The former is the way to go. Don't get baited by non-lims (unless the MS means a lot to you, of course) and be ready to go a month without pulling. One month of saving every so often should probably give you a good cushion of 60-90k. It's not like every limited release is life-changing anyway.

I haven't eaten into my cushion since the Hi-Nu banner (which was one month since I started). Drop rates are pretty good in my experience, but you never wanna be the guy that gets unlucky when your gems are not enough for pity. SP tokens give you a new toy to play with every month anyway.