When I started out, I was in the same boat as you, limited funds. I brought a Brother from Walmart for about $149 that was 4 years ago it is still going strong I actually use it as my traveling machine for classes, workshops, and guild functions. I was and am very satisfied with it. It could do everything I needed, satin stitch, blanket, 1/4 inch, etc. When I was looking to get another machine, upgrade (still limited funds but a little more to play with), I tried the Singer, and Viking machines and could not get comfortable and was not satisfied, kept comparing them to my little ol' simple Brother. Bernina and Janome were still out of my price range. So my friend said if you like the Brother so much why don't you look into getting another one of those. I ended up buying another Brother with quilting and embroidery features for about $500 thru Amazon and have been more than pleased with my decision and that was approx. 1 1/2 lyears ago.