If you enjoy the mental/physical activity of shooting, if the satisfaction of caressing a machine into doing exactly what you want excites you, get a revolver.

If you think of a gun as just a tool, if you want cheaper ammo, get an M&P 2.0 compact.

Unless you find bulk .38 Special on sale, .38 will always be more expensive than 9mm (barring another ammo drought). Most stores sell at least 100-200 round boxes of 9mm. .38 is harder to find in boxes over 50 rounds.