Post processing on a budget?

[jmbower]

So up till now I have not done much with post-processing. I owned an ANTIQUATED version of Photoshop (like pre-elements limited version, academic) that died with an old computer.

I have tried GIMP but so far not found it veruy intuitive. Sad as it is to say, I have done a lot of editing in Picasa.

However, I would like something at least more robust. Problem is, I don't have the budget for full versions of Lightroom/CS3, etc, and am not ethically leaning toward torrent.

Any suggestions for post processing in the budget range (say, $100 or cheaper?) Suggestions for GIMP or other alternative that may be more intuitive?

I'm kinda lost at the differences between things like Photoshop and Lightroom to begin with..

Thanks!

[jmbower]

Never mind, I hadn't seen similar threads at first glance, but now see there are similar threads open on this page. Please disregard, sorry.