craftgrrl | good starter sewing machine?

So, basically I've only used a sewing machine roughly twice in my entire life.

But I recently discovered an affinity for circle skirts. And I'm fairly short, so none of the ones in the stores do anything beyond making me look pretty stumpy.

And they seem easy enough to make.

Except I can't sew and I don't have a sewing machine. I googled some, and hotdamn, those are pricey suckers. Can anyone recommend at good, cheap (under $50....if possible) sewing machine for a beginner? I'm not interested in anything too hard as far as sewing goes...