Hi there! Since you are willing to spend some money, I would recommend you to buy the gears...
Benefits - you own them, you can track anytime, anywhere... Most importantly, they are yours for life, or as long as they are functional... Think in a long run, i doubt you are going to stop recording after that 3 songs... U can record comfortably at any venue you want and not worry about 'studio time'.
Disadvantages - startup cost may be high depending on the kind of gears and things you want to record. Acoustic setup at home etc. personal experience that a conventional HDB bedroom is quite adequate if your room doesn't face a busy road (like mine), but you gotta put in a pretty big deal of effort if you wanna sound more 'pro'.
Well, just my two cents, all the best!