Welcome from Portsmouth. I started hiking seriously a few years ago and I am now reviewing how I want do it in 2019. I have spent a fair bit of money on my rucksac, waterproof jacket, tent, sleeping quilt, sleeping mattress and of course boots.
Number one spend for me will always be boots, but I've always set my limit at £150. In all sorts of ways each pair I've worn has been good to me, but have also been bad as well, not being waterproof, or waterproof enough mostly.
Upon reflection, I now believe my biggest waste of money was to buy my Paramo Alta 2, (£250 at the time) not because its a bad jacket, far from it, in its way its very good, but for me, concentrating on keeping dry and convincing myself I had to spend out to achieve it was the wrong way of going about it. If I could go back in time I would now spend my money on dry weather torso clothes, windproof jacket, baselayer, underwear, middle layer(s) etc.
I started to use a poncho a couple of years back and realised that this offered me a better and cheaper alternative to keeping dry. My poncho cost £50 but after use and looking back, this also was too big a spend. My purchase partially solved what I wanted to achieve but having to put it on over my head each time is a nuisance and a chore!
At the moment I am looking for a long waterproof front opening coat. I would like the hem to be just above my ankles, or at mid calf. I've looked on the internet and yesterday I bought a £15 one. If I'm wrong I can dump it, but I'm hoping that this staying dry idea will be a better than my previous way of looking at the problem. It hasn't arrived yet but I'll soon find out if I've made a fool of myself, or this time have actually hit upon on the right idea? I'll confess all when I know for sure.
I've used a rain skirt as well and from this experience I know that for a long coat to work well in the rain, it needs to have a two way zip. In rain I need to zip it to my waist/crutch area to keep dry, but I need to leave the lower area open to flap a little, especially if crossing less than flat terrain and when need to take big steps to get over boulders, streams and the like. One matter should not be forgotten, my staying dry idea will only work well if I wear my gaiters at the same time.
The other factor that influences my thinking how to stay dry, is how often does it rain and for how long does it last? Does it rain enough to warrent a big outlay on waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers, these days my thinking tells me no! I have walked though awful rain and all day rain but in all of my hiking years I can count them on one hand! Most rain in my experience last for a while, then stops, it may start again but will also stop again.
To sum up, if I was starting to hike as a beginner again I would not concentrate on buying expensive wet weather jackets and waterproof trousers, I would concentrate on a windproof clothing first and think about how to keep dry as an after thought. I know now its not as expensive as I once believed it was. I believe I've just been a gullible person to good marketing.