i've just pretty much started out playing guitar and bass. i didn't have too much money too put up at first, so i tried to do my research well before i purchased some lower end guitars. i agree that saving up and spending more cash on a better guitar is better than going for something cheap, but i also understand that sometimes this also isn't an option depending on financial situations. For bass guitar, i got the Fender Jazz bass, and for guitar i got an ESP Viper. I'm satisfied with both of them, i would recommend getting some new strings with them right away tho because the ones they come with kinda really suck.
If your only choice right now is to go with something budget, i would recommend you look into either one of the guitars i mentioned (depending on if you're looking for). If you can hold off for a couple of weeks and save up some more cash, then that would probably be best. I know other people will disagree with me on the guitars i mentioned, but for the price i like them very much for the budget i had to work with. They also don't look bad at all for the price. Both of these can be found at Musiciansfriend.