Justifying New Lenses

Thankfully, my girlfriend of 10 years is the opposite of most... I say I want to buy a $7,000 lens and she says why didn't you buy it yet??

But honestly, that is a big reason I went into the engineering field in college... So I could get a relatively well paying career that can support my hobbies I would not let any women control my spending of MY money though, unless I was mooching off her income...

You only live once... Right? Have fun with the time!

I have three potential money-sink hobbies: cycling, electronic music (modular synthesizers), and photography. I have a separate "play money" account that gets a small allowance added to it each month. Anything I spend on my hobbies has to come from that, or from selling gear I already have. Provided I have the free money available, I can spend it however I choose. This works very well. My wife shakes her head when I come home with some newfangled toy, but she needn't worry about my going out of control (as I have in the past).

It is an investment honey, better than money in the bank.

My wife kept telling me that I was crazy when I bought my 500 f/4L IS II over a year ago.

It is my most used lens. Since then I have forgotten about the money I spent. I 've been retired for almost two years, and always have camera gear with me.

As long as it is not a hardship, go for it.

People buy things to improve their life and make them happy. If your photo equipment makes you happy and you have the budget for the big toys without dipping into other budgets... why not?

What's that annoying structured settlement commercial? "It's my money and I need it now!"

Women say a lot about men, but this one is definitely true; "The main difference between men and boys is the price tag of their toys"

I work hard, I play hard .

In other words, the money is mine to spend and I sure work hard to get it. I am not dropping 14K at one time, that would overwhelm me completely and ruin photography for me. But in the last year, I've bought 4 lenses and a body which is usually more money than I care to spend!

don't buy it all at once; just take your time. you should at least take take several months to acquire it all.

There should be some level of agreement between husband and wife. If your agreement, either spoken or unspoken, was that you'd need each other's OK before making a purchase, it becomes difficult when trying to convince your spouse that you should buy something (a lens) that she thinks is stupid.

Instead, like many here have mentioned, have a portion of your income go toward your hobby. Of course, this should come after all periodic family expenses are paid. In other words, make the agreement at the start of the relationship so that you don't need to revisit it with every purchase.

as stated by someone over here at POTN:

"it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission"

Half of that $14K is wrapped up in one lens: the 300mm f/2.8L II. How about renting one first to make absolutely sure it's a good fit for you. No doubt it's an awesome lens, but it's also a big heavy thing and it would be a terrible shame if it sat mostly unused because you didn't love using it.

Image quality wise I would absolutely love a 300mm f/2.8L II, but I know myself. I know that I just wouldn't use it that much because it's heavy and it's a big attention getter.

EricTober wrote in post #17120579
… How do you justify the purchase of photo equipment?

My wife encourages me to buy what I want for photography, so I don't have to justify expenditures. Then again, I've not succumbed to gear lust. Talking about, reading about, and looking at pictures of gear bores me silly.

Tedder wrote in post #17121457
My wife encourages me to buy what I want for photography, so I don't have to justify expenditures.

Me, too. All my guilt over expenditure is self-induced. My wife knows I don't overspend.

Before I set a business up, I was spending my money like it was going out of fashion, I was earning good too... now, I own a business (with my other half), long days, long weeks etc etc, still growing the business so I have next to no money, it's hard but my other half doesn't ask me to justify what I spend when I can spend it.

It's not easy sharing the money, but I don't care what she buys, or how much she spends, likewise for her too.

I say, if you've got the cash, you pay your way, just buy it. Worst case scenario?

A friend of mine has a saying, "it's not a dress rehearsal. There is no second chance at life." I say, "Do what makes you happy."

As a point of reference, I spend 2.5 times as much every year now on child care as the OP's wish list so I could justify spending that if I had no kids like the OP. As long as one is staying out of debt, saving a well planned out amount for retirement or if in retirement, living with sustainable spending habits, then I think you could justify any expense that makes you happy.

This being a gear forum, I would take the marital advice with a grain of salt.