I'm currently commuting on an 80's Raleigh Technium... I paid $50 for it off of Craig's list, and it gets me the 8.5 miles to work great. The bike I was riding before that was a 1972 Schwinn Super Sport that I paid $20 for at a thrift store.
Bottom line is: Commuting doesn't have to have an expensive bike!
Between the two bikes, I have maybe $350 invested, and most of that was add-ons for the Raleigh, since I'm aiming to do a couple short (2-4 day) tours on it later this summer.
Besides, if you spend the money on the bikes over time, your 'better half' may not realize how much money you've put into your new toys!!!
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"There is no greater wonder than the way the face and character of a woman fit so perfectly in a man's mind, and stay there, and he could never tell you why. It just seems it was the thing he most wanted." Robert Louis Stevenson
