How do you pay for your lenses?

[jasonsim]

Oh forgot to mention, to skip the Disney World resort vacations.  The last one cost $8k for 7 days.

[docfrance]

My ability to convince my wife that my lens purchases were vital took a huge positive step when my son and daughter-in-law got married (I was #2 photographer for the event) and then ESPECIALLY when they announced a year later that they were expecting grandkid #1.  Grandchildren are perhaps the greatest excuse to invest in good lens or upgrade what you've got.  I highly recommend them.  Since the happy arrival, I've jumped from the 70-200mm F4L IS to the F2.8L IS Mk II and added the 100mm F2.8 IS.  The wife (and family) see the photos and then they ask me what I need for my birthday.  I LOVE my grandson!

[LuCoOc]

My daily meal is pasta with tomato sauce
But seriously, isn't that what everybody eats at college? I'm studying mining and drilling engineering and usually get a decent amount of cash when I do internships

[scrappydog]

Grandchildren are perhaps the greatest excuse to invest in good lens or upgrade what you've got.  I highly recommend them.

Great shot.  I love the quote!  I will look into these grandsons, as they sound pretty cool.   

[squarebox]

My ability to convince my wife that my lens purchases were vital took a huge positive step when my son and daughter-in-law got married (I was #2 photographer for the event) and then ESPECIALLY when they announced a year later that they were expecting grandkid #1.  Grandchildren are perhaps the greatest excuse to invest in good lens or upgrade what you've got.  I highly recommend them.

I second this.  And even though i'm too young to even have children yet, I tell my wife that I need to buy new lens well in advance of any children to practice and get my skill level up so that i can take those shots when she's pregnant.  Also taking lots of photos of the new nephew in law and any family event helps a bunch too.

On the money side, I put away $100 bucks for "big ticket items" every month and that plus any extra money from my budget i use to buy a lens.  Though after buying 4 new lens (1 being an L) in the last 3 months , going forward I'm going to try to limit myself to only 1 a year.

Just make sure you take lots of pictures of the significant other and make sure they are good helps a long way.

[cfargo]

American Express so that I can earn Frequent Flier Miles to use to go places to use the lenses. I'm a work aholic so that is how I pay the American Express off ever month.

[docfrance]

Grandchildren are perhaps the greatest excuse to invest in good lens or upgrade what you've got.  I highly recommend them.

Great shot.  I love the quote!  I will look into these grandsons, as they sound pretty cool.   

They're great!  Unlike your own kids (highly over-rated, trust me), you get to return them when they're dirty and loud.  Our model sleeps well, eats everything we give him, and knows when Pop-Pop has the camera ready.  When he learns to speak, if he calls me "7D" I won't be surprised.

[docfrance]

I second this.  And even though i'm too young to even have children yet, I tell my wife that I need to buy new lens well in advance of any children to practice and get my skill level up so that i can take those shots when she's pregnant.  Also taking lots of photos of the new nephew in law and any family event helps a bunch too.

Just make sure you take lots of pictures of the significant other and make sure they are good helps a long way.

All excellent ploys.  One great picture of grandma&grandson is easily worth an L lens.  I just can't wait for him to start playing sports so I can jump to some outrageous super-telephoto.

Another advantage is that MANY family members, including maternal grandma live in different time-zones, so they love the shots, the secure website for sharing, etc.

[pdirestajr]

I trade my lenses of equal value when I want to mix it up and try different focal lengths.

[distant.star]

My neighbor a couple of doors down works at the U.S. Mint. He's always bringing home used money, and he likes to spread it around.

[Nassen0f]

My neighbor a couple of doors down works at the U.S. Mint. He's always bringing home used money, and he likes to spread it around.

Sounds realy handy having a neighbor like that 

[PeterJ]

I bought a 7D, 70-200 f/2.8 IS II and numerous other accesories in a splurge literally using loose change a few years back. Total amount was close to $7K in coins and while I didn't have a way to measure the weight accurately put the last few boxes on a scale before taking them to the bank and estimate in total it must have been close to 100Kg of coins.

Considering the local bank is almost impossible to park right outside it was quite a bit of effort I spread over a week or so, especially when after the first batch I found they charge a fee (2% from memory) if you cash over $1000 at a time. Anyway for anyone that complains about the weight of a 70-200 f/2.8 I can tell you it's a lot less than the weight of coins you need to buy one .

[87vr6]

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

I hope you're joking.....

What's wrong with Ramen? You know in some countries, such as Japan (where I currently live) Ramen is a staple diet food. People here eat Ramen all the time, and these folk are among the world's longest living people... I'd say they're doing something right...

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

That looks quite good.

[Positron]

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.

If you hadn't bought that DualShock 3 you'd be ~$50 closer to your next lens!

Personally, my poisons of choice are tuna sandwiches and turkey cold cuts. Mmm. Never skimp on the orange juice though; not from concentrate or bust!

...Then I take the money I save and put it in my college account. I can get lenses after I graduate 

[tysonboh]

im 16 and got a job milking cows to pay for this expensive hobby