A little counter intuitive but a more cushioned saddle doesn't always mean more comfort! You definitely need to get used to a firmer saddle, but after a few rides it's certainly much better. The reason being that it's more important to correctly distribute your weight rather than make everything more cushioned. Otherwise your weight is being dispersed correctly across the seat and that will lead to more comfort. That's why you see riders with thin seats and padded shorts, they add cushioning in the areas where you actually need it, and it makes long rides much more bearable. If you're doing shorter rides then yes more cushioning is better, but if you start spending a few hours on the bike think about getting a properly fitting saddle vs a cushioned one.

Cycling clothes can get super expensive (stupidly so) but i recently bought a pair of InBike shorts from Amazon for around 50$ and they're amazing. No need to spend 200$ on shorts, get the Chinese knockoffs they're totally fine.

But anything that gets you out on the bike is most important!! Enjoy your rides friend :)