DS Modding from Scratch

I got 125$ for my birthday I can afford to spend on purchasing some supplies, so that's my absolute limit. What I want to know is, is that enough to purchase everything I need to obtain a modded DS. From what I understand so far is this:

I can get a first generation DS for 72 dollars (80 - 10% for my gamestop card).

That laves me with around 50 dollars to obtain the R4 flashcart (or another) along with an SD card. It seems feasible, but do I need anything else? Also does anyone have a certain website they'd recommend to buy my R4 at? How much do R4's typically run?

Any other advice/criticism of this plan would be appreciated (including suggesting an alternative if you have a better idea). Thanks.

 

Oh, and for the record I have plenty of DS games laying around from an old DS my brother had he gave me. But I'd prefer to be able to use the ROMs for them (instead of the physical media). Is it practical to use downloaded roms off of the net (I know it's only legal if you own the media) by using the R4 + SDmicro card?

I read there may be trouble with saving using this method.

 

http://www.focalprice.com/5_in_1_DS_Lite_EZ_Flash_V___Memory_Expansion_Pack_GN096X_2303.html you will need a ds lite to use the gba adapter that comes with this pack

 

The R4 would be a very poor choice, there are now just 38 poor versions with nearly the same name.

Acekard, M3 real, EZ Flash, Cyclods are all great

There are lots of alternatives so avoid anything with R4 in the name.

You will also need a micro SD.

No issue with saving when using a decent flashcart.

 

@MickoZ74,

(sorry, toned it down a bit)
Did you read in his post that he's getting a DS Phat?

"I can get a first generation DS for 72 dollars (80 - 10% for my gamestop card)."

That pretty much eliminates any of the DS Lite slot 2 cards.

@RandomN - IMHO $72.00 is a little high for a DS Phat.

If you don't need GBA games, you should be able to do it within your budget easily.

First you need to decide whether you're getting a DS or DS Lite and how much you're going to pay..

 

cought me out hes going to gamestop to get a nintendo gen 1 ds not seen ds phats 1st or 2nd hand in a shop for a long while just looked at the website ds lite $99.99 and a rom cart $4.98 http://www.focalprice.com/DSTT_Cartridge_TT_for_Nitendo_DS_NDS_Lite_GN118X_3137.html micro sd and card reader for micro sd i wold look for offers on the web or shops nar you the link i gave for the card wors in phat and lite