There are a few affordable solutions out there. Here are 3 options with support for IPSec, OpenVPN and PPTP.

1. Ubiquiti Edge Router, The Lite model retails around $99. The gui is intuitive and easy to use. The latest update makes setting up site to site IPSec tunnels pretty simple. Don't like the GUI? No problem, It has ssh and serial support and is based on the excellent vyatta fork VyOS.
2. Mikrotik, I recommend the RB2011 series as they have 10 ports ( 5GigE and 5 FastE ), plus the $129 model has wifi and an SFP port as well. Quite easy to set up.
3. pfSense. The hardware is pricey but the software is excellent and works well in a VM. You can pick up a low end fanless micro ATX board , pick up an extra NIC and have a quiet firewall sitting in your living room.

This is not true. I know many people @ Microsoft who use iphones. I even know a few who dual boot linux on their laptops or who have macs.

This is not true either.

You've clearly not been to Kirkland then. T-Mobile coverage sucks there. You get service on one side of Lake Washington Boulevard but not the other. No service near the courthouse. Cross over 405 on 85th towards Redmond, and its full bars.

There is also Mikrotik http://www.routerboard.com/

Great Oktoberfest though. And the drive there is fun.
They even have a "Drive your european car and buy beer & bratwurst day"

http://www.leavenworthdrive.com/

Actually, all it takes is to not have the receipts or have purchased the software from ebay or Amazon. From what I understand , BSA does not consider software purchased from places like Amazon or Ebay as legit.

I work for a few small companies and luckily for me, they are all very strict on their licensing compliance requirements.

A few however did not keep their receipts easily accessible which is pretty much what the BSA looks for. Original CDs, certs of authenticity apparently don't cut it. We spent some time and was able to get all the documentation ready just in case.