I took 4 years of college, but no degree. My time in college was worth it in that I got a lot of social training. Most of my CIS knowledge came afterwards. I struggled for a while in the beginning. I'm finding that the lack of degree does hurt in a couple areas, but mainly with companies that have the attitude that I'm not comfortable with. I've also got 15 years of experience at this point, so the degree is not that much of an issue as is my keeping up with current events.

However, I have found that in this industry downturn the lack of degree is one more factor that will weed your resume out

Knowing what I know now, I'd suggest going for the degree because you can afford the time. Once you get into the corporate world, it's a lot harder to break away and earn that degree.