I absolutely agree with all that. (For "three-season"; winter/snow hiking and, especially, camping definitely takes more.) But so long as you don't care how it looks, are fine with coated nylon rather than something like Gore-tex, and are OK with somewhat heavier gear, you can get started for very little money between thrift stores/eBay, Walmart, cast-offs from friends, military surplus, etc. Even hiking boots, you could probably at least consider work boots from a discount store.
