It's not a budget thing at all. I could afford to play the Nike balls. For me, it's a principle thing. The code for adding the Nike ball costs minimal. Now that the ball is added, they cost WGT absolutely nothing to produce. And WGT gets sponsorship money from Nike. All that considered, and the fact that WGT could easily just have made a WGT ball with the same specs, $1.33+ per ball is predatory to me. $1.00 per ball is predatory to me. Hell, the $0.83 I pay per i(s) is predatory too, but apparently within the limits I can stomach.
If WGT were to eliminate the bull$h!t lost balls that roll just out of bounds...
"Look, I can see it. It's 3' away" "Sorry, that ball is lost."
...or just under a bush, then maybe it would be different. But damned if I am going to let them fleece me for $1.33 ea for pretend golf balls that cost them nothing to produce, then have them steal those same golf balls from me. And I have reached an immovable position on that. If the ball doesn't go into the water, and WGT says it is lost, they have stolen it. Just today I hit a drive on SA #9 that went slightly left and appeared to just miss a bush... but according to WGT, it just barely hit the bush, and poof!! No more Callaway.
So, I won't buy the Nikes because WGT already takes enough they haven't earned from me, I'm not willing to abet them ripping me off more. Obviously, others feel differently. Have at it.