Smart man...
Reminds me of the difference between paying $50 bucks a month for a gym membership, $20, or working out at home. Of COURSE if you're paying that big money, your chances are going to be better that you get in top shape. But does that mean you CANNOT get in good shape at home? Of course not.
That having been said, I don't know if I'd ever advocate mixing and mastering in a home studio. The main thing I'd say to use it for is the creative process, for writing, for coming up with ideas, and so on. Then once the track is all down and you know EXACTLY how you want it......take it to the Pro Studio, block out a few nights, and knock out the whole project in a couple of sessions.
But, bit-and-piecing, doing a song a week, recording 30 songs, spending thousands of dollars, then picking the top 15-20, then paying for mixing, then taking a couple more songs away, then switching some beats, then adding a few paid features, etc etc......it's all retarded to me.
History has shown us (Syko and many others), that the most CLASSIC albums are recorded in under a month or so, by rappers that get in the ZONE and just DO IT........not in 6 months and 11 months and 2 years and more by part-time rappers that are more worried about promotion and recouping and distribution than they are putting out a solid product.