Yes, it does seem excessive for a "novice guitar player"...

Most of my guitars are rescues in need of repair to make them playable again. Some have been repaired, most are quietly waiting.

optofonik, I can't comment on what's too much or too little or just enough for someone who considers themselves as still learning.  Actually, aren't we all still learning?  We never actually "finish" do we?  LOL.

But anyways, having an electric in the stable is, imho, almost a necessity.  For me, I could not learn certain things, especially bar chords, on the acoustic.  I literally had to buy and own and electric for a few years just to learn bar chords because my wrist just could not handle learning them on the acoustic.  Once I learned them though, it was like magic how I could just transfer that to the acoustic and not have any trouble at all.  So weird, but ya, the electric is an invaluable tool for learning things easier and faster than on an acoustic.

You could almost say that an electric is a money saver!  Because you're saving time in the learning process and time is money, so........   

Actually, I don't have big ones since I discovered parlor size. But I do need them in heavy metal (steel string) and in nylons (classical). Kind of like the old joke where a woman needs 4 men to be satisfied - one cooking, one cleaning, one doing the laundry, and one for fun.