What would you do with $3000 Dollars?

[corywoolf]

I'd personally get a huge LCD/Plasma tv. But that's just me.

Imac is a great machine, but if you have a 20 inch imac, why do you need an extra 20 inch display? Plenty of real estate on there already! Your choice though. College is good for you, but $3000 won't even get you through your first year, it is a good start though.

If you're just looking to spend it on something fun, go for the imac!

No, I am looking for a system to last me a couple years. I am going to use it to put together my demo reel/ portfolio and therefore can't use an Intel Mac for a while. I need to be able to use After Effects, CS2, and FCP Studio extensively for the next few months. I liked the thought of getting the Mac Book Pro, but it just wont have the power for what I need it for (at least until the universal versions of all these apps are released). I have thought about a refurbished G5 2 Ghz Dual Core Powermac for a while also, but that would end up costing close to the MBP. I figure with 2 GB RAM and the 17" screen I should be set for a while. Rendering might be a pain in the butt, but I have a few friends, one with the quad. that I could render on if I needed to. I guess this thread might be going nowhere, I am basically just trying to get opinions and take them into consideration.

Thanks to all that have posted, even if some were a little off on the facts.

 

[jefhatfield]

I'm going to try to go easy on you since your profile says you are only 17.

1st, don't go around blabbing about how much money you are getting, thats inappropriate. 2nd, don't follow it by telling us you aren't well off. if you aren't well off then you should be learning how to save money, learning about savings accounts, ROTH IRA's, etc, or even better saving for a college education.

if you just want recommendations of what to buy don't give us the story, just ask... many people here will help.

i couldn't disagree more

and corywoolf,

really, who cares how much money you are getting or if your family is poor or rich?...and who cares if you share that info or not? i am glad that you will be getting money and congrats on that

the main thing, especially being a pc tech, is that from my point of view, i see you have sense and that you are smart in your thinking in getting a mac...you could get a pc running windows xp and be among the legions of people who create a good living for us in the pc designing/selling/fixing/modifying/upgrading business

 

[codycartoon]

Sound and practical advice, but it requires personal resolve and discipline that can be challenging for a 17-year old HS senior.

What is with the idealistic condescension? Just because someone is 17 does not mean that they are undisciplined and lack the strength to work with money.

Sure, it would be practical and sound, but also unrealistic and boring. Even if he was making 5% interest each year, it would take him more than 15 years to make enough for a nice apple, and 5% is an overestimated figure. Waiting fifteen years for something like this is ridiculous. Money collects dust.

If you are in college I say get a MacBook Pro with a student discount. You can get one for $1800. Spend the rest enjoying your adolescence. you only get one shot.

-cody

 

[jefhatfield]

If you are in college I say get a MacBook Pro with a student discount. You can get one for $1800. Spend the rest enjoying your adolescence. you only get one shot.

-cody

adolescence, i hate to say, will be the best time in many, if not most people's lives

stuff like living out on one's own, bills, insurance, the reality of marriage (and kids for some) make a lot of people realize that from now on after high school/college, things will never be as carefree as one's childhood years...and in high school, at least one is old enough to drive, go to concerts, and get around fairly safely so it's like having some of the joys and freedoms of adulthood without the full scale adult responsibilities yet...and don't wait too long since many right after high school or college hit the ground running in some sort of necessary or imagined/self made rat race which wears down most but the most hardy of us

i never had a dime as a teenager and early 20-something and three grand would be a real windfall

 

[e²Studios]

What is with the idealistic condescension? Just because someone is 17 does not mean that they are undisciplined and lack the strength to work with money.

Sure, it would be practical and sound, but also unrealistic and boring. Even if he was making 5% interest each year, it would take him more than 15 years to make enough for a nice apple, and 5% is an overestimated figure. Waiting fifteen years for something like this is ridiculous. Money collects dust.

If you are in college I say get a MacBook Pro with a student discount. You can get one for $1800. Spend the rest enjoying your adolescence. you only get one shot.

