Amy, yes I can really relate to what you are going through. I spent a lot of money getting my Bianchi to fit me. I finally went to a Physical Therapist who specializes in bikes and he gave me a prescription; which was: the measurements for the right size of bike for me. So like any other obsessive bike geek, I started looking for bikes with that magic number; and before you could say rear derailleur, I had purchased sight unseen, an expensive italian frame and forks.

It has been more than a month and i have not seen this frame. It's somewhere in transit between being painted and the shop where I bought it from. In the meantime, I have offended my LBS for shopping for and buying wheels out of state (PEter White), offended my Dh for seeking advice from people on TE who clearly know gobs more than he does about some bike stuff, and yes, I have remorse; what if this bike comes, we put all this stuff together and it doesn't fit me?? what if another body part starts to hurt?

I am scared to death that I have made a big mistake too. And then I have the other fears; will I ride enough to DESERVE this bike? What if I fall down and never ride again? yep, I can really appreciate what you are going through.
I was going to get Centaur too, but at the bike swap, I fell into a RECORD gruppo for 500 dollars with 300 miles on it.

So to answer your question, yes, some of us guys do this, while others of us are on shoestring budgets and are riding used junker bikes. You will find every type here on TE, well, except for those who don't like to get on computer forums. I Hope this commiseration helps you a little.

Ps It's been about a year now for me on a road bike . I used to have a hybrid too.