I, also, would rather not fuss with the design. I sorta buy templates too.
Here is what I do, though... I get a Free Template, and sometimes, the designer of the template will ask for a donation or a small fee ($10) to remove the link back to their site.
This works for me
since the fee is usually a lot less than buying a template.
If you download a free template, read the "license" and usually the designer will tell you whether they require you to keep the link back to their site, or how much they would want in return of the removal of the link.
Also, if you use HostGator for your hosting, go to:
http://www.hostgator.com/shared.shtml
On the right-side panel of the page, look for "Free Website Templates" - there are a ton of excellent templates, and they are all free if you're hosting your site with HostGator.