-cody

This attitude is why a lot of the nations youth is either in debt up to their ears or have filled bankruptcy by age 22, really sad.

As far as the comment about only who you know and your reel mean the most, i cant wait until you get a dose of reality. There is no way in hell someone without a degree could be in the position i am in now. It was the combination of graduating from UCLA film school, the reel, and the connections that make it happen dont fool yourself cause in the end thats the only person you are fooling. Also a lot of my good connections came from college, their connections, or professors that have recommended me to things

Ed

 

[corywoolf]

What is with the idealistic condescension? Just because someone is 17 does not mean that they are undisciplined and lack the strength to work with money.

Sure, it would be practical and sound, but also unrealistic and boring. Even if he was making 5% interest each year, it would take him more than 15 years to make enough for a nice apple, and 5% is an overestimated figure. Waiting fifteen years for something like this is ridiculous. Money collects dust.

If you are in college I say get a MacBook Pro with a student discount. You can get one for $1800. Spend the rest enjoying your adolescence. you only get one shot.

-cody

Never heard more true words... "Money Collects Dust"
Nice way of putting it. If you think I haven't considered saving most of it and getting a ibook or something cheap, believe me I have. I need a reliable computer that I can count on while I put together my first demo reel and portfolio. The computer is just a tool for me to get my name out there, and I need a tool I can count on and that JUST does the job.

 

[MacRumoron]

i dont understand why you need an extra monitor

and if i were you, i wouldn't get a laptop unless you will be taking it everywhere

I bought an ibook (my first mac) and realized i took it nowhere. So basically i spent more money on a crappier computer

 

[jefhatfield]

This attitude is why a lot of the nations youth is either in debt up to their ears or have filled bankruptcy by age 22, really sad.

Ed

i am 42 and i never heard someone say something like that

a lot of bankruptcy comes from bad spending habits, not having fun and realizing that one's adolescence may be one's last big block(s) of free time before regular adulthood, which for most of us that means working full time

 

[corywoolf]

This attitude is why a lot of the nations youth is either in debt up to their ears or have filled bankruptcy by age 22, really sad.

As far as the comment about only who you know and your reel mean the most, i cant wait until you get a dose of reality. Even though i am in a transition period for my job there is no way in hell someone without a degree could be in it right now. It was the combination of graduating from UCLA film school, the reel, and the connections that make it happen dont fool yourself cause in the end thats the only person you are fooling.

Ed

Well, I have talked with many professionals in the film business, including my professor who was in the business for over 30 years. He has done several national commercials for the big three auto companies and went to MSU to get his degree in film. He also taught film at University of Michigan for several years. He gave my class a lot of advice and even had a friend come in and give us a talk. His friend is still in the business and had to fly out to the Mojave desert the next day to film a commercial for Dodge. I understand I shouldn't expect to jump right up to a director or anything like that and I don't. I have heard lots about the real world in film and DO plan on going to college or film school at some point. Some of us don't have the connections and assets others do and need to start somewhere. That somewhere for me is being a PA (production assistant)and an assistant editor for small productions. I have had this talk so many times with people it is starting to disgust me. I am not some naive 17 year old kid who thinks he is the next Spielberg and can get work easily. I don't mean to snap, sorry if it sounds like it, but I didn't think this thread would get to this topic, nor that it would carry this negative energy.

Last but not least, please check out this old thread that gave me lots of insight.

"First off, no one cares where their editor, or shooter, or director, or writer went to school. They just care about how well that person can do their job. This isn't like the business world where a Big Name School will open doors for you. I work w/at least 3 people who have Masters from FSU's film school (one of the best in the nation) and people who went to USC and they are paying their dues just like I am (I went to Ball State Univ. in Indiana). Paying big $$$ for a big name school is not the best way to spend your money, IMO." -LethalWolfe

-Cory

 

[MUCKYFINGERS]

if i had $3000 i think the smartest choice would be an intel imac.

