I run two games, one weekly for a group of teens, and the other is every other week for adults. I also play in a game on my 2nd game’s off week, again for adults. Almost all of the adults own a copy of the Player’s Handbook. Only 1 of the teens own a PHB. I have noticed the adults that own a PHB understand their characters and abilities and what they can do far more than my teens (who have been playing way longer than the adults) because they have to share the shop’s copy of the PHB.

I am not saying day 1 go buy a PHB, but if you intend to play after a few sessions, it would be a good idea.

Having your own set of dice is great too. You can get a plain set of chessex dice for $5-10 (I give away a set when someone buys a copy of the PHB). After getting a set of dice I suggest raiding some lesser played board games for additional d6 for character creation. Yahtzee or farkle are both going choices to plunder.

When people start playing dnd I tell them the first thing they need to do is learn how to create a character on their own and after that they will learn the rest of the rules through playing.

If you have a local game shop, drop in and ask if they host d&d sessions, or if they have a community board to find a game.