c-bert,
Somebody always chucks in the IFR vs IMC distinction in these discussions so I thought I'd just get it out of the way early for efficiency's sake!
Best to talk it through with your instructor, but in a nutshell IFR and VFR are just sets of rules to fly by. The IFR rules involve things like the levels you have to fly at for certain headings, the clearance you have to allow over the ground and so on.
If you comply with these rules you can claim to be flying IFR, even if there's not a cloud in the sky. So, even without an IMC rating you could fly IFR. What you can't do without an extra rating is to fly in
IMC, which is the term that relates to the weather conditions rather than the flight rules.
In short it's a technicality which brings you no practical benefits, other than an ability to recount tales of your IFR flying in the pub afterwards.
The IMC is useful both in itself and for the extra discipline it can bring to your flying, but the above posts make good points. Give yourself a little time to get a little more experience first. Most of us have found the IMC training is hard enough work for the brain as it is without having to still be devoting mental capacity to basic flying skills at the same time.
And don't forget that most airfields that recreational flyers go to do not have any instrument approach facilities. Even with an IMC or IR your day trip for a £200 bacon roll in the rain will probably end up with you returning to your nearest large airfield which may not be where you started from or left your car!