I love KalamaQuilts line about Kaffe Fassett - I totally agree. Yet there are obviously thousands of people who love his style.
In 1985, expecting our first child, I bought a Kenmore. Although it had no fancy features, it was a stretch for us financially. I wanted to make clothing and nursery things with it. By no means was I an inexperienced sewer - I grew up in 4-H and did a lot of garment sewing.
In 1991, my father died unexpectedly at the age of 50 1/2 years old. Long story short, in an attempt to keep the farm in the family, I gave my brother (over several years, as tax laws then allowed) much of my inheritance. The one thing that I did buy for myself was a Bernina 153QE. I still have, and love, that machine. I've had a Janome Jem Platinum that I got to take to classes and retreats as the Bernina - all metal except the housing - is quite heavy. Actually, I still have it, but don't use it - I should get rid of it!
At around $2,000, this machine is now down to under $200/year. I do take it in every couple of years for a thorough clean and check, about $65.
When DD's cat lived with us, he somehow knocked the machine, at the time sitting on a table, onto a concrete floor. I'll never know how he did it - he weighed about 10 lbs and the machine over 25... He had - has - a lot of issues and has "fits" where he just runs wild. Anyhow - other than a very small crack in the plastic housing, there was absolutely no damage. Obviously, I wouldn't recommend anyone give this a try - and I'm certainly not going to offer to do it. But I don't for a moment think that a less expensive, mainly plastic machine would have survived, let alone unscathed.
This machine sews like a dream. It doesn't eat triangles, handles unbelievable bulk (multiple layers of terry and heavy flannel when making a hooded baby towel was absolutely no problem) and is just plain reliable.
Many friends go out to dinner at least once a week, spending a minimum of $30 and usually more. We don't smoke, rarely drink, and almost never "go shopping." Those are all things that plenty of people do that I just don't get - because they don't appeal to me. I don't understand people who spend lots of money on tattoos, jewelry or expensive hair styles.
We recently got rid of a car with almost 150,000 miles on it, which is pretty typical for us. We buy cars that have good repair/reliability records and drive them until it is no longer financially wise to do so. That means that we do not have a beautiful new car every few years - it's at least 12 years between new cars. We don't get big SUV's that use a lot of gas.
I also think that most of the people who are buying the more expensive machines are at a point in their lives when they are better able to do so. Our children are grown, though college, and have established their own homes and lives.
Basically, what I'm saying is what many others have said: How anyone chooses to spend their money is a personal decision. For me, that means that there aren't a lot of things I spend money on. When I do spend money, I will buy the best quality that gets me the features I'm looking for and expect to enjoy that purchase for a long time.