Film Shoot Wednesday! or Crisis of Choice

First of all, I invite you all to come down and participate in a film shoot this coming Wednesday (the 2nd) as I will be filming at least 1 short film, although I hope to get more done if possible. I will be getting the equipment at 10 am and want to keep going as long as possible. I think that I'll be able to pick up some pizza or something to feed y'all (assuming I don't get too many folks!) From the looks of it, I MAY have to take the stuff back at 6, but I'm going to try to get it all for an extra day so that we can go long into that good night. The schedule thus far looks like:
1) a 1 minute or so short film for my class entitled "The Fine Art of Seduction" starring Derek Kroeker and an as of yet uncast female.
2) a 3 or so minute short film entitled "The Satyr's Waltz" starring Dave, Jay, and (hopefully) Tyler, but if not him, then whoever is there.
3) the RE-shoot of "Zombies in the Toilet" if there is time.
If I can get the stuff for a second day, then I hope to try to do:
4) a 3 or so minute short film entitled "The Communist in the Cupboard" hopefully starring the master thespian Caley Gibson!
5) something I will write in the next couple of days that will most likely be completely ridiculous and silly.
Shooting 5 films in 2 days might seem ambitious, but based on the length and amount of camera set ups required, I don't think it's impossible or unreasonable. In addition, I have some more experience with the camera now, and should be able to avoid the types of things that plagued the first shoot in the summer... not that that one didn't go fairly well, but still.

Now for something that I would like input on. I am going to write stream of consciousness style, so forgive the rambling nature of the whole thing.
I have been saving up money for the past while in the hopes of purchasing a professional video camera and most likely an editing suite. I was planning on this to become a self sufficient film production studio where I could do everything myself and at whatever whim came to my head. In addition, I would rent out the camera to people who wanted to use it, and perhaps even try to make extra money being an event videographer or something.
The counter thoughts that come into my head are these:
It's a lot of money (like 6 grand) to spend. Another path could be to just rent out the equipment from video pool or the film group and use the money saved for other things (like RRSP's or to pay for more demanding films). The problem with that is that I would be beholden to an organization for access to equipment. I would have to work around the times available and could not just decide to go and do something whenever I felt like it. I would also not be able to do the outside videographing work to make extra money. On the other hand, I would be able to use better equipment that I could never afford to buy right now. (Unless I took out a loan, which I don't want to do).
Do I really NEED to own my own stuff, or is that just a waste of hard earned money. Am I just taking my need for self sufficiency to an illogical extreme. Is it really that bad to have to go and rent things? I mean these organizations like video pool are there to make things easier, so that you don't have to drop all your money on tech. Then again, I want to try to make a longer feature next year, that would take much more work. Renting all the equipment would end up costing quite a bit anyway. It also sucks to find parking down in the exchange, not to mention that it is a bit of a drive to get there. Then again, driving 25 minutes to not drop 6 grand? Maybe it would be better to just buy a MAC for the editing and leave the camera for a little later, I mean the film groups MAC is pretty old now and there have been like 4 versions of final cut released since they last updated. I would want to get one with HD capability, as that is the wave of the future.
One thing that constantly pops into my head during all of this is the fact that this whole filmmaking thing is what I would like to be doing for a career type thing. The best way to do that is to just get a move on. I have so many projects in mind that I want to just DO, but is the best way of doing all of this having my own stuff and give'n'er or to use that money for production values and rent out everything...??? This might sound hokey, but I really feel that the crazy amount of money I got from ebay for my old games was some sort of blessing type thing that I should use for the furtherment of my "dreams." It was a sort of kick in the pants. The only challenge is that I keep doubting myself and my decisions. I don't want to do something that I regret... then again, to do nothing is the ultimate regret. How will I know if I can do this if I don't just go for the gold? But do I really have to go for the gold this way? Could I take a cheaper path that would require me to own less? ARGH. Sometimes I really overthink and get myself stuck in a type of loop. If any of you guys, my valued friends, have thoughts on this please comment, as it always helps to hear the voices of those who aren't in your own head.