Marty, if you want to image just planets, you can use a dob with a webcam, see for example
here. A dob will also give you great views of other objects in the sky.
Later on, as Phil suggested, you can get an equatorial mount and mount the dob tube on it which will open the way for real imaging.
A 8" dob and a webcam (Philips SPC900NC can be picked up cheaply on ebay) should not be too much over your budget.