Inexpensive patio options?

[Scott White]

Looks like I'm about to pick up my first buy-and-hold investment house! Yay!

It's got a large 18' x 21', 378sf covered area in the back, currently bare earth, which basically serves as a steady source of readily-available mud to track into the house.

What are some inexpensive options to create some sort of 'patio' out there, mainly for mud mitigation, but also for a bit of outdoor living?

Currently, my leading contender is installing some sort of metal edging, rolling out ground cloth, and then spreading out a few yards of crushed stone. From what I can tell, this would run around $250 for materials and involve some labor or sweat equity. Maybe I'd top it off with a big $50 Persian rug from Craigslist to give an area where a chairs can slide in and out around a table.

Another option is to do a small 'landing' deck outside the back door, maybe 6'x8', and then a paver pathway out into the yard. Maybe $650 for this installed by a handyman?

The Google tells me that installed price for a concrete patio would be about $11/sf ($4,158), a basic pressure-treated deck would be $12/sf ($4,536), and brick would be $15/sf ($5,670).

What would you do?