Save up until you can afford one, I say $500.00 should buy a usable used machine. Or you could go to craigslist and hope for the best. You could go buy one from craigslist and it sews great until you get it home and start sewing with the thread you want. Cheap could be expensive.Too many people don't know anything about a sewing, they buy a machine and when it doesn't sew like they want they blame the machine instead of their lack of sewing knowledge. This happens when the don't match the needle to the thread, thread the machine wrong. force the machine taking it out of time, use thread too thick for the machine, and don't hold the top and bottom thread for the first three stitches. And by the way, one machine can't do it all. I have seven machines, Landis #3, Singer 97-10, 7-33, 111w155, 31-15,29k4 and a Juki 562.