I was the same way...trying to figure out if I could justify buying a long arm machine. I used to hand quilt my quilts but when it takes me an entire winter to quilt a quilt, my tops were getting backed up so I machine quilted a queen size quilt on my home Bernina....and that convinced me I needed something bigger. I don't have the space for the long rails so I settled for the Tin Lizzie 18 with the sit-down table. It was affordable (certainly not the Gammil machine that I consider the desirable Cadillac of machines) and it would fit into my home. So far I love it but I've only quilted three quilts on it so far. I like the option of being able to convert it to the long rails when I get a larger place. Quilting is my hobby so for me it's more about the creative process and less about the money. If I didn't quilt I'd spend the money on something else.