Need advice on an area rug

The painting is *almost* done--today I have to touch up the corners where the aqua paint meets the Rice Grain on two walls. I also need to get a small pot of gloss white paint to touch up the door frames, and then I can finally put away the painting supplies that have been taking up space on my kitchen counter for a week and get the furniture moved out of my front room and back where it belongs! I'm anxious to get it all done, because I'm tired of the mess. I LOVE the color, though!

 I bought a new area rug on Friday at HomeGoods and put it down last night, but now I'm having second thoughts. I like the colors, but it's quite a bit thinner and lighter than the rug I had previously, and I'm noticing that doesn't want to lay flat and gets all bunched up when we walk on it. Will a rug pad help with that, or am I doomed to have a scrunchy rug? It was $99 for a 5'x7' which I know is a super price, and I was thrilled to find it because I just don't want to shell out $200+ for a rug when the last one I had was purchased for $20 at a yard sale! Any advice for me? Do you get what you pay for in the rug department?