I have been torn on this stuff myself. I drive my self nuts looking at themes. One thing I would say is there are some bundles out there. I have bought some from Stack Social when they have their name there own price bundles, think there is still one. Got 15 themes or something for under 10 bucks. Also there are some sites that you pay for a lifetime membership and get a bunch. I used to love the idea of nulled themes, but then I see all the vulnerabilities and issues. Unless you really know what you are doing.
Now I am just going with the approach of hey as long as the theme is reasonable then I am better off buying it and not taking the risks and hassle. That is assuming it is a really great theme for my site.
However on the reseller server, I do try some nulled or whatever themes, because worse case I just purge the account, and redo it. And then I can kinda see the full potential and if its worth buying, again assuming its reasonable. If you cant budget $30 for a nice stable them, then you shouldn't start this world. But I get annoyed when I see people charge $60 +
side not, I used to really acquire alot of software back in the day when I was a kid, as I am sure we all did. But that was really for learning. There was no real reason a 15 year old needed Windowz 2k Advanced Server. I am not rich, bills, the government and life rob my piggy bank. But if I need photoshop to remove the dark circles from my eyes, then AYE AYE, but if I am going to be offering graphic design services, then maybe buying legit stuff is a good idea.