Is it okay to buy a digital camera with extra fundraising funds for a trip? Read details!!!?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and am taking a school trip to Ireland in March! I've been asking for donations in order to go on the trip and have already secured $280 in donations but just recently my parents said they would pay for the trip. Is it okay to buy a $120 digital camera with the $280 I've already raised? I don't have a digital camera and would use the camera to take pictures in Ireland. I would use the rest of the money for spending money in Ireland.

Answer 1

I suppose you could look at it from an alternate perspective. Apply the $280 to the cost of the trip, and use the money your parents give you to pay the remainder of the trip cost, camera, and spending money.

Answer 2

I imagine your parents meant that they'd make up the difference between what you already have and what the trip costs.  Don't count your chickens before they hatch--check with your parents and see.  Ireland is very dear (expensive) so what are you doing for spending money if you want a coke or a bag of crisps or blarny stone souvenirs or whatnot?  Check with the 'rents.

Answer 3

I agree. Did your parents know you'd raised some money already? What did they expect you to do wiith that money?

Apply the donations to the trip, and if your parents give you too much, use the leftover for a camera. Be sure to take the camera with you.

Bring lots of batteries - touristy places really gouge on things like batteries. Buy a few LARGE memory cards - a 2Gb card can probably hold near 1000 pictures. Snap away, since digits are free ; you can write all the photos to CD when you get home. Use the highest resolution, in case you get a nice picture and want to print it, or print it large. (Nothing worse than  taking all your pics at 640x480 and then they look like carp when you try to print them...)