 

[jefhatfield]

cory,

you sound like you are on the right track and get that mac, and also have some fun

sure college can be fun, but some of the joy of learning (at least for me) was hindered by the fact that it cost (something) to go to college from my parent's pocket or my pocket

though life never got terrible for me, it was never as carefree as my last two years in high school

we know you will get that mac, but keep us posted on how you enjoy the rest of the money if you plan to...and post pictures, too

 

[codycartoon]

This attitude is why a lot of the nations youth is either in debt up to their ears or have filled bankruptcy by age 22, really sad.

As far as the comment about only who you know and your reel mean the most, i cant wait until you get a dose of reality. There is no way in hell someone without a degree could be in the position i am in now. It was the combination of graduating from UCLA film school, the reel, and the connections that make it happen dont fool yourself cause in the end thats the only person you are fooling. Also a lot of my good connections came from college, their connections, or professors that have recommended me to things

Ed

What attitude would that be? How does this have anything to do with debt when the question is about how someone should go about spending gift money? Much of the nation (not just the nations youth) is in debt because people tend to have trouble balancing luxury and necessity. Credit cards make this easier. I am not supporting decadent excess but I am also not in favor of hoarding money for the sake of being practical. It is crucial to find a balance.

Your comment about how one needs a degree to be successful in the film industry is really backwards and absurd. Depending on what position you are after, a fantastic reel and great contacts will really take you places. Just because you graduate from a film school does not mean much to potential employers. Even if you went to one of the top tier film schools (NYU, USC, UCLA) does not mean that you will get a good job after you graduate. Employers are looking for talent and ability, they could care less where you came from. I am mostly talking about film directors, cinematographers, I do not know as much about what the deal is with producers and other film positions, it might be a different story. I believe he said that he wants to be a cinematographer/director though.

-cody

 

[corywoolf]

What attitude would that be? How does this have anything to do with debt when the question is about how someone should go about spending gift money? Much of the nation (not just the nations youth) is in debt because people tend to have trouble balancing luxury and necessity. Credit cards make this easier. I am not supporting decadent excess but I am also not in favor of hoarding money for the sake of being practical. It is crucial to find a balance.

Your comment about how one needs a degree to be successful in the film industry is really backwards and absurd. Depending on what position you are after, a fantastic reel and great contacts will really take you places. Just because you graduate from a film school does not mean much to potential employers. Even if you went to one of the top tier film schools (NYU, USC, UCLA) does not mean that you will get a good job after you graduate. Employers are looking for talent and ability, they could care less where you came from. I am mostly talking about film directors, cinematographers, I do not know as much about what the deal is with producers and other film positions, it might be a different story. I believe he said that he wants to be a cinematographer/director though.

-cody

Um, no I never said anything about directing/ cinematography. I want to be an editor. I am glad to see I am not alone in knowing that a degree isn't everything. Anyone can get a degree, but not everyone has what it takes to edit for a living. I would rather stick my head out now about my plans, then be another teen who goes through the motions with college and doesn't think much about their future. That being said, I fully respect the majority of individuals who do not know what they wish to do for a living and will make up there mind later in college. If you read the thread (link posted earlier) I created for advice on career pathways you can read more about where I am at and my plans (if you even care).

 

[corywoolf]

This attitude is why a lot of the nations youth is either in debt up to their ears or have filled bankruptcy by age 22, really sad.

As far as the comment about only who you know and your reel mean the most, i cant wait until you get a dose of reality. There is no way in hell someone without a degree could be in the position i am in now. It was the combination of graduating from UCLA film school, the reel, and the connections that make it happen dont fool yourself cause in the end thats the only person you are fooling. Also a lot of my good connections came from college, their connections, or professors that have recommended me to things

Ed

Just out of curiosity, what position are you in now? I respect your approach, but not everyone takes the same path to get from A to B.

