Nope, you are not alone. I've been trying to save money for new gear for a while now.
But, I am optimistic that sooner or later, it WILL happen. It's just a matter of time and effort. I'll keep working second jobs, or sell off some old gear or items around the house and then GAS will be temporarily satisfied.
A Gibson??? While it would be cool to own one, that's not, nor will it ever be, within the realm of possiblilty for a person of my income. That's why Epiphone or Agile is around. There are so many excellent choices out there in the "reasonable" price range (to me, that's any guitar under $600), that I don't even bother looking at "real" Gibsons or MIA or Custom Shop Strats. I just can't justify that kind of money for those guitars, when the $1,500 - $5,000 purchase is compared to the needs of my family.
Guitar contests??? They are cool in that you can go see, and be amazed by some of the talent in your area. You'll see a lot of speed and fancy tricks by the contestants. If you want to enter, but don't have those techniques in your bag of tricks, ENTER ANYWAY. Do something different. Bring out your melodic side and wow the judges with depth and emotion in your playing, not just with string skipping, tapped, swept 128th notes.
Good luck, bro!!