Looks like a decent plan, and don't apologise for having financial concerns, most all of us have them. Starting at Denver sounds like a very good plan considering your time limitations, although I hate to say you wouldn't miss anything avoiding Kansas. I think there's something very american about driving through small towns and corn fields, its just not nearly as eye-catching as the great Mountains and Deserts of the West.

My one suggestion would be to find a different route back to Denver. I've always hated backtracking, and with so many things to see across the country, to me it seems silly to see the same things twice.

If you're looking crunched for time after San Fran, I'd say take I-80 back all the way into Wyoming and then cut back south to Denver on I-25. If you've got a little more time, perhaps Just take I-80 to Salt Lake, cut south back to I-70, and pick up US-50 again in Grand Junction for the trip back across Colorado.

On a somewhat unrelated note, has anyone actually driven US-50 across Kansas? I was thinking of taking it on my own road trip coming up just so I can avoid taking I-70 twice.