And so I handed it back to the clerk and told him that I would think about it.

I’m not the only romantic who found it a nerve-racking experience to buy an engagement ring for a sweetheart. Heck, buying any jewellery, for woman or man, is fraught with challenges. It’s expensive. It’s highly personal. It’s difficult to gauge value for money.

Fear not. With expert help, we’ve compiled a number of tips and tricks to help your next jewellery purchase shine.

Forget the two months’ salary rule

That rule of thumb that a man should shell out two months’ salary for an engagement ring? That came from the marketing geniuses at De Beers, the same folks who came up with the slogans, “Diamonds are Forever” and “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” The South African mining giant, needless to say, has a vested interest in promoting this “rule,” and there are obvious problems with the formula. To wit: if one earns $120,000 per year, dropping $20,000 on a ring seems, shall we say, generous. More to the point, with mortgages to be paid, RRSPs to fund, and possibly children to raise, spending that kind of money on an engagement ring is likely to forestall, rather than jump-start, the life you hope to build together.

So here’s a more realistic rule of thumb, courtesy of Toronto jewellery designer and consultant Leila Haikonen: “When it comes to engagement rings, don’t go into debt, and don’t spend more than you can comfortably afford.” Simple, right?

Buy with a little help from her friends

Will she love it? This, of course, is the crux of the matter, and the source of all that anxiety. It’s also the point where girlfriends—not yours, hers—can come in handy. “Her best friend can be your best ally,” says Haikonen. “That’s who girls confide in, tell their secrets and desires to.” Dragoon the friend into doing a little window shopping with you, or better yet, get her to gently mine your fiancée for information about what her dream ring might look like.

Ottawa designer Pamela Coulston, owner-operator of Disegno Fine Jewellery, has another strategy. “I encourage the guys to choose a gem that fits their budget. I package it in a nice custom box, and they go and propose to their beloved with the gem alone. Then they come back in and design the ring together. It works brilliantly, because women love to be part of the process, and she’s assured of getting exactly what she wants.”

The big C

When it comes to diamonds, many buyers have heard of the so-called Four Cs: cut, colour, clarity and carat weight. Taken together, these determine the quality, and hence price, of individual diamonds. What many people don’t ­realize, however, is that the Four Cs aren’t all created equal. “Cut is far and away the most important,” says Coulston. “I liken raw diamonds to exquisite cloth. In the hands of a master tailor, cloth can be turned into beautiful bespoke suits. In the hands of a home economics student, it’ll be turned into something less. The skill of a master cutter makes all the difference.”

The cut refers to the symmetry, proportioning and ­polish of a diamond, which will dramatically affect its appearance. A perfectly cut diamond will exhibit maximum brilliance and fire, whereas one cut with less skill will have dull-looking facets, poor symmetry, and will misdirect light.

“The cut accounts for fully half the price of the diamond,” says Howard Appotive, who for the last 45 years has been operating Howard’s Fine Jewellers in downtown Ottawa. “The best cut diamonds in the world, by far, are Hearts on Fire diamonds, where all 58 facets are cut to perfection. Put one next to another brilliant-cut diamond, and the Hearts on Fire stone will blow it out of the water.”

But how do you know?

Diamonds are graded and certified by independent, third-party organizations such as the American Gem Society (AGS), the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the European Gemological Laboratory (EGL). The problem, however, is that standards tend to vary between the organizations, creating confusion in the marketplace. A diamond certified as “excellent” by the EGL, might be graded much lower by the AGS or GIA, whose standards tend to be more stringent. “It’s impossible to get a true sense of comparative quality if you’re looking at diamonds certified by different agencies,” says Appotive.

That seems complicated, and it is. Which is why Coulston, ­Appotive, and Haikonen all stress the importance of buying from shops with accredited gemologists on staff. “There’s a lot to know,” admits Coulston. “I’ll take customers through each stone, get a chart out to show them the different grades of diamonds, show them how to look through the loupe,” she says, referring to the jeweller’s magnifying lens. “You can’t get that from a large chain store with students working the counters.”

