Ryan, keep socking away the cash. Pennies and nickels are good, but fifties and hundreds are better.
Like you, I began dreaming about owning a Cobra kit when I was about 12 or 13. Back then--the late Seventies-- there were only four or five manufacturers to choose from, but I immediately settled on ERA as the one that looked "right" and was well-built. I still have the info packet I sent off for, postmarked 1981. It took me another 12 years or so, but by age 25 I had scraped together enough $$ to buy the basic 427 kit, with a few options. One word of advice--buy the kit in as complete a form as you can. The basic kit is good, a roller is much better, etc. The more you can afford up front, the less time it's going to take you to get it on the road.
I speak from my own experience--I never did get the kit I bought from ERA finished. The same job that enabled me to afford it also started taking up so much time that I made little progress on it. Fortunately, after it languished in my garage for three years or so I happened on a guy who had a finished ERA, who needed cash but also wanted another ERA kit that he could build later on. I traded him my kit + $$ for his finished ERA, and we were both very happy. My car is over ten years old, has quite a few miles on it, has been driven pretty hard on both road and track, and is as solid as you could ask a car to be. You are making a very wise choice in going with ERA--
Bob