Great topic.

I have a good job but we only have one income for me, my wife and my 3 year old son. I guess we can afford pinball for a few reasons:
We have no debt except the mortgage. Having left over money allows us to save. My job pays an annual bonus that we never count on so it's a windfall. I've basically since my sons birth only bought games when the bonus or tax return hits. I love collecting but my son's preschool bill was $6800 for the year so I won't be buying NIB machines anytime soon. I used to work a lot of extra contract software jobs at night but since my son came along I would rather spend quality time with the family than work. I will probably pick up a few when my son is older.

I've also consciously decided to pare down all other hobbies and only treat myself to pinball stuff, either machines, parts or travel for pinball tournaments.