 

[sintaxi]

Cory,
You are pretty much taking the exact same program as I am taking in Vancouver Canada. Trust me, you cant afford to wait for UB. I would recomend you buy a power mac 2.0Ghz with a 24" dell monitor or scoop one of those 20" G5 iMac while you still can.

The important thing is that you give yourself every oportunity to do the best work possible while in school. Even though the intel machines are a smarter buy finatually, You will be using Photoshop every single day and you will never touch the software offered by OSX. Everything you do will be on Pro Aps. You cant afford to play the waiting game.

As for the iPod. Keep the one you got. I cant stress enough how great it is to have an iPod to back up your files.

I will asume your school uses good computers (mine uses dual 2.7 with 8gig Ram) so I would avize you get a desktop so that you have a good rig at home and then a good rig at school. YOU WILL NEVER TAKE A 17" PB ANYWHERE! so few 17" PB see the light of day.

good luck.

 

[Deepdale]

What is with the idealistic condescension? ... Waiting fifteen years for something like this is ridiculous. Money collects dust.

Neither he nor anybody else needs my permission to decide what to do with money received as a gift. When a post is made, one can reply to it or move on. To brand a brief comment as condescending must make you one of the more astute members here.

 

[thegreatunknown]

the noob will now speak up once more. this thread might be dead now though. your money is your money, you asked our opinion. yes having fun as a kid is extremely important, like going to parties, bars, clubs, etc. before you have dependents. thats what college is for... and you learn a hell of a lot, not just about school but life. I don't care what people say about the degree... college is important for many things. 3k can get you started in a college.

the truth of the matter is, work your *ss off, that is the only way to get anywhere... don't spend your time reading this worthless banter.

get a mac... but save some of the money, you'll appreciate the advice later. money doesn't collect dust, there are ways to do better than 5%, but 5% isn't bad either.

 

[corywoolf]

Cory,
You are pretty much taking the exact same program as I am taking in Vancouver Canada. Trust me, you cant afford to wait for UB. I would recomend you buy a power mac 2.0Ghz with a 24" dell monitor or scoop one of those 20" G5 iMac while you still can.

The important thing is that you give yourself every oportunity to do the best work possible while in school. Even though the intel machines are a smarter buy finatually, You will be using Photoshop every single day and you will never touch the software offered by OSX. Everything you do will be on Pro Aps. You cant afford to play the waiting game.

As for the iPod. Keep the one you got. I cant stress enough how great it is to have an iPod to back up your files.

I will asume your school uses good computers (mine uses dual 2.7 with 8gig Ram) so I would avize you get a desktop so that you have a good rig at home and then a good rig at school. YOU WILL NEVER TAKE A 17" PB ANYWHERE! so few 17" PB see the light of day.

good luck.

Hey,

Thanks for the advice, but the classes I listed are ones I have already taken. I am done with college at the end of this semester (until a couple years down the road when I have for experience and money). My college uses eMacs and iMac G5s for Photoshop and Illustrator. They use dual 2 Ghz powermacs with dual 20" ACD for the editing program and single 1.8 Ghz Powermacs for the 3D animation and After Effects programs. My dream setup would be a cheap used/ refurb. ibook (for portability, photoshop, illustrator) and a refurb. Powermac G5 2 Ghz Dual Core for serious work. I would get a 20" Dell monitor with them too. If I can somehow squeeze all that into my $3000 budget I will be thrilled.

 

[corywoolf]

the noob will now speak up once more. this thread might be dead now though. your money is your money, you asked our opinion. yes having fun as a kid is extremely important, like going to parties, bars, clubs, etc. before you have dependents. thats what college is for... and you learn a hell of a lot, not just about school but life. I don't care what people say about the degree... college is important for many things. 3k can get you started in a college.

the truth of the matter is, work your *ss off, that is the only way to get anywhere... don't spend your time reading this worthless banter.

get a mac... but save some of the money, you'll appreciate the advice later. money doesn't collect dust, there are ways to do better than 5%, but 5% isn't bad either.

