Somebody Tell Me What I’m Doing Wrong – Ethereum Polygon

So I was hoping to try a L2 solution. I wanted to use AAVE on Polygon and deposit some DAI. I added Matic as a custom network and then figured out I needed to use a bridge to get my funds from the Ethereum mainnet to the Matic mainnet. I used the Matic wallet to try and get my funds over and it looks like there will be two-step tx fees totalling anywhere from $25-$40. Perhaps this is because I'm still interacting with the Ethereum network at this point until funds are ported to the Matic network. It seems like there's fees at every turn that ultimately make any opportunities not worth it (and I know $30 isn't the worst $$$ amount, but again, it makes any smaller deposits not really worth it). Anyway, aside from these frustrations, is there any way to send funds directly to the Matic network or do you always need to use a bridge?