Why I am depressed...!

[SwissJon]

I'm with the 2nd hand people here.. Pick yourself up an old D70 or something like that for $150 or so, and an 18-55 for $20.. Sure, it's only got 6 Mpix, but it'll teach you what you need to know, and when you finally save up for the camera you want, you can get it converted to IR and keep using it, or sell it for pretty much what you bought it for. That's the nice thing about the D70, it holds it's value because the IR guys want it.

Alternatively, get yourself an old minolta film camera, you can use the lenses on Sony gear, no problem. You can probably already afford one, they only sell for $50 or so.. I picked up a Nikon D90x for $20 in my local pawn shop simply because they wanted it off their shelves, it had been there for several months, so they sold it for what they bought it for.. I make a point of visiting them at least once a week to see if they have anything interesting there.. It never hurts to ask.. If the person there is nice, they might even keep an eye out for something in your budget and put it aside for a few days if you go in regularly, and ask nicely.

Good luck with your search.. Set your sights lower, you'll get there faster, then work your way up like almost everyone else.. It's a good lesson for life.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Ambrosia76

You are almost 15, perhaps you can get some odd jobs with neighbors doing yard work, babysitting, house cleaning etc. Can't Never Could!

Originally Posted by Hill Country Hack

If you are serious, there is much you can do to reach your goal. The old stand by of babysitting (if anyone still hires them).

I'm 15 and I babysit all the time!! I've been saving my money since about the middle of January and already have $75!!! I only get $3 an hour (that ought to tell you how much I babysit! lol!) and I still have that much saved up! You can find something! Hope ya get your camera soon! I'd love to see some pics!!

[graciousness]

Originally Posted by jmg

I'm 15 and I babysit all the time!! I've been saving my money since about the middle of January and already have $75!!! I only get $3 an hour (that ought to tell you how much I babysit! lol!) and I still have that much saved up! You can find something! Hope ya get your camera soon! I'd love to see some pics!!

Seriously? $3 an hour??!? Is it really worth it to get paid for so little? I have a friend who pays $12 her hour for a babysitter.......crickey.

I know you're very young and wanting to only get some cash, etc, however, you simply can't sell yourself short for a service that you probably do as well as older babysitters. I'd rather work minimum wage and get something more per hour......time is money. I can't believe people take advantage of teenagers and pay them close to nothing just because of age....

My hat off to you, though. I love your persistence and dedication. I hope you will consider either raising your price or doing something to get more value out of your time and service. Just because you're very young doesn't mean you have to be undervalued.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by graciousness

Seriously? $3 an hour??!? Is it really worth it to get paid for so little? I have a friend who pays $12 her hour for a babysitter.......crickey.

I know you're very young and wanting to only get some cash, etc, however, you simply can't sell yourself short for a service that you probably do as well as older babysitters. I'd rather work minimum wage and get something more per hour......time is money. I can't believe people take advantage of teenagers and pay them close to nothing just because of age....

My hat off to you, though. I love your persistence and dedication. I hope you will consider either raising your price or doing something to get more value out of your time and service. Just because you're very young doesn't mean you have to be undervalued.

Well... We are very close to the family! I don't even like asking for money but they insist! lol! If I did it for strangers I would ask for more but not close friends!

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by jmg

Well... We are very close to the family! I don't even like asking for money but they insist! lol! If I did it for strangers I would ask for more but not close friends!

I suggest you say "No" to your close friends and "Yes" to people you don't know so well

My Step-Daughter tevelled the world when she was just a little oder than you, working as an Au-Pair.. Not the most glamarous job, but the families she met were wonderful, and she got to see places that her friends only dreamed of..

[itsnoelb]

Relax...you'll get there. Used is best way to go on your budget and some mighty fine "starter" camera's are out there. Camera Club in town?...maybe someone has something they don't use anymore. Personally, if you could find a Minolta DiImage Z-1, Z-2, Z-3, or a Z-4, they are Excellent. I have used and given as presents 4 of the Z-1's and everyone loves it. In fact, a friend's wife just replaced hers and I'm hoping to buy theirs to give to my wife.(she finds my Sony F-828 a bit to much) I saw locally here a Z-1 with all factory in box goodies for $150. I used this 3,2MP camera and got 18x24 inch blowups with no loss of resolution. Good-luck, Post a pic and let us see, no matter what camera you use! If you search itsnoelb at the photobucket website, you can see some Z-1 pics, mostly flowers (Amerilius) check the camera out on your own.