$150 (5%) a year for $3,000 locked in the bank isn't exactly going to get me anywhere for a long time.

 

[thegreatunknown]

why am I spending my time with this? Maybe I feel like I can knock some sense into you? I can't so I'm done, you are only 17. go out, get laid, enjoy life. most importantly go to college.

put some money away every week, you'll be happy you started now.

Ed H... you are extremely correct.

 

[thegreatunknown]

corywoolfman --
after a little boredom I went back and read through most of the posts. I apologize for being a little harsh, maybe I was a bit disgruntled at work or something. Besides apologizing I wanted to say one more thing though...

you had mentioned you were not well off. I don't know what you mean by this but my response to your question "what would you do w/ 3k" is if you are really not well off is to start a savings account. its not a lot but its a start, and if you continue to put money in it adds up. if you didn't mean "not well off" in the financial stance than the apple store is the first place to go!

 

[ieani]

Go to Europe! Or Austrailia. Or Japan.

It could change your life. Travel is far more rewarding then a computer. The experience is amazing and lasting. You'll have the memories your entire life, the computer just a few years. So, while you have the chance take advantage and see whatever place in the world interests you most. Its, I think, the best advice anyone can give you. This sounds sort of preachy and cliche but its what I did. I saved up an entire summer and spent $2000 on a two week wandering of europe.

As much I want a new mac if I had $3000 to spend I would be heading to Barcelona or Reykjavik or Munich or Toyko or New Zeland. There are hundreds of places Id rather go then get a new computer.

 

[itgoesbuzz]

As I have said in another post, I am getting $2,000 from my grandma as a graduation gift and will get between $1000-$1200 from items I will be selling either on eBay or hopefully here. My family is not well off and this is a very rare circumstance for me. I always told myself I would be smart with my money and not greedy when I get an opportunity like this. So I have been thinking a lot about what I am going to get computer hardware wise and still can't make up my mind. I first wanted to get the 17" iMac Core Duo with a dell 20" monitor and a 30 GB iPod. I then wanted to get the 20" iMac Core Duo with a 19" dell monitor and the 60 GB iPod. After that, a few days ago I really was heading towards the 1.83 Ghz Mac Book Pro with a 20" Dell monitor and 1 GB shuffle. I am now thinking about getting a 1 Ghz 17" Powerbook (with 2 GB RAM) with a 20" Dell monitor and a 1 GB shuffle. The main problem is I do a lot of work in FCP, CS2, After Effects and FCP wont even run on a Intel Mac for a while. I have a 800 Mhz iMac G4 with 768 MB RAM and wonder if 200 Mhz will make a big difference along with the 2 GB RAM? I plan on selling the Powerbook when everything I use is universal. This setup would cost me around $2000 (w/ monitor and accessories) and I would keep the monitor when I upgrade to the MBP. So what would you do in my situation?

where you going to school at? just curious

 

[cr2sh]

You'll find the 1GHz 17" powerbook to be painfully slow. Do not buy a g4, period. I bought one when it was released and payed the full $3200 for it.. and regretted it since pretty much week two. SLOW.

That aside, I never used a laptop in college for anything more than dicking off. Unless you're commuting (more than an hour a day) you don't need it. Get a desktop and when its time to do work, do work.

Now is not the time to buy... I'd sit on the money for 6 months, see what Apple does with the powermacs.

Personally I don't see any problem with powermac g5's. A dual 2.5 will go clearanced at around $1500 in a few months... I'd reach out for one then. I'd add a Dell 2405FW or 2005FPW depending on your wants and a pair of gigabytes.

 

[wongulous]

Get a 12" PB and a 20" Intel iMac, and if you have the money left over, get an iPod nano if you really need a second iPod or if your iPod photo is broken. But (1) definitely get a laptop, (2) make sure one of your machines is PowerPC, and (3) think of the iPod as an entertainment expense and the last thing you need.