You really should take lessons as it will save you money in the long run. Abuse to your equipment and yourself can get quite costly not to mention the mental anguish.
If you insist on learning on your own, purchase a trainer kite, control bar, and an instructional video. Wind Wizards sells all of these items together for $149.99
http://www.4kiteboarding.com/trainkitpac.html
From there we have complete kiteboarding packages with the kite and board for around $1100.00. You should get a kite around 8-9.0 projected/12.0 flat sizing. You should get a medium to low aspect ratio kite so that it is easy to fly and most importantly easy to re-launch. I would suggest the Cabrinha C111 8.5 kite package.
It is also very important to get a large board with good volume.
I would suggest our Cabrinha C111 kite + board package:
http://www.4kiteboarding.com/newc1kitspec.html
Chris Moore
Kiteboarding Instructor
chris@kittyhawk.com
1-877-FLY-THIS ext. 46