Yeah I see everyone's point. And very much appreciated.
It goes back to "you get what you pay for."
My reasoning for not wanting to spend a lot of money is pure use out of the bike. I will be a novice rider, using it a couple days out of the week. Winter season will be totally out (I live in PA). So if I did spend more money, and it doesn't get a ton of use, I'd feel like the extra money spent would be for nothing. Also at the same time, I don't want to buy a piece of garbage bike. Catch 22?