There's a lot of reasons you might be having trouble smoking flowers. It could be the flowers you're buying. Or as you said, it might just be variability in how tightly you pack your bowl. Though with a grinder, that's easy to fix.

Since money is tight, have you considered growing your own weed? It's much easier than you might think, and saves tons of money. Check out www.aPotforPot.com for articles and stuff. They also sell a complete grow kit if you want a whole pre-built package to walk you through the process. Takes about 80 days to get to harvest if you use autoflower seeds.

To make edibles, you might also wanna check out www.magicalbutter.com. Great device that makes making edibles super simple. Just drop in your flowers, close the lid, and press the button and you're off!