Big box stores like Costco and Wal-Mart are still great options for budget-conscious shoppers, however. “Wal-Mart sells a ton of jewellery,” acknowledges Appotive. “It won’t be unique because it’s mass-produced, mostly in China and India, but because it costs a lot less to produce a thousand rings than it does to produce a single, custom ring, the prices are very reasonable.”

Coulson suggests that if you are shopping at a chain store you may be able to make an appointment in advance with the manager or staff gemologist. “Do some online research first,” Appotive recommends. “Get familiar with the terminology. That will help you understand what the gemologist is telling you, and it will speed up the decision-making process.”

If you’re buying an expensive piece from a big box or chain store, you may even want to have your jewellery appraised by an independent lab. “The point where people usually consider having pieces appraised is $1,000,” says Duncan Parker, a principal with the Toronto ­appraisal firm Harold Weinstein. “If you have a $200 ring, you’re not going to spend $75 getting it appraised, because it adds a third to the overall price.”

Not just diamonds

While diamonds may be forever, they don’t have to be for always. ­Despite what De Beers would have you believe, not all prospective brides are clamouring for bits of compressed carbon. Sometimes rubies, emeralds or sapphires are a girl’s best friend.

“Charles and Diana, and now Will and Kate, both chose sapphires for their engagement rings,” points out Coulston. “That’s kind of opened people’s eyes to the fact that diamonds aren’t the only option.”

Indeed, Coulston says that some of her favourite gemstones don’t even fall into the category of the aforementioned Big Four (diamonds, rubies, ­emeralds and sapphires). “I’m a big fan of garnets, which come in a much greater range than people realize. There are green garnets, called tsavorite, that rival emeralds, and bright orange garnets called spessarite that look really hot with green gold. Spinel is another of my favourites. Red spinel rivals ruby, and it also comes in stunning pinks and blues. Oh, and don’t forget pearls, they’re beautiful.”

Haikonen points to Tanzanite, black opal, and blue-green paraiba tourmaline as some of her favourite stones.

All that glitters

When it comes to settings, rings with high gold content are far and away the most popular. For the record, 24 karat is pure, unalloyed gold, and is virtually never used in jewellery design because it’s too soft to hold its shape. Eighteen-karat gold is 75% pure (18 parts gold, six parts alloy), 14-karat is 58% pure (14 parts gold, 10 parts alloy), and so on.

“I use 18-karat gold in the majority of my designs,” says Coulston. “You don’t want to go much cheaper than that. If you’re putting a lot of money into the gem, and you’re going to be wearing the ring for ­decades, then you should have a proper setting.”

If you don’t mind spending a little more, platinum is another popular choice. “Platinum has come down in price as gold has gone up,” says Coulston. In fact, when measured by the ounce, platinum is cheaper. “When it comes to jewellery, though, platinum still costs more because it’s 95% pure, versus 75% for ­18-karat gold.” That said, because platinum is so much harder than gold, designers can create much finer settings than they can with gold. That reduces the amount of precious metal they use in a ring, which brings down the cost.

Wonder no more. A ticket scalper we’ll call Alan, who has 25 years of experience in the business, recently met with one of our reporters to reveal the strange economics of ticket resellers.

Here’s how it works: First, a large corporate client calls a ticket broker—a company that specializes in bulk orders of tickets for entertainment and sporting events—and orders a block of tickets to entertain clients.

The broker then calls his roster of scalpers to buy the tickets for the client. The scalpers, in turn, call their “diggers”—people who stand in lines, work the phones and use the Internet to buy the physical tickets from the distributors, such as Ticketmaster. The diggers, scalper and broker all get paid a fee for their role.

As the event approaches, the corporate client often ends up with extra tickets that aren’t needed—these go back to the broker. The broker passes these surplus tickets back to the scalper, who takes them down to the game and sells them to you.

If an event is hot, the tickets will be sold for above face value. However, if the event is not well attended, tickets could sell at below the original price. Sometimes the prices are drastically reduced, so don’t be shy about haggling. In any case, the scalper, the broker and the corporate client each get one-third of the tickets’ actual sale price, plus the scalper made money buying the tickets in the first place.

Is it legal? Many jurisdictions in Canada have legislation forbidding ticket reselling, but low fines and sporadic enforcement mean that few scalpers are deterred.

