and it's so weird to me this disparage because the same circles will tell you you can experiment b/w developing with things like crushed painkillers or ground coffee. but C41 needs to be pristine. fuck that, no, you can absolutely do it on a budget. here's all my gear
lastly the oldest shoots/dev/scans i did so the worst quality ones. these are with a 1958 meopta flexaret iv left behind by my grandmother and fuji 160ns film. it's stiff and in dire need of repairs but if you work around them it works fine