I've found that ancestry.com is definitely worth the money. To get a good idea of what they have to offer, try your local county library, first. They may have a subscription to the "library" edition, which gives you access to about 2/3 of what the private paid subscription has. You can access all the census information as well as getting hooked into the "World Family Tree", which can save hours upon hours of research because you just may run into a distant cousin who has done most of the research already!

As a caveat, don't take people's words for it. If they have a date, try to find their source. On my father's side, I've always thought that the first Beck in America was named John Wendelinus of Angsfeld, Bayern, because that's what my uncle, who did alot of research, always told me. I went back to his sources (namely the church records of SS. Peter and Paul in Cumberland, MD) and found out that he was mistaken, somehow. His name was Wendelnius Georg of Nuedlingen, Bayern (aka Wendel). My uncle somehow confused Wendel's info with his wife's and son's and produced a hybrid that had no papertrail. Wendelinus Georg, however, has quite a papertrail and I've been able to pinpoint where he came in and his true birthplace. Unfortunately, I can't share this with my uncle as he passed a few years ago. I'm sure he would have loved to know I got past the brick wall, even if it was his fault! ALWAYS double-check sources.

I've found that most people doing genealogy are more than helpful in coughing up sources as long as you ask. Sharing what you have is always a plus, too.

In conclusion, ancestry.com is worth it, but check your library and see if they have free access to the library edition of ancestry.com and possibly the ProQuest software.