Personally, I would probably wait...and save up another $100-$150 and pick up a used AKG C414B-ULS on ebay or something (I got one a while back for $400).
I started out with the same reasoning as you and ended up buying a few cheaper mics (Rode NT1A, SP C1, SP C3, Rode NT1000, AT3035, etc.). They are all certainly "useable", but none of them are as flexible (nor even in the same league) as the C414.