there is only one way to cycle at rock bottom cost, you have to do the work yourself and shop online for the best priced parts
it sucks because you/me many others are riding really inexpensive bikes and it kind of defies logic to pay a hundred or two at the shop when the bike only cost a couple hundred.
I paid $150 for a 1990's Trek mountain bike that I ride countless miles on. A couple of days ago, my canti breaks broke. Now, I've switched to changing my own tire and tubes and making small adjustments to fix minor problems. I started looking up converting my brakes from canti to v brakes, and after 20 minutes of reading, drove it to the shop. It will be at least $100 bucks (probably a little more), so worth it? It will be to me when I get it back with new brakes.
Get over it and pay up, or learn yourself, and there are tools to buy as well. And I don't think these bike shops are getting wealthy either. They are just trying to make a living.
you, me, and every one else has to deal with that. So, get over it and pay up so you can go ride. It's worth the cost!