First of all, congrats on being able to sell a used UV-5R. They're worth literally nothing used, so you must have some mad salesmanship skills.

But since you had to sell your 'Feng to make ends meet, you might want to just sit back a bit before getting back into the hobby. It can be done very inexpensively, but that's relative, and someone who is hurting enough for an extra $5-10 to sell their Baofeng definitely can't afford what it would take to get more active in amateur radio.

I know this probably isn't what you were hoping to hear, but other than showing up to club meetings there isn't much you can do that won't cost more than the $20 to buy another UV-5R. Even homebrew projects like building antennas for your SDR will cost at least that much.