How do you pay for your lenses?

[CowGummy]

okay... looks like my comment got deleted due to mentioning procreation... 

[bigblue1ca]

Then, I use my CC.... I never carry a balance.

Advice to live by.

[7enderbender]

Well, I hadn't invested in any photo gear for years since I was still using film. I knew that one day I had to go digital but that I had to start over from scratch since I was still on the FD system. So I knew it would be a big chunk of cash in the first place just to cover the basics. And while watching the market for the last 10 years or so I knew that I didn't want to compromise too much over what I had before. So any of the cheap Rebel kits from Costco were out of the question.

When I left my last employer last year they still owed me quite a bit of money for vacation days etc. So at that point  there I saw 4 options: put the doe away, replace my wife's wedding and engagement rings that she is allergic to, buy a new road bike or buy new camera gear. My wife convinced me that I should go for option 3 or 4 since I had worked hard for it and everything else can happen at a later day (I hope that includes the new bike which is now also kind of overdue given that I've been offered money for my old one recently by a guy who is into "classic" bikes...).

Long story short. I put the money away, lucked out with a few stocks and was able to pull the plug when my local store had its Canon day deals.

Everything I've added since comes out of my little stash that I put aside outside the normal family budget and savings. I wish I was into running marathons, drawing with pencil and paper, but unfortunately, my passions for guitar playing, cycling, photography and so forth are  not exactly cheap hobbies. But then again, if you invest in some decent stuff it lasts for decades. And some things can even appreciate in value like I've seen with some of my guitars and amps.

[timkbryant]

How do I afford the lenses I want? Simple. I pace myself.

I have a list of items I want to buy. And I set an amount of money I need to reach in my savings account for each item. When I hit that level, I go out and buy the item.

An example (savings dollar values are for illustration only):
I want a 24-105 f/4 L. I set my level as $12,500. I have $6000 in my savings account now. So, when I have added that extra $6500 to my savings, taking into account living expenses, I will buy the lens.
This pattern continues with other items.
It's a form of delayed satisfaction, and it's pretty effective.

[revup67]

I would answer this in two ways:

1)selling off personal assets I don't need anymore via a garage sale or an Ebay vendor who's unloading a massive record collection from 1973 right now or my neighbor's and family's film cameras that they don't know what to do with via Craigs List (sold 3 so far).  I simply find other creative money making methods like buying stocks or mutual funds that pay dividends over 5% (yes there are some out there like ATT (symbol T) to accumulate monies
2)I always pay by credit card.  Biggest reason is most credit card companies double the warranty automatically (yes this is true) but commit to myself to pay off the balance in full before the due date.  I also live by this rule in that I never buy something unless I know in advance I have the funds for it.  This avoids CC interest payments which debunks any savings on your purchase and (2) you get monetary reimbursement back by the credit card company as does Chase, American Express, etc. some even paying more than 1%.  (Hey 1% of $1000 is $10 so that's another discount to lower the purchase price.  Hope this helps 

[darklord]

I sold my unimportant organs to pay for my L lenses.

[gmrza]

I sold my unimportant organs to pay for my L lenses.

+1 - everybody else is being boring!

Here are some other answers I would like to see:

I am a government official, and every time I receive a bribe of over $10 000, I treat myself to a new L series lens

or

As a bank robber, I have a high risk profession, so in order to celebrate a successful job, I buy myself a new piece of glass with a red ring around the end.  The 100mm macro has proved to be an awesome tool for documenting the items I liberate from bank vaults.

[revup67]

Coke Cans, Beer bottles, etc. @ redemption value

[sheedoe]

2 words... RAMEN NOODLES! We got well acquainted with each other in the last few months.

[Axilrod]

2 words... RAMEN NOODLES! We got well acquainted with each other in the last few months.

I hope you're joking.....

[00Q]

Its all a trap. They are designed so its just outside our budget. And we work our ass off to get them.

In an ideal world, there are no new lenses. We will all be happy with what we have.

I spend all my savings on my lenses. I think its time to stop.

[Minnesota Nice]

I try to find good deals when I can on refurbished gear because I don't need the new, refurb is basically the same to me.

I work construction to afford most of what I buy haha, 7AM to 5PM on the roof!

[sheedoe]

2 words... RAMEN NOODLES! We got well acquainted with each other in the last few months.

I hope you're joking.....

Tonight I had the luxury of adding a boiled egg and some cilantro.

[iaind]

Credit card because of extra insurance and bonus points. I pay it off each month. No interest payments

[jasonsim]

I pay everything I can with my Amazon points credit card, take new CC offers that give my $300 credits on first use, take loans against my 401K, refinance the house at historically low interest rates, sell everything that is not nailed down including my son's star wars toys that he no longer plays with.  Gotta get creative... The addiction to L glass is pretty bad!

Oh and don't tell the wife about that big bonus this year.