How do you pay for your lenses?

[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

 

[MazV-L]

Divorce settlement

No seriously, hard saving and being willing to sell off the lenses and gear that I don't use much to fund new gear.

 

[dr croubie]

Up until May last year I was an electrical engineer in The Netherlands, monthly salary was about a 5D2 + 24-70 prices. 1/3 of my salary went to rent, a lot got saved, and I managed to not buy too much expensive gear (mostly Soviet MF primes off ebay), but when I left there I bought myself a 70-300L present (and got nice 19% duty-free too).
Then for the next 6 months I was in Australia, living on the pittance they call unemployment benefits (which they wouldn't even pay me for the first 12 weeks, said I had too much in savings, I almost bought a Leica M9 out of spite).
In that time, thankyou Australian Taxpayer, I managed to get the Samyang 35/1.4, EF 85/1.8, EF 100/2.0, 430EX, Takumar 50/1.4, a set of 3x Zeiss Pentacon Six primes (for about $300), a CPL for each size-lens (B+W Käsemann, Hoya HRT, Heliopan) instead of the junky Fujiyama i picked up in hong kong with step-rings, and a Lowepro 450AW.

Only 3 weeks ago I finally got a job, monthly salary in the order of a 1D4 with a 100L macro, and i've already celebrated by spending about $900 on a nice Vanguard tripod, A-S ballhead, Kirk L-bracket and plates for a few lenses.
But now I'm trying to save for a house deposit, and the missus is getting a bit suspicious about the still-growing pile (yes, a literal pile) of lenses after I promised I'd stop buying them and save for our house...

 

[Herb]

Spare Change

 

[Astro]

stopped smoking.... stopped wasting money for other things

 

[keithfullermusic]

money.

 

[Dylan777]

For me...I'm not pro and don't do this for living so most of money from:

1. Bring lunch to work - save more than $2000 per year
2. Save all coins & change - over $400 last year
3. Bonus from work - $3500
4. Use my American Express Reward (1 point for every dollar) - MUST PAY IT OFF at end of the month - why use your ATM- earned $523 in 2011 . I usually exhange for gift cards - homedepot, lowes, etc...

 

[iaind]

8) 8) 8) Dont really recommend this option 8) 8) 8)

A scanner, an A3 printer and some large denomination banknotes.

Its what Central Banks call quantitive easing.

 

[Positron]

1. Bring lunch to work - save more than $2000 per year

This. It's shocking how much you save making your own food. When I stopped buying lunch at school every day I couldn't believe how much money I saved. ($5 a day * 180 days a year = $900 - a lot of money when you're trying to put yourself through college).

 

[FOB2009]

No debt, saving, and patience. Also, admittedly not the smartest (but it works for me), is to give Uncle Sam a free loan then spend my tax rebate on fun stuff.

 

[D.Sim]

I save up. I have a "Lens Jar" at home, I put part of my pay in every month, to commit to a lens I wanna buy. I get it once I have 20% over the amount required, therefore at the very least I have some savings as a backup - and also, it confirms I want the lens seriously, and not just on a whim.


That said, I did sell a couple of old coins from the 19th century for my first L lens... lol