You bet. Online stores such as ClearlyContacts.ca and VisionPros.ca now offer flashy sites and competitive prices. In fact, these new sites are taking a run at Walmart and Costco, the reigning low-cost champs in the contact-lens market. Independent and chain opticians, such as Hakim Optical, are finding it harder and harder to compete.

We decided to dig around a little bit to find out which stores offer you the best price for your contact lens purchase. The results were surprising.

Discount retailers: Most provincial health care plans will pay for an eye exam every two years. However, some discount retailers will require you to pay an additional one-time “fitting fee” that ranges from $25 to $200. Still, this additional cost may be justified in the long run because of the lower prices these stores offer on popular 30-day lenses.

Opticians/Optometrists: Unlike big-box retailers, both independent and chain opticians only make economic sense if you buy in quantity. Optometrists get rebates from contact lens manufactures, which they pass down to you, but usually only if you buy a 12-month supply. These savings can add up to anywhere from $40 to $100, depending on the brand of contact lens you use.

Online: Bargain hunting for contact lenses is easy once you have a prescription in hand and you know the type of lens that is best for your eyes. “The online retailers can offer cheaper per-box rates because they often buy in significant bulk,” explains says Dr. Peter Milonas, a Toronto optometrist.

But before you click and confirm your online order, verify your total costs. “Many online retailers don’t include shipping and handling in their costs until you confirm the order,” says Milonas. This can add $6 to $40 to your order, depending on the brand and quantity.

Above you can see the results of our research into where you can find the best deals. We price shopped for three of the most popular contact lens brands and found that VisionPros.ca, offered the best prices overall. Surprisingly, however, we found the most competitive deal for daily-wear contacts was at the local optometrist. This is largely due to rebates that dropped the overall price on a bulk order.

Find out where to get the best deal. MoneySense comparison shopped to determine which retailer offers the best prices on three of the most popular contact lens brands.

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Sign-up for “red e-mail” deals via qantas.com—expect seat sales from the Oz carrier following the recent workers’ strike—or book for January, when fares are generally lower. Air Canada’s Twitter feed (@ACwebSaver) also gives the inside track on late-breaking seasonal offers.

You’ll have forgotten all about winter when you’re blinking in the sunlight outside Melbourne Airport. But before working on your tan, you’ll need to unpack. Avoid the burn of a $50+ city-bound taxi trip with the handy Skybus shuttle ($59 for a two-adult ticket; skybus.com.au), which zips to downtown’s Southern Cross Station before transferring you to your hotel via a network of other buses.

From cabs to dining, Australia is the land of no tipping, making vacation budgeting a doddle here. But to flatten your costs better than a boxing kangaroo, choose your accommodation with a thrifty eye—and don’t ignore hostels. Rather than sock-scented backpacker hovels, these well-appointed Australian sleepovers are Melbourne’s best budget options.

Ensuite doubles at the modern Melbourne Metro YHA—with its viewtastic rooftop patio—are $99, while red-painted Base ($122), near beach side St. Kilda, is a picturesque 15-minute tram trundle from town. Mid-range alternatives include the city centre Vibe Savoy Hotel ($179) and the apartment-style Alto on Bourke ($168), while chic Hotel Lindrum ($259) is just across from downtown’s bustling Federation Square.

Contrasting with the hulking Victorian façade of nearby Flinders Station, the square’s asymmetrical contemporary block buildings are a hub for promenading Melbournians: join them for a game on the al fresco big screen, take a free guided tour of the plaza from the Tourist Centre or nip into the gratis art gallery for a spot of contemplative chin-stroking.

The freebie hop-on-hop-off Tourist Shuttle also runs from here to most city attractions, including the must-see Queen Victoria Market. It’s a clamorous menagerie of deli and trinket stands, from spongy lamington cakes to souvenir painted didgeridoos.

And if you’re still lost, book ahead (through thatsmelbourne.com.au) for a no-cost city walking tour with a gregarious local. They’ll likely regale you with tales of the region’s rich sporting heritage—including its Aussie rules football teams—and may even help you score tickets to the legendary Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). If not, take the $21 behind-the-scenes guided tour: it ends on the hallowed turf itself.

