I bought a very reasonably priced 18" long arm at first, for myself and used it a year and had started quilting for customers. Then I upgraded to a 26" long arm and could justify that I could make the payments with the income I was getting from quilting for customers. I have now had mthis long arm for almost 2 years and have made the payments with the income I have from quilting for customers. But remember, when I got my first long arm, I had to make payments on my own until I was experienced enough to do quiting for others for income. I also work a full time job out of the home so I still have an income coming in, and that way my income from my customers can go towards my long arm machine payment.