Originally Posted by Myosmith

Does the Atlanta area have any bicycle co-ops? Many co-ops are sources of good used bikes and may have an earn-a-bike program where you can exchange volunteer hours for a used bike and shop time to fix it up. My daughter did this and built herself up an early 1990s Giant Boulder with used Deore shifters and derailleurs and a mix of Altus/Alivio level brakes and crank. The only cash outlay was for a new seat and grips with bar ends. It's now her daily commuter/college bike and is in perfect working order. She should easily get a few thousand miles out of it before it needs any significant work outside of normal maintenance.

Co-ops are a great way to get a bike at a very reasonable price and to learn how to build and maintain them (prevents costly mistakes). When the cash flow is better, you can upgrade, sell or trade in to buy or build something better.