Yes, definately go for it! Not only will you save a lot of money, but you will learn faster AND have better control over your results, and in my experience, you'll actually have better quality negatives than you'll get from a lab (once you get through the learning curve.) Get an enlarger with a good sharp Nikkor lens on it and set one up. Don't go overboard - you can easily convert almost any room in your house into a room to print in, you just gotta black out the windows while you work - I tape up some thick, black lawn and leaf bags over my basement windows and it works for me. You don't even need water in the room - I fill my trays in the laundry room and carry them into my basement living room where I print. I just use a tray to ferry wet prints back into the laundry room for drying.
If you're near a major city, I'd troll Craigslist for enlargers - people sell whole darkrooms for under $200 all the time. Good luck!
