You can save money by just building something like a Tiny Trainer or a Simple Scout to learn on. SAFE is all well and good but will teach you some bad habits vs learning with low rates on a 4ch trainer.
You can put in a stabiliser that will help with over controlling if you want that, but it’s not necessary for successful flying. The TT is great because it’s modular and the parts are cheap. The Scout looks like a WW1 fighter so might hit some warbird buttons too?