I picked up my Logitech Extreme 3d joystick for about 30$ (I'd put a link, but Newegg's out of stock...) and I get perfectly passable vehicle performance out of it - way better than with just a keyboard, certainly, though my desk is a little cramped for the addition. Four control axes (pitch, roll, and yaw on the stick, plus a throttle on the base) are about all I can deal with at any one time, and it's got plenty of buttons, though the half-dozen on the base could stand to be more distinct from each other - I've occasionally hit the wrong shield control by mistake and... Well it's a good thing you can restart missions when you hit 'all shields forward' instead of 'all shields rear'. I should probably remap that.
Other people will doubtless have advice for more advanced/complicated/HOTAS setups. I'll just say this: if possible, find a physical store that carries the controller you want, go there, and get the salesperson to let you take it out of the box to make sure it fits your hand well. This is especially important if you're dealing with an RSI, on which topic I'll second the 'consider seeking medical attention' advice Enioch gave..
I certainly wouldn't want to pay $200. I'm in England btw, I'm not sure what the exchange rate is, but I'm sure I could handle somewhere between $50 and $100 tops.
The exchange rate (UK-to-US) is 3-to-2, so thirty dollars should work out to about twenty pounds. In theory.
I think if I was able to shoot and change weapons on the joystick I might be fine. Any joystick players have any advice on how they play and what their joystick lets them do?
Every control I use regularly in combat is mapped somewhere on the joystick. Three axes of motion on the stick for roll, pitch, and yaw. A throttle on the base for speed. Trigger for guns, thumb-toggle for missiles, hat-switch for looking around, targeting controls, afterburner, and countermeasures on the four extra top buttons, shields and suchlike on the base next to the throttle.
The only things missing are Comms, power controls (e/g/s), and secondary bank selector, which I think I'll map to the spare button I've got on the base...