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I've just finished my first AR build. And despite the hard time I had with the bolt catch roll pin, it won't be my last. It was definitely a much easier process (except for the bolt catch) than I expected. Here's some of what I figured out along the way:

Lower - You don't have to spend a ton of money on a tricked out lower unless you really want to. I think highly of Aero Precision (and so do a lot of other companies, as Aero actually manufactures lowers for several different companies and stamps their respective names on them). The basic model will go $30-40. The gen 2 will go $80-90. Gen 2 is a bit more sturdy and includes a tension screw that helps tighten up the fit between the upper & lower.

Rifle accuracy occurs at the intersection of 3 points: shooter, barrel, and trigger. A good shooter on a bad rifle will generally outperform a poor shooter on a good rifle. But even the best shooters can't make a junk barrel or sloppy trigger perform better than what they are. So when you're planning out your budget, barrel and trigger should be a good chunk of it.

Now here comes the shameless plug - start with Primary Arms. Full disclosure: I work in the marketing department of Primary Arms, but this isn't hype. We've got a huge inventory that's getting bigger as we're heading into the holidays & our customer service is top priority. For most other folks, shipping is incredibly fast. But since the op is in Galveston, you can bypass that & pick up your order from our storefront at Beltway 8 & 288.