Home studio works exactly like all current versions as far as this goes. You put the Effect in the effect bin. What's so different about this? I think this has always been this way.
For $50 you get Sonar without the frills. As far as working with VST's and effects it's the same minus the Pro Channel.
Being the owner of a full version of Sonar I have a good grasp on Home Studios short comings. And this is not one of them. There are many menu items missing, some understandable, others a small mystery, like the event list and synth rack, but I've yet run into a brick wall for creating songs.
I can understand getting frustrated at learning any new DAW but that's doing yourself a disservice. Take a deep breath, ask questions on the forum ( politeness goes further) and RTFM. Eventually you'll see it was a bargain.