shouldn't get married.

Getting married is probably something worth getting emotional about. Strangers on the internet having made different decisions (or even thinking badly about my decisions) probably isn't.

you can get married without a diamond ring or a expensive marriage. its only a netloss if you make it one

Ok, fine then...a kid is a net loss, a particularly large one at that. Should you not have kids then?

Kid is a pretty solid long time investment(¹), which makes wife a cofounder. Good cofounder won't ask to burn some money to celebrate foundation of the company:).

(¹) of course some children are still a net loss, but other investments fail too so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Your assertion was "if you can afford a $3k MVP you can afford a $3k ring." That the MVP shows a financial return speaks directly to affordability. The parent is not making a claim that financial return is the only thing relevant to decision making.

MBP, of course. Dang autocorrect...