A DIY tuneup would be worth doing in my opinion, it will make the car feel alot better for very little money:

• Spark Plugs
• spark wires
• Oil & filter
• New Tranny fliud
• adjust throttle and clutch cable
• Replace the PCV valve (like $4)
• spray carb-cleaner in the eacv and vacuum hoses
• Use 1 bottle of sea-foam for the intake, crank case (before changing the oil and filter) and the gas tank. (go by the instructions on the can for this)
• Replace the battery wires and grounding wires (You can use the $3 6-gauge and 4-gauge battery battery cables from wal-mart to do this, no need for JDM speaker-wire stuff).
• use a disposable wire brush to clean up the oxidation on the bolts that hold down the grounds to the chassis, and the battery terminals
• after doing the above stuff, you can accurately adjust the timing and the idle
• If you can, adjust the valve-springs

These are things that shouldnt cost too much to do at home and (combined) will have a dramatic effect on the quality of the ride if you havent just tried all of it.

Once you have some of these superficial things out of the way you can be more specific about what needs to be done, and the ride will be more tolerable while you save up.