Any way you can play it cleanly is pretty legit; some players have very creative ways of fingering certain chords. If it works, it works. But it sounds like you are making a barre chord, but maybe not barring the F note on the low E? Is that right? If so, you could just play it as a barre chord and if you don't want the low F note, just don't hit it.

I think most beginners make the mistake of going "ahhhhggg! Its so hard, I just can't get it!!" too soon. It takes practice, and may take months or even a year or two before your hand just finds the fretting natural. Stick with it. Someone else offered the advice of fretting the chord higher just to get the right feel, and then moving it down the neck slowly fret by fret until you can play it in the right position.