I love my Janome Gem Gold, perfect size for classes. I have also had a White Crafter's Friend which was about the same size and weight but less expensive and sewed beautifully. Definitely look at Craigslist, there are a lot of inexpensive machines on there. You might also look at Freecycle - believe it or not there are people that give away machines rather than hassle with selling them for little money. Just post an ISO and see what happens. I was picking up some garden supplies off a Freecycle listing when I saw a great machine being carried out the door, I just missed it!!