Monitors all the way. They're more intelligent, inquisitive and active than dragons. Dragons are cute, though, and definitely more kid-friendly to handle.
Jordan, I'd avoid any sort of force-handling with your ackies and wait until the monitors are willing to approach your outstretched hand.
As for monitors being cheaper to feed than dragons, I'd disagree with that. Although roo meat and chicken necks are cheap, in the long term if that was the bulk of their diet ... well, there will be no long term as your monitors will eventually start suffering from MBD and assorted other ailments from an incomplete diet. Especially if you are breeding them, for the females really need a complete diet to cope with egg production. I'm a big fan of feeding them small whole animals.
If you want to save money on insect-eating species, monitors or dragons, start up a colony of wood roaches and you'll be set for life. Put a heat pad under the colony, set it at 30C, let them build up in numbers and you'll never run out.