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I fully understand what you are facing (also a mom in a 1 income family, 1 kid and 1 on the way) First of do not worry about pro pack, as the name implies it's for pros. If you were to go to curious labs and read up on pro pack you'll see that most of it's features are unusable for the beginner. Vicky & Mike would be an excellent purchase, but get vicky 2 and wait for mike 2, that way you can use the P4 clothing and will save money in the long run. The standard figures that come with poser are just fine with a little work, number 1 is get good textures. I've included a link to my web page which has tutorials designed for beginners and there is also a guide for downloads as well as a dowload area of my own (get the P4 textures there, they are very good to start with) As for Bryce, that is also a good purchase, but don't rush it, I hear that Vue is also very good. Also don't run out to get another paint program that is designed for the professional, personally I use Adobe photo deluxe that I got for free with my printer (I also got a copy with my scanner for free) All in all, work with what you have for now, you might end up not needing alot of the items you think you do.