MA -vs - PhD degree

[Dav7]

I'm currently in my final year of doing a History degree and a 2:1 is looking very likely, so I am now considering my postgraduate options. One option would be to do a 1 year long Masters degree in History at the cost of about €6,000. The other option would be to do a 3 year long PhD at the cost of about €13,000. I'm stuck in a rut here, because while the PhD option is very tempting despite the cost (which wouldn't actually put me off doing it), I started college late as I applied as a mature student and am now 27. I may also need to take a year out anyway after undergraduate graduation to work for a year in order to raise money. So basically I wouldn't be starting either degree until I am 28 years of age.

So I'm wondering if I should just fire ahead and do the PhD? Or at my age - would it be better to simply get the Masters and get on with things, notably getting into the workforce sooner? Also, by doing the PhD, I'd be losing out on not only 2 years of wages, but I'd also be earning less the year that I'd graduate as opposed to starting work straight after the Masters degree. However, all of this is not so clear cut as I'm still tempted to go ahead and do the PhD.

What would you do in this situation, and which option would you take?