I have always had a live tree, and love it. However- with tight finances, I would use any resource I already had. SAve the live tree money for other things.
As far as saftey with a live tree, get one as fresh as possible- we soak ours in sugar water after a clean cut at the trunk for overe 24 hours before we even bring it in the house. We also keep water in it, never leaving the lights on over night or when we were not in the area of the house where the tree is. Use only UL listed lights etc. Simple precautions. I also unplug it from the wall 30 minutes before bedtime. Ours are always really fresh- but 30 dollars?? Around here trees are 55 and up.