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Hi Keenan,
welcome to the forum. I just bought my first telescope earlier this year, after being a binocular astronomer for many many years. For my first scope I had a budget of $500 and picked up a very nice 8 inch dobsonian from myastroshop along with some eypieces and things. I thoroughly enjoy the hobby and always encourage others.
That said though, before you part with your hard earned cash, consider getting a pair of binoculars and become familiar with the heavens first. You can see so much with a good pair of 10x50 or 15x70 bino's - planets, nebulas, galaxies etc..
The reason I suggest this is sometimes people can be a little disappointed with telescopes a) the pictures in books are NOT what you see in a telescope - colourful pictures take special cameras and hours of work to produce and b) if you are unfamiliar with the skies, using a telescope can be a bit awkward at first - upside down, narrow field of view etc...
So just some friendly advice and definitely get along to a club meet or star party - you will learn heaps.
cheers
Rod
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