I think what you are doing makes a bunch of sense....
lift now, lift more later.
It is very affordable to throw on say, a 3" lift.......on pre-96 1/2's you probably WONT need an sye, gears that sort of thing...
you'll gain a bunch of experience and knowledge, so your next and way more expensive step will be much more informed.....
however "adding three" is sorta difficult.....adding one or two is easy........
where are you at now, and where do you wanna go, the question is interesting, but the answer is difficult without more info.
tire size "before and after" will affect most of the answers.