Today I took the plunge and bought an expensive-for-me thing:

KitchenAid 7-cup food processor: $80

I actually feel good about this purchase. Why? I did a lot of research and slept on it for over a week before I went to buy it. I trust the brand, read good reviews, and know the appliance will (provided I treat it well) be around for many years. Any food processor below this was not rated well and has proven to break on a bunch of people on the Internet.

My dad and others always try to reinforce the lesson of a good investment. I think this is one of them, something that I can be happy about and use for a long time.

Do I "need" a food processor? Depends on who you ask. I probably could live without one, just as I have lived without a microwave for the past two years (and plan on continuing this tradition). But, in the long term, my life will be easier, and in some sense happier, because of it.