i was in a similar boat, what i did was i bought the bit coins and then the cheapest miner, a jalapeno.

Thing is are you doing it to make money (short term cash) or bitcoins (long term investment in the currency itself)?
if thats the case buying the bitcoins now and riding the wave and selling them back for money is your best option.
but if your keen on bitcoins in the long term, id say mining is a good way to go!

That being said that is alot of money for a miner you probably wont get anytime soon.

What i did was bought a small amount of coins, and the BL jalapeno!