The big question here is what kind of work are you doing and how much does
it pay right now? This will let you determine what you should buy and
what you should rent.

There is a current hot topic on rec.arts.movies.production.sound
about "Elimidate" offering $200/day (where day = 10 hours).
Keep in mind they are assuming that you already *own* all the
equipment and are bringing it with you (and likely insuring it too)
within that budget. Needless to say, the professionals over there
are decrying this trend.