You will not regret it.
Long after your finances are back to normal, you will still be enjoying your Baer. They are superb, and spending the extra for the 1.5" is money well spent for the satisfaction in my opinion. Same with getting the build the way you want.
Personally I picked up a 1.5" PII, and it shot phenomenally well. However there were a few things I did not like, such as the black front sight, or the huge boat paddles they use for ambis. I had a very competent 1911 smith put a old school Colt style single sided safety on mine as well as a fiber optic sight, and an S&A magwell. If you are going to spend the $$ on a Baer, shoot the heck out of it and carry it, you might as well customize it.
Enjoy your new Baer!