My wife and I realized early on that we would be spending a lot of money if we sent our quilts out to be quilted. Quilting on the DSM sounded like endless frustration and very little opportunity to improve our skills. We looked at our finances at the time and decided we could swing the 9" Pfaff on a frame, and it would pay for itself by not sending quilts out for quilting.
Fast forward several years. Our skills have improved, and the small throat space limits our options for quilting design. We looked at several machines and narrowed it down to two 18" machines: Juki and Babylock. We bought the BL and decided to consider quilting a few quilts for pay "sometime" in the future if our skills increased to the level that someone would actually pay us. This was not a decision that she or I made. We decided together whether we had the space and money for this significant outlay of cash. Quilting is something that we both enjoy. We don't live in an opulent house, drive expensive cars, or take lavish vacations. This worked for us, and we only considered the impact to our family when we made the decision.