Short answer......... of course.
Being a Bourbon Enthusiast is an attitude toward Bourbon drinking........... nothing more is required. ALL of us are (in my opinion) Bourbon novices. At least we are novices in the sense that none of us knows what the perfect bourbon is.......... because there is not one. As anyone who has been a BE participant for a long time knows, I am partial to what I call ultra aged bourbons (which, as a rule are more expensive), but many excellent judges of the quality of bourbons are not so enamoured of the older ones and prefer those roughly in the range of 6 to 10 years....... with good reason.
These not young, not old, bourbons have extracted much of the 'goodness' of the barrel, and more time therein yields only more tannins and the chance of greater bitterness.
If your budget, for whatever reason, and there are plenty of good ones, does not allow for buying boubons (and even those only occasionally) in the $30 (and up) range, must you remain a 'deprived' Bourbon Enthusiast?
I have been more fortunate than most in what I could allocate for bourbon in my budget. But, had it not been the case, and had I still wanted to 'explore' bourbon's offerings, with judicious selection, patience, and proper guidance (say from BE), I would have missed little or nothing in the world of bourbon tastes. I might have been willing to save some money on occasion to make a purchase....... but that is not different from any other 'hobby', if I may be so bold as to characterize the true lover of bourbon.