A question for you.....

[DizBelle]

You have a spouse and 4 children under 10. One parent works while the other stays home with the children. Household income is under $100,000 per year. You do have a mortgage to the tune of about $1600 per month.

Do you spend $1500 on a camera?

 

[MariDisney]

Maybe. Is there other debt/car payments/student loans. School tuition? Upcoming expenses for the house? Totally depends on the full financial picture.

 

[worm761]

That depends on if we can afford it or not and how serious of a hobby the photographer is. Just because one stays home and the other works doesn't mean that the one that stays home should not get "things." That isn't fair.

 

[Aisling]

If I really needed it/wanted it, I'd buy it from a place that has a year-long no interest payment plan and break up the payments into 12. Can they afford an extra $100 a month?

Normally I'd say not to do it, but my son was going to live in Italy for the summer and wanted a good camera, so doing it this way worked out perfectly for him.

 

[MomofKatie]

Or maybe research discounts on the camera. Could they find it for less at Amazon.com, or even ebay?

I agree, it depends on their overall financial position.

 

[staley7580]

We have four kids under 8 and I stay home and my hubby works. We make WAY less then that, but pay WAY less for housing. NO WAY would we be getting a camera that spendy. But I would totally get a sewing machine that expensive. If I had the money that is. So if it was something we were really into... then yes. If we had saved for it.

 

[rie'smom]

Maybe. Is there other debt/car payments/student loans. School tuition? Upcoming expenses for the house? Totally depends on the full financial picture.

Yes, not to mention, $100000 goes a lot farther in some places than in others.

 

[themilesfamily]

I wouldn't, personally.

But if there was something I really wanted that cost that much, I would save for it. Perhaps reduce expenses in some other area and put that money toward the purchase.

I would NOT, would NOT just throw it on a credit card and hope the money materializes. Some people do that.

 

[Sandy22]

With 4 kids under 10 - that's a lot of memories to capture on film. For me personally, having a top quality camera is well worth it to be able to have great pictures of my children growing up.

 

[quasar4legs]

Maybe.............if I had saved up for the camera and could pay cash for it. There is no way I would buy a camera on credit.

I'm probably a bad person to ask because I am a photography/camera nut and $1500 sounds cheap to me

 

[Mysteria]

No

 

[bas71873]

If I really needed it/wanted it, I'd buy it from a place that has a year-long no interest payment plan and break up the payments into 12. Can they afford an extra $100 a month?

Normally I'd say not to do it, but my son was going to live in Italy for the summer and wanted a good camera, so doing it this way worked out perfectly for him.

Ahhhhhhh. My favorite way to buy things. It's how I'm getting my new floors for my kitchen & baths. Except I got 3 years (and no interest...just monthly payments )

 

[dejr_8]

Is someone now sleeping on the sofa?

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

If I didn't have the money in my pocket or in the bank, then I could not afford a $1500 camera if it were just simply for pleasure. I just got out of $60,000 (with my ex) in debt and there is no way I would ever buy something that I could not pay for immediately unless it was an emergency like a new water heater or part for my car or an emergency for my children. I have learned a hard lesson.

If the camera could be used as a source of income, I would buy it and put it on my emergency 0% finance card.

 

[luv2sew]

Absolutely not...if you MUST have a camera....get the cheapest one you can and the ones for under 50 bucks work fine they're just not professional grade pictures which...are fine anyway...that's what makes them neat.

 

[Buckalew11]

No, but we're tight like that. 1500. for a camera would too much if we were in those circumstances. I'd shop for something cheaper.

 

[Acklander]

I wouldn't, but I'm not a camera person. There are other things that I'd spend that much money on though. the real question is, is the person going to get $1500 worth or enjoyment out of the camera.
I remember once reading a thread here where several people mentioned that they regretted buying a hot tub because they don't use it that much. I bought a hot tub, as a matter of fact it was a very expensive high end hot tub. BUT I love my hot tub and if you divide how much I paid for it by the number of times I've used it, then the hot tub wasn't that expensive at all. I've gone weeks on end where I'm sitting in the hot tub at the end of the night, drinking a cold Corona and thinking I've got the greatest life imaginable. It's probably one of my best investments.
It wouldn't bother me if someone bought an expensive camera, and if they were out and about using that camera all the time, and got great pleasure from the camera I'd consider it a good investment. If the camera sat in a drawer and only came out a few times a year then I'd consider it a waste of money.

 

[Carly_Roach]

You have a spouse and 4 children under 10. One parent works while the other stays home with the children. Household income is under $100,000 per year. You do have a mortgage to the tune of about $1600 per month.

Do you spend $1500 on a camera?

Absolutely. Especially if the yearly household income is close to $100K per year. Let's break it down:

You didn't say how much under $100K a year, so I had to presume $99,000. This works out to a gross of $8250 per month. Presuming taxes will be 30% ($2,475), that's a net monthly income of $5,775. Subtract the mortgage at $1,600, you now have a net monthly income of $4,175. You said nothing about any additional debts, so we have to presume that your only debt is the mortgage.

NOT BAD! Kuddos to you!

Basing the fact that this one-time purchase will probably not be repeated, if you factor in the monthly expenditure (based on a year) of a quality piece of equipment that will likely last for the next decade (or longer), it works out to approximately $125.00 per month.

Net monthly income after major expenses taken out = $4,175.00
Electronic expenditure = $125.00 per month for a year.

No contest. Of course I would buy the camera. Absolutely. Chump change.

So why are you asking?

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, I'd say no, but I'm not into electronics at all. We have a similar income, but our mortgage payment is significantly higher. There have been times that we've splurged on "luxury" items (I have a $3000 treadmill that has been used a tremendous amount over the past 6 years).

 

[PinkRhombus]

If the couple decided to go get this camera, it is no one's business if they get it or not.

Now...if the couple was complaining about their debt one week, and then shows off the new camera to me the next...I wouldn't put it past me to mention their complaints the week before...because they complained to me about their situation.

I wouldn't dare waste my money on a $50 camera though. I'd spend $150 or $200 just to get better features.