I'm with your husband - go for the 830. I'm not familiar with the Bernina machines at all, but they seem to get high praise on QB. After all you've been through you deserve something special - too bad Wal-Mart took so long to settle, but I'm sure they felt they could wait you out. Hope my daughter doesn't have to wait as long for her accident to settle, but her agent is hopeful they will settle soon. She was rear-ended, had whiplash and lots of other injuries inside and out and is now in danger of losing her job because of the time off. Go for the gold girl, there will never be a better time to treat yourself.