Hey Teensy, I've owned several brands of bike apparel, and I like PI. One way to live with the expense is this: I bought my PI shorts like three years ago, wear them a lot, and still have a couple of years to go before people are able to see my butt through the fabric.

One man's suggestions:

-spend lots on a good pair of bike shorts.
-if you wear cycling shoes, spend lots there, too (I have a pair of Sidis I bought with a gift card. Gift cards rule).
-go cheap with everything else (you can get a decent helmet for not a lot of money).
- do not wear cotton on the bike.

BTW, I thought your question was perfectly reasonable.