When I first started, I had a starter sewing machine. It was pretty cheap but it did what I wanted and all I needed at that point. But I wanted a better one. So what I did was I set up a "fund". Every time I machine quilted on my little machine, I put $50 into the fund, since that's a lot less than what a long arm charges. So then once it built up, I bought me a big sewing machine and love my Bernina and don't know how I survived without it.
But this could apply to anything if you're saving $. Look at it that you're learning to FMQ and saving money, and use that for new fabric/etc $$