Tim Christie

Ken Rockwell has posted a guide on how to afford anything you want, be it photographic gear or a house. He is a frugal spender and proud of it, and encourages us all to be. He has heaps of tips about living life frugally, from buying a house to cars and photographic gear. Its not about being cheap and not spending money at all, but how to spend what you have wisely.

“Our ability to buy expensive toys has nothing to do with how much money we do or don’t earn. Like everything in life, it has everything to do with how well you use what you have.”

“I usually use the word “cheap” instead of frugal, but I mean frugal. I use “cheap” because it sounds funnier.

Cheap means buying something obvious crappy, and only stupid people do that since they usually cost themselves more in the long run. For instance, a cheap person hires the wrong person to do a job, and winds up paying more to have a competent person have to fix the damage done by the first workman. Cheap means giving your girlfriend flowers picked out of a funeral home dumpster, and leaving the wrong sympathy card attached to them, That’s going to cost you a lot more than you just saved!

Frugality is important. Being frugal means using your money well and not wasting. Being frugal often involves spending large sums on the right things, like hiring competent professionals to do a job, or buying a more durable, quality product that lasts far longer than a regular one. “

It is a long article but I recommend reading it to help you afford your next piece of camera porn. I will be putting it into practice so that I can save up for my D3. I can wait to buy that puppy!