I have about 10k I can spend. Truthfully, its the last of my liquid emergency money. My unemployment runs out in about 5 months and I'd love to be up and running before then. I really like the Millineum because of the motor advance as well as the throat space. I would love to fill the niche in my area for custom hand-guided work and with a little more practice, I should get pretty good at it. I've been practicing on that old, cumbersome, Singer. It is quite the dinosaur but has greatly improved my freehand on a longarm. I used my friend's HQ 16 the other day and it was like quilting on air, so easy to move. I had no problem knocking out a beautiful stipple on a full-sized quilt. Also, I'd like to know if the newer Milli come with the "m" sized bobbin? Thanks again, J