One other observation: if you don't have the money to buy new, buy used. There's a place called Anderson's Office Liquidators in Tucson that sells Aerons for $500. Aerons last a really long time -- which can be useful in the resale market.

I think you have to be "a frugal bootstrapper," but there's a key difference between "frugal" and "stingy" or "foolish." Good chairs are an obvious place where that difference plays out.