Hi Chris,
It'll be interesting to see what kind of responses you get to this thread. I also consider getting some sort of a mill, but any such purchase would be way down the road for me. A lot of people will tell you to avoid the small benchtop mills due to poor quality and limited potential. That said, it might be just right for your needs.
I suggest you take a look at the following web site:
Practical Machinist - manufacturing and machinist forum - home page
There are some great forums and a lot of the guys who post there are VERY experienced and highly skilled machinists. They have a number of threads asking about entry level equipment and their response is somewhat predictable, given their use of machine tools to make a living. Still good reading in any case.
Good luck with your decision.