[praline3001]

Make a plan. Make a budget.

There are lots of ways kids can make money, legally!

Yard work. My 17 year old can pull $200 in a weekend doing yard work for people that live around us. Of course he uses our lawnmower ... gas...weed whacker... HEY maybe I should charge him We pay him for yard work as well but he makes sure to give us a nice discount since he does use our equipment.. nice of him, huh?

Car washing ~ this is another great money making thing.

My parents own a large horse ranch and my mom is a newly retired teacher so knows many kids in the area. She is always hiring some kid to clean stalls, bail hay, fix fences.... manual labor stuff.

Why don't you make a cute flyer. In the flyer explain (in a fun creative way) that you have a goal set to buy a camera. Then title it something like "Rent a teen" or whatnot. You can explain some things you have experience with (babysitting, house cleaning, yard work...) and that for the rock bottom price of $XXX they can rent a teen for the day.
Give this flyer out to people you or your parents know, not strangers. Hang it up on a Church info board.

[TNH]

Wow, guys! Three pages...! I feel so special.

Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner. I haven't been on here in a few days, because I've been pretty busy. Mostly because Saturday was my birthday and I was gone all day. And I've been doing stuff to celebrate all weekend. Yay!!

Thanks for all the suggestions, tips, and encouragement!

There is really too many posts here to reply to them all individually... I don't have that kind of time on my hands. Lol. So I'll just start replying to kinda everybody in one post. Lol!

I talked to my mom about maybe getting a used camera, like someone on here suggested. That may be the way that I have to go... as long as it is in good condition. I may have to look into doing that. Where would the best place be to buy a used camera? Is eBay trustworthy for that kinda stuff?

I actually have thought about getting a summer job. But there is really nothing I've thought of that I can do. Nothing will work for me, seems like.
I don't like babysitting at all... I just don't have the patience for little kids! Believe me, I have had my share of babysitting. I have three younger sisters and used to babysit them a LOT. Still do sometimes. Kids just aren't my thing... if I get impatient with my own sisters, I don't think I could be patient with someone else's kids. x(
I've also thought about doing odd jobs for neighbors. But seriously, we don't have many neighbors. Our town is TINY. There are only a few houses near us, and we don't really know any of the people who live there. So I don't think my parents would want me knocking on strangers' doors asking to mow their lawns. lol
I also thought about putting signs up on the church bulletin board about selling cookies or something. Only thing is.... our church is about 50 minutes away. Way too far to be delivering cookies to people. So I can't really go on that idea!

I suppose I'll finish cleaning the basement (no telling how long that will take, a couple more months at least!!) and see how much that gets me.

I do make jewelry, though. I was thinking about starting a business on Etsy (a place where you can sell your homemade stuff) to sell my jewelry on. I wonder how much that would bring in? Do you think it would be worthwhile?? Of course I probably won't have time to start selling until summer. Grrrr!

Thank you all for the awesome ideas and encouragement! I feel a little happier already.

[SwissJon]

Why don't you put a sign up in your church saying that you're very keen on spending your life taking photos instead of wasting it in front to the tv and if anyone has any suggestions on how you could earn enough money to buy a DSLR, you'd be grateful.. If I saw such a note from one of my neighbours kids, I'd give them one of my film SLRs and a lens.. Not quite the same thing, but it's a start.. You may have a neighbour or two that needs odd jobs doing, or maybe even one that's just upgraded their DSLR and is willing to give you their old one.. You never know unless you ask.. People are nice like that..

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

Why don't you put a sign up in your church saying that you're very keen on spending your life taking photos instead of wasting it in front to the tv and if anyone has any suggestions on how you could earn enough money to buy a DSLR, you'd be grateful.. If I saw such a note from one of my neighbours kids, I'd give them one of my film SLRs and a lens.. Not quite the same thing, but it's a start.. You may have a neighbour or two that needs odd jobs doing, or maybe even one that's just upgraded their DSLR and is willing to give you their old one.. You never know unless you ask.. People are nice like that..

This.
Good thinking Jon!
Can't hurt to try.