Household expenses can be a real zinger, sorry to hear about the trees. Do you have a direct view or rear projection alternative to the projector to tide you over? If not, the projector would seem like the ideal first step. Speaking as someone with a 32" display as my "big screen," I can only guess at projector withdrawal. On the other hand, if you do go with the 990 first I suspect that you'll at least have fun listening to it while the projector waits.