Mining is no longer profitable unless you have a high budget and can get hold of new tech when it is released and sell it just before the difficulty rises its a very risky market but can pay off in the 1000+
+1 To this. You need some serious hardware for profitable mining. If you just want to mine for the heck of it, I would suggest an altcoin that is less heavily mined (e.g., Feathercoin, FrankoCoin, (Insert Name Here)Coin, etc.). You could always exchange it for bitcoins later, however little that may be. Last time I checked, there were plenty out there! 
I agree with directly buying (with USD or EUR, etc.). Its much easier, and could be highly profitable.