Article posted Wednesday, March 28, 2012 11:26am

Dear Mary Pat,

Is it rude to ask how much something cost? I have a friend who always asks me the price of everything from my car to my house to my laptop. I usually tell her, but I drew the line when she asked how much my engagement ring cost. Even though I wasn’t there when it was purchased, I know the value since my fiance and I had it insured. She is just a curious person, but I don’t know how to let her know that you don’t have to share this kind of information.

How Much for That Doggy in the Window?

Sturgeon Bay, WI

Dear How Much for That Doggy in the Window?

I’m sorry that your friend doesn’t know better than to ask how much your engagement ring cost! That is the very definition of gauche. I also find it bizarre that she wants to know. It’s one thing to speculate on the cost of a five-carat Tiffany sparkler that you see in the window on Michigan Avenue, it’s quite another to speculate on your friend’s ring. Obviously, engagement rings cost money, however, in the right circumstances it is a symbol of something hopefully much larger than money. Something that doesn’t have a price.

So, “friend,” if you are reading this, stop focusing on the cost of things. It isn’t your concern, and it certainly isn’t polite to ask.

Good luck,

Mary Pat