We are still working intensively on CB 1.2 stable and on core CB team plugins.
There is no delay, just lots of work to make things extra-solid in the code to make it ready.
You can take a detailed look at the list of identified issues of CB 1.2 RC 2 (it's a sub-forum in here), to see if you can live with those issues or proposed fixes, but this site runs CB 1.2 RC 2, and quite some other major live sites too.
Imho, CB 1.2 RC 2 has still quite less issues than any other previous CB and than many other "declared stable" extensions, and is usable on live sites, but you need to take your own decision.
We are currently talking weeks, not months and not days, for CB 1.2 stable, and the upgrades are and will be smooth.
So there is no need to wait, no need to rush, it's really your choice. But also no need to bang.
Re "paying" for final vs RC: you shouldn't consider this documentation subscription as a payment for a software product, as you are paying for a documentation subscription to support the project, and get free extra bonuses as a thank-you.
If you don't mind paying, then you can safely pay now, and enjoy a whole year of thank-you bonuses in return for your support to this project, and have a head-start on your site.
If you are not in a rush, or don't feel secure about your decision or payment, then you can just wait a few weeks for CB 1.2 stable release, and see if the time saved by the documentation and the bonuses available then are worth for you, or simply pay then as a thank-you in return of the free software
There are many things coming which will make you better understand the long wait
CB is a basis framework for over 100 CB plugins, and integrates with probably even more other extensions, so we can't have fast release cycles, and stable releases must stay a solid stable basis with a solid framework.
So in addition of developing, there is lots of interaction with other projects (e.g. GroupJive, and other major extensions) going on right now, and a consolidation of the infrastructures in here, to make sure that things are all really ready when CB is ready.
Hope this clarifies the "delay" and a few misunderstandings.
Now of course, you can also help lowering a little bit the delay by helping in the forum (we spend lots of time replying and helping in here), or by subscribing to the documentation (yes, that allows us putting more time on the project, reducing delay and enhancing features). OR: you can take any of the latest known issues, and post a fix proposal in the forum... As you see there are many ways to help and lower the delay