How do you afford it?

IanD wrote:
Get the kids out of the house! Both daughters moved out a couple of years ago. You would be suprised how much money you can save

Yep.. Kids gone on their own.. No mortgage, No personal debt to maintain... It doesn't take long at all to save up for goodies

Of course, I did struggle in my younger years..

In your younger years?

Yeah...I practicaly loose lunch when I look at B&H's web site...

Seventeen year old kids are supposed to buy $500 cars and $150 cell phones...

Me? I want a $5,000 camera.

I drive an '86 Toyota I paid $800.00 for... that gets 40MPG and I NEVER pay to maintain... I live in a small affordable apt.. I have no other expenses.. really.

Some need to pay a big mortgage. Some support families.. some support GM and Haliburton and Opec with there need for big fat hulking gas guzzzling chryslers...

Me .. I support Canon...

My wife and I both work in the automotive industry, and make pretty fair salaries. We aren't caught up in the need to have the biggest home the banks says we can afford. We have a a medium size ranch with full basement, and don't use half the space now. Our mortgage payment including taxes & insurance is only $800/month Only have one truck payment, and zero installment loans. We pay cash for just about everything. Guess that's why we can afford all our hobbies like cars, ATV's, firearms, woodworking equipment, photography. And they are all paid for too !!

Kirk

Well I usually sell one "L" to move up to a bigger "L", and the one word I use is "plastic".

I currently can't afford it and that is why I am shooting with a Fuji FinePix S602Z .

But, because my equipment is not the best, it is causing me to work a little harder at getting good shots, and I think that is a good thing. So by the time I can afford it, my photography skills will be much better.

Anyone want to buy a BMW motorcycle?

Was the original post supposed to be a joke? I mean really, If you and your wife make 6 figures each that's a minimum of $200,000.00 a year. If you can't come up with $5000.00 to buy a camera with that much money then you need to rearrange your priorities... A 4000sq.ft. house? How big is your family? Do you really need all that space? Are you driving a car that cost more than $30,000? How about your wife? Do you own a boat or RV? Where's all that money going? Do you have a drug habit or a gambling addiction?

If you simplify your life you'll have all the money you need.

It would take me 4-6 years to earn $200,000. and I have a condo, a car, a truck, 3 motorcycles, a dog and huge pile of musical instuments and camera gear for days. I also happen to live in the third most expensive area (Los Angeles) in the USA. I manage just fine.....

Afford it or not, camera equipments finds a way for you to buy it....

For me it was all about choices. Unfortunately for my 1969 Camaro with a 350 small block producing a mere 425HP it fell victim to the camera craze. It sits in primer in my garage acting more like a shelf than a Classic Automobile. I feel guilty for my neglect but I will get back to her and give her that shiny new coat that she deserves. But first a few 'L's. Don't worry fellow car enthusiasts, she's holding up well under all the junk piled on top of her. She has new shocks and springs

Wow, 12? Obviously that's NOT enough! You need to bump that count up a bit, you know. You wouldn't be interested in a hardly used Lonestar Strat, would you?

Putting all the political BS aside...

We Americans have it pretty good. Not to get too deep, but to be in a situation where we have problems deciding how our "hobby" money is spent... We have it pretty good, L glass or not.

John

I'm just a student, so I really shouldn't be able to afford photography DSLR's I think.. The reaction of all I know seeing my gear is: "How on earth can you afford this?". Good question :P But I have few expenses. I live at my parents house this year, and this is the year I started photographing. I also got a part-time job beside school at a real sucky place (like the Norwegian version of K-mart), but at least it gives me ~ $1050 before taxes. I also got a mastercard with $1300 limit, which really can help =D

Haha, and another way that works great for those of us like me, who have a hard time showing a lot of cash up front. In Norway, we got 24% import-tax. So what I do if I buy something expensive from B&H, I buy it when it's a little less than 2 weeks to my next salary. Why? Because when I'm importing, the carrier (UPS) is responsible for calculating and collecting my import-tax. But they don't bother doing that right away, as it would slow down the shipment. Instead it's sent as a bill in the mail, and it got a 2week "deadline" on it. So I can buy gear with one salary, and pay the remaining 24% on the next =)

I didn't know Canon made guitars. Do they have red strips on them?




Mike

Strange thread. Is it bragging or bashing? People will do what they need to when they must.

Being single without any children does make it easier...But, if I were married with children it might take longer but it would not be impossible.

I agree with most of the posts here. With the salary in your household, you should be able to more than afford to buy whatever you want when you want. Perhaps, you are just frugal...

LOL...

NiL,