Good info, though I'd spend a little less time on how to play and more on the budget side. There's tons of "how to play D&D" guides already out there.
I always advise potential new players to find a group first, bring a pregenerated character (the wotc website has a bunch), and let the group lead you through how they play and what they'll eventually expect you to bring on your own. The first goal is to find people you get along with and have fun. They might play with different house rules, or even a different game altogether! I would suppose any group eager to teach a new player will let you borrow dice, walk you through character creation interactively, and answer any questions on the spot.
Another thing to mention, if you already have some friends and want to try out D&D together, but don't have any experience with it, the Starter Set is an excellent purchase. It comes with the free Basic Rules on a nice printout, premade characters with simple instructions to level up, a set of dice, and a fantastic adventure for the DM to get started with. It has an MSRP of US$20, but can frequently be found for $15 or less. It leaves a lot out, like character generation and expanded options, but it's great self-contained "sampler platter" in one box to get a taste to see if you want to invest more time, effort, and money into it.
