Why do people get so silly about this? If you can't afford it, then don't buy it and if you can afford it then buy it, use it, and don't whine. And all the men here scared of what your wife would say if she knew how much you spend...ugh. If you can afford it and your wife is a b-tch about it, then find one who isn't, and if you're hiding your spending from her because you can't afford it then shame on you. My fiance (who I live with so we're basically married) doesn't care how much I spend on photography because I spend my money, not hers, and I still pay my bills. Likewise I don't tell her she can't spend all her money on music and movies (her inerests...being entertained).
I have spent about $20,000. Mostly because I am a commercial photographer as well as a fine artist so I have had to buy equipment for work that I wouldn't have bought or needed if I was a hobbyist or even just a professional fine artist. For my fine art stuff, I use my Mamiya 645 super and my OM-4T that I got in high school 16 years ago. I have bought a couple cheap used lenses for these but most of my purchases have been digital stuff and studio equipment for my paying work.