The hobby rarely consumes more time than you can afford.

Club meetings aren't mandatory, but it's a good idea to go to as many as possible (Which is usually only 1/month). About the only thing you may be required to do is to attend a yearly field Clean Up Day.

As far as your Tx goes, If it's not going to break the bank, get the Tx you think you will need later on, but don't go spending a fortune on something you may find you're not good at .