I got a TMX for Christmas on their 12 month interest free plan. Its still an expense every month - hard when you're about to stop work and have a bubba - but if you can stretch to it, I really would. I have used a thermochef quite a bit - borrowed a friend's when I was going through the whole "seriously, $2,000 for a kitchen appliance???!!!" dilemma. It was good but its not anywhere near the same league as the TMX. On the face of it, we really couldn't afford the TMX at the time either, but my DH figured that if we got the thermochef I would end up "upgrading" to the TMX anyway, and then we would have wasted a significant amount of money on another appliance I wouldn't use.

I don't consider it a luxury item. I save money by having one - heaps of money. The amount of stuff I don't buy now is huge. Cheaper, bulk items of less processed ingredients saves you lots of money. Its $160 odd per month on the payment plan for the TMX and I honestly think I save that and more by having one.

The noise: yes, on the higher settings they are both noisy. I had the thermochef on loan pre bubba No. 3 so can't comment on that, but I frequently spend all of DD3's nap time cooking and she sleeps through it all. The saving grace is that you tend not to use it for longer than a handful of seconds at higher speeds.

Nelle's suggestion is a great one. If you can't work it that way then yes, TBH I would wait until you can get the TMX.