What Guitar, Amplifier & Accessories Should I Buy?
Nowadays there are many tools and gadgets related with guitar and if we add an unprepared shopper with a skilled sales person the final bill can easily reach the one thousand dollar mark during the first trip to the store.
I always tell students that before spending a lot of cash on guitars and amplifiers, first you should experience playing and studying guitar a bit. All of our favorite players make it look so easy that sometimes we get the illusion that we will play like them right away, especially if we buy that same Gibson gold top 1957 for ten thousand dollars.
The opposite also applies, when buying your first guitar you should stay away from that $10 found at the latest garage sale in the neighborhood - starting to learn how to play guitar on an unplayable instrument can be frustrating and it can become even more disappointing if your instrument just doesn't stay in tune, for example.
Some examples of solid beginner guitars are the Squier and Epiphone models. They come in a lot of different shapes and colors that you can match with your favorite player and are fairly inexpensive. Those models will range from $85 - $500 dollars.
As far as amplifiers, let's be honest, you should not have any need for a lot of power and
volume, you might be a few years away from playing in front of thousands of people! 
So keep it simple and buy something with good quality and perhaps with a few effects built in. A good example is the Fender Mustang series - a good 20 watt amp with some built in effects will do the trick and keep thecost low. They range around $125 dollars to $200 dollars. But in all honesty, any practice amp will be okay for now, so make sure to keep an eye on for sales and stay with some of the good brands like Marshall, Vox, Orange…
Also check out some packages that come with a guitar, amp, guitar picks, cables andcase. There are some good deals that run as low as $200 dollars. Recently one of my students purchased the Orange Started Guitar Pack and I was very impressed by the whole deal.
If you bought an amp with some effects built in already - you should not have to spend money on pedal effects, pedal boards or extra cables…so stay away from spending money on those for at least a few months.
A good electronic simple tuner is always handy and they tend to be fairly cheap! One of my favorite ones is the Snark, it is simple to use and you can get one for less than $10 dollars. No need to buy a metronome - you can easily download a free app on your phone.
I also recommend a pack of medium picks and some extra strings. As far as extras like a guitar strap, guitar stand, hard cases, capos, slides…. you can always get those later if you decide to keep pursuing the instrument, remember right now you want to keep the cost low.
And stay away from buying books, dvds of how to play guitar! You next move is to find a reliable guitar teacher that fits your style and schedule. A good professional can take you to your goals faster and make sure that you won't be developing any bad habits on the way.
Have fun!