Or you can get a used computer for even less; there's a Goodwill Computer Works store in my city, I got my monitor there for under $20. Or you could have a computer that you'd acquired when you were in better circumstances. Or a friend or relative could upgrade or give you their old one. Or they might have gotten one through a barter arrangement (that's how I got my laptop). Hell, I saw flyers for a free computer (I'm guessing refurbished) if you took a (free) computer job skills course.

Um, basically just agreeing here. It's been a long time since personal computers were the exclusive domain of the wealthy.