I'm in the same situation. For film, I look for sales from CVS and Walgreens. Every month or two there's usually a sale on Kodak Ultramax. Store branded at CVS and Walgreens is relabeled Fuji. Fuji Superia at Walmart is pretty affordable. I don't see why they would be considered garbage.
The best price I've found is develop and scanned to CD from CVS. The quality is hit or miss, but since you're starting out it should be sufficient. Last time I used them it was under $6/ 24 exp roll.
Here are some of what I've obtained from using
Fuji and
Kodak. They were all developed at CVS.