I can identify with a lot of what you said, 
actually..  I'm currently putting myself through 
college, and going on to vet school.  I support 
myself, don't live at home, and pay my own 
tuition.  I'm a full-time student, and had to 
quit the job I had because I simply couldn't keep 
it.  And so, yeah, I'm *not* one of the people 
spending hundreds of dollars on cels. ^_^;;
I don't begrudge the people that can and do, 
though.  I know a lot of people out there are 
much better off financially than myself, and they 
can afford to splurge a bit more.  More power 
to 'em, I guess.  
I do get a bit grumpy, myself, when I see a dream 
cel pop up and go for several times more than my 
current bank account balance.  But it's not the 
buyer's fault--they pay what they're willing to.  
And it's usually not the seller's fault--people 
pay what they think it's worth.  It's just the 
way life goes.. 
Some day I shall be able to afford such things, 
but currently, I almost never go above $50 for a 
cel.  I realize, looking at most cel prices, 
that's pretty darned low.  But I tend to make up 
for it by buying a *lot* ^_^;;  I figure, I'd 
take 3 nice cels of a character I love from a 
less popular series over one half-way decent cel 
of a popular character I don't like any more than 
the other.  As such, I try to stick to series I 
can afford.  If I had a lick of artistic talent 
(and hoo-boy do I ever NOT) I'd go the same route 
and make up some nice fancels to admire.  ^_^  I 
think that's a really great way of doing it.  
(Teehee..  If you actually *do* want to sell some 
pretty fancels to someone in a similarly broke 
condition, you know where to find me!)
I have to admit, though..  When I see people with 
a large number of truly high-dollar cels, I just 
have to wonder how they do it..  *-*;;  
And if they'll let me in on whatever it is..  
*grin*

Well, that was sufficiently long-winded, and 
rambly..
Time to go study for a Med Micro test..

~Mala