Bellamy left for Liverpool because he has always been a Liverpool fan and is now able to fulfill his boyhood dream of playing for them. He has stated in numerous interviews that he wouldn't have left Rovers for any other club, and even took a reduced salary to join Liverpool compared to the improved contract we offered him.
The way you've worded the question makes it sound like a lose/lose situation, but I'm not so sure that a quality team and a reasonable pricing policy are mutually exclusive.
Fair enough, we can't match the likes of Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle in terms of monetary power, but last season shows that with the right ambition and passion and a decent coaching setup that we can often match them in terms of quality without £120,000pw "superstars".
We must focus on continuing to fund the academy, which is producing some promising youngsters, as well as scouting for talent in leagues other than La Liga, Serie A and the Premiership. You only have to look at Morten Gamst Pedersen - signed from Norweigan club Tromso for around £2m - to see that we don't need to spend mega-bucks to bring in quality players.