I am budgeting for one myself, and have been shopping around for a while. Keep watching Amazon.com. Outside sellers sell it there a lot and the prices keep changing ($30 average), but the cheapest i found so far is for $238 with free shipping and no tax. They also sell the dies a little cheaper than MSRP but i am not sure if at Jo-anns you can use coupons on dies.
The truth is even though it is pricey, I honestly don't want to end up with Arthiritis or Carpel Tunnel because of quilting, so if this is gonna help me keep quilting and be healthy, then it is worth every penny :)
Hope that helps
Faten