A question for Island Owners (Especially multi)

How did you originally afford to own an island, and how do you now?

I mean, I can see how you could afford it after some time has gone by and you have most of it for rent or something, but initially, unless wealthy just off the bat.. how do you do it? I'm at the end of my 25$ tier, and can't go up because I don't want to have to pay 40$. I'm not poor, I just can't spend that much on something I can't guarantee will pay for itself. SO.. thats basically my question... how can you afford an island initially, without any guarantee of it working out and paying (At least in part) for itself?

I bought my first (and only) island in August.

The purchase price came,half from some profit I made playing the SL Stock Exchange (yes, some people actually do make money on that) and the other half out of my own pocket.

I had a tenant for 1 quarter of the island before I committed, and I could afford to pay the tier on the rest for at least a couple of months with no real issues. As it happened I rented 2 other quarters within 10 days of advertising them and so it has cost me nothing in tier and I have a quarter island to play with for myself as well.

The loss of one of the tenants because of some SL issue, coupled with the VAT thing has hurt a little, but I'm okay for the immediate future.

Split it between friends.

At the time I bought mine, islands were still at the old prices, so splitting an island between 2 or 3 friends was just a plain good deal for everyone across the board. (That, I think, is the reason why island prices were increased..)

I couldn't pay the tier on my part of the island when I got it; now, on good months, I can.

I made it selling mainland. Renting estate land was originally going to be a hedge for me, to protect me somewhat against movements in the mainland market.

Since VAT came in, I've concentrated solely on estates.

I bought mine out of SL business profits. If I buy another, it will be out of those profits as well.

My first island was completely out of pocket. I had no intention of doing any business in SL, so I was considering the entire purchase/mothly fee an entertainment expense. (And honestly, a good value, since I no longer play any other games or buy any CDs, books, or DVDs.) This was at the old $1295/$195 pricing.

I eventually decided it was prudent to have my hobby pay for itself so I got into a couple of business ventures, and eventually acquired 4 other islands. Two of those were out-of-pocket, and two were paid for by in-world profits. Any islands I purchase in the future will be paid for by my in-world ventures. I don't plan to put any more of my own USD into the game.

Rich and poor is extremely relative. People who might plunk down $1675 for an Island plus tier might very well not be "wealthy." Maybe one person drives a $20,000 car, but his neighbor bought a $15,000 car but owns an island in SL and pays tier on it. Neither of them are wealthy: they're just ordinary adults who spend their money in different ways.

I bought one and a half sims of mainland with my entertainment money. The $292 tier on that is something I can manage if I have to, but I prefer not to. After building my business and promoting it for 8 weeks, it's finally paying for itself, so I plan to open up an Island in a few weeks.

My first Island I bought with my Income Tax Refund. All since have been from in-world funds generated by my in-world business.