Everyone here seems to have the same general consensus:
Buy the "personal" gear that gets you started.. If it turns out you don't like the sport, you can always have fancy snorkel gear to play in the pool with ;-)
My class overall with gear and everything was probably about $500 dollars.. that includes the cost I shelled out to buy fins, mask, snorkel, booties, and gloves. Also the classroom, rental gear, air fills, and the boat trips.
I don't like straight fin blades anymore, i went to splits, much more comfortable, but I didn't get those until I finished my OWC. But I got started off straight fins first.
I obtained other gear as I got more into it.. Suit next, then BC System later..
Haven't bought my reg system yet. Saving up for a particular model, so in the mean time, i rent for 25 dollars the tank and reg setup from my LDS. So far, the only problem was the LP/HP hoses were lose, quick fix with a cresent wrench.
Anyhow, thats my 2 cents.
Happy Diving!
Pauly