After all that exploring, you’ll need more than a pungent jar of Vegemite to perk you up. Hit the city’s budget-friendly laneway cafés for brunch or a flat white coffee (especially on Flinders Lane). My favourites include pastries and people-watching at Brunetti and finger-licking Chinatown treats at Camy Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant or the ever-busy Spicy Fish Restaurant.

Save time for a seaside scoff in St. Kilda. Lined with bars, bakeries and indie eateries—especially on Acland Street—try a lazy breakfast at Galleon Cafe. Return downtown for dinner in the gentrifying Docklands area, though, especially for Super Tuesday’s two-for-one dinner-and-dessert deals: Bhopa Devi’s modern Cambodian cuisine is recommended. Stretch your dining dollars even further with groupon.com.au/deals/melbourne.

You might save just enough for a final big night out. The city is stuffed with bars and clubs, but from January to March the Royal Melbourne Zoo schedules weekend outdoor live music shows, usually of the jazz or big band variety. It’s a great way to end your down-under winter warm-up—before returning to the toque-wearing pleasures of home.

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But where, exactly, to go? And how to ensure you get the most out of your time in the sun? The options are legion: a hundred-plus inhabited islands (along with Mexico) winking like emeralds in a tropical sea. Each of these islands boasts its own unique culture, together with a range of resorts, accommodations, attractions and price points. Faced with this bounty, deciding where best to thaw one’s frozen toes can be daunting. Yet for most of us it comes down to a few favourite spots.

The big four

Together, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica soak up the vast bulk of traffic to the Caribbean—and for good reason. “The larger islands are going to be the cheapest. They have well-developed tourist industries and infrastructure, and there’s lots of competition between resorts and lots of flights in and out,” says Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, deputy editor of Caribbean Travel + Life magazine. “Small islands like Anguilla and Provo, where there are more villas than resorts, are not going to be cheap. They can’t compete on cost, so they cater to a more up-scale clientele.”

Understandable, then, that cost-conscious travellers looking to vacation in the sun flock en masse to the Caribbean’s four populous land masses. At these four destinations, in particular, the all-inclusive resort is king, rolling flights, ground transportation, lodging, meals, and drinks into an affordable, easy-to-book package.

What you want

While a resort in the Dominican might bear a striking resemblance to a resort in Cozumel, Mexico, the destinations and what they have to offer are not interchangeable. “It depends on what’s important to you,” says Janice MacIsaac, who vacations in the Caribbean for pleasure, and also books conventions there for the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. “The Dominican is famous for its beautiful beaches, but the food in Mexico is a little nicer.”

To further complicate matters, there are significant regional differences within countries: Cancun, Mexico, is a notorious party spot, whereas further south along the Mayan Riviera the resorts are quieter and more family oriented. Likewise, tourists in Veradero, Cuba, can take advantage of day-trips into Havana, while those booking into more remote Cayo Coco are effectively resort-bound.

Before you even start shopping for an all-inclusive, suggests MacIsaac, make a wish list of what you absolutely must have, and what you’re willing to compromise on. “You might not be willing to bend on a great beach or nightlife, but you might not care as much about wind surfing or golf courses.”

The Noguchi coffee table consists of three pieces: A curved triangular ¾-inch glass top and two identical wooden legs that lock together to form a tripod base. Designed in 1947, it was produced a year later by American furniture manufacturer Herman Miller. An original Noguchi, which goes for $1,385 at online Canadian retailer Gabriel Ross, has the designer’s signature etched in the edge of the glass, along with a medallion on its solid wood base, which comes in cherry, white ash, walnut and black. The pieces are manufactured in Grand Rapids, Mich., and distributed worldwide.

You can find imitation Noguchis at Modern Furniture Knock Off in Toronto. They vary in size, and the material used to build them isn’t quite as high grade. However, the shape and design closely mirror the original. The largest model, which sells for $449, stands at 16 inches, slightly taller than a real Noguchi. The small version, which goes for $349, has a hard plastic base instead of wood. It’s the same height as the original, though slightly more compact in length and width. Both versions are made in China and come in black, walnut, natural and espresso.