>>4212837Why would you EVER spend (keyword; spend, not invest, because that's not investing) 5 grand on something that doesn't make you money? Before I started making money with photography, my entire kit, my entire set (4 lenses, camera, one flash and one strobe) was all bought used and was all worth maybe a grand and some change, in total - if not less... I was using a Nikon D7200, with some really amazing but super cheap and old Nikkor lenses from 1980's, 1990's and 2000's, which I got for less than a hundred-two hundred bucks each, along with an old flash that I got with the camera and some no-name, cheap ass strobe that did what it had to do. Even back then I had way more than I needed and I barely spent a grand and a half, if even that... It never even crossed my mind to spend more or buy more, on something that doesn't make me money. That would just be money wasted. Especially back then, because back then I was barely able of putting aside $50 a month after bills, gas, food, etc... Which by the way, I had to save up for year and a half just to be able to spend about a grand... Yeah, it was THAT bad.
So my question is; Why?! Are you, at the very least, thinking about becoming a photographer or just making money with photography in any way, shape or form?! If not, why would you ever spend that much money on something, regardless of what it is, when you make minimum wage as you said.
Also, you will recover from it and you will recover faster than you think, trust me. Been there, done that mistake not once but two times in my life... Learned from it, said fuck it and moved on. At least now you have all the equipment you need to pursue photography as your primary means of making money - and then later on, when you earn some cash, if you don't like it as much as you thought, you can always swap careers/jobs to whatever you're into at the time.