Not sure why, you don't need to be rich to want a good chair when you spend hours on end in one. Of course you do need a bit of disposable income, but it's a question of priorities and necessities. I've been foregoing cars for a decade now because I try to live close to work in places where there is sufficient access to public transportations, it's a hassle for some things (going back to the family, fetching "big" groceries) but it avoids other issues and saves money which I can spend on more books or a better chair. I got myself a humanscale liberty a few years ago, I found it a good investment and amortized over the years I've owned it, it hasn't been that expensive. More expensive than getting a $20 chair every year, but it still looks and feels mostly brand new.
The world isn't divided into "poor" and "rich". A chair for a programmer, particularly an independent one, is one of the tools that you need to work effectively.
A friend of mine is an independent auto mechanic who has been in the business since he was 15 (about 20 years). He now owns a small shop, and probably nets a good "salary" similar to many IT professionals ($90-150k). Not rich, not poor.
Guess what? He doesn't use a Craftsman mechanics toolkit from Sears. He has an long-term investment in high quality tools from vendors like Snap-On to the tune of $50-60k. Cheap tools would cost 1/3-1/2 that, but guess what -- a broken wrench means that he isn't working, and his time is worth $90/hour, and the high-end vendor comes to him, so he doesn't waste time in stores.
As a programmer or IT type person, your brain is your primary tool, but it depends upon the working order of all of the supporting tools in your body to perform optimally. When your job involves sitting on your ass for most of the day, a proper chair is just like a $75 high quality wrench for a mechanic -- a good investment.
My buddy in the construction business spends way more on his tools than I possibly could as a software engineer, even if I bought a new Aeron chair, latest Mac Book Retina, and a 30" display each year.
Perhaps "well off" was the wrong term. I simply mean that a ~$1000 chair is considered a "luxury purchase" that many aren't able to make. Even as a programmer who sits for the majority of the day, there are many other priorities that tend to come first and you would need a fair amount of financial comfort to make said purchase.
But I feel it's not appropriate to speak of how someone else should be spending their money. I regret the initial comment.
AKA. "I can't afford to buy cheap". I also think that bed mattresses are worth investing in, since you spend 1/3 - 1/4 of your life in it, and being well-rested helps in being productive.
I really get that sentiment—there are an awful lot of ways to be penny wise and pound foolish in this world. You can go through a lot of $150/pr "dress shoes" before you even need to resole a good pair, for instance, and if you need to be dressed up (for work or even for frequent meetings) you can go broke saving money. And trying to save money on your tools (and for a full-time coder, even a chair is a tool) is going to cost you in productivity over the long haul.
On the other hand, I've found that there's nothing better for my back (or my sleep in general) than a properly-inflated air bed (and I had severe back problems for years). (It started as an interim solution when I beat my furniture to a working location by nearly a week.) That works out to about $30 per annum around these parts, and although there are "real" versions with long-term guarantees and fancy fabric coverings (a standard mattress pad gives the same feel) the price differential isn't an incentive to give up the "replace annually" variety.
On the other hand, don't discount cheap ones simply because they are cheap.
I got my old memory foam mattress from Woot. It made me sleep so soundly that after a couple years, I started waking up with back pain. Slept all night, but woke up in pain. Gave it to my Mom (best sleep she's ever had, too) and bought a hybrid from Ikea. Still way better than any other boxspring mattress I've owned, and ridiculously cheap.
So yes, they are worth investing in... But that doesn't mean you have to pay a lot.
Sadly, I cannot find an Ikea chair/couch that's comfortable. Still working on that purchase.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/07/investing-in-a-qual...