Yup....if you want a decent beginner guitar, go for a Squire. HOWEVER, spending more now can go a looooooong way. I started playing guitar in 5th grade. I had the regular beginner acoustic, then around 7th-8th grade it was time for me to buy an electric. I spent the $500 something (always on sale at Guitar Center) and got a Fender Strat (AMERICAN, they wanted to try and sell me a Mexican one for cheaper....no thank you). Anyways, 8 years later, and I'm still using the exact same guitar. Either spend more now, or a lot more later basically. If your not sure if your going to stick with guitar, go for the cheaper one. If your possitive your going to continue with it, might as well get a good one now and not have to worry about upgrading later.