If you want a rifle, something like a Remington 597 is cheap and simple, the magazine isn’t the best but .22 ammo is dirt cheap and easy to shoot. My parter said it (a rifle) felt much more intuitive to use than a handgun but that could be subjective and you may feel a handgun to be easier to use right off the bat.

I’ve found that handguns each have a very unique feel from one another. I hate shooting glocks and the first time I fired a beretta was like coming home. The best thing I can suggest is the visit a shooting range in your area and rent a few different makes and models to shoot and see what feels good to shoot. I like 9mm for handgun ammo, it’s fairly cheap and always available. The somewhat counter intuitive thing about handguns is a bigger gun with bigger ammo can have less recoil and be easier to handle than a small gun with small ammo. If your on a serious budget hi point makes cheap handguns that are heavy enough double as a bludgeon if you run out of ammo.

I don’t know enough about shotguns to reccomend anything if that’s what you were wanting

Psa dagger. Glock 3 clone, takes Glock mags for 1/2 the price. 275 sticker, then transfer and tax. Then optic for about 150. Magazines can be bought at any store. Get this in 9mm.

Then get your AR 15 at about 550 sticker from PSA. Spend a few hundred on magazines and optics.

You now have the most common guns in America. I will be able to hand you ammo and magazines should the crumbles happen and you will be effective.

Edit: everything depends on your use case and threat tolerance but generic advice: get a Glock, get an ar15 first then you can fuck around.

Pump shotguns tend to be pretty cheap and easy to use and maintain. Mossberg Maverick 88s tend to be under $300 and work very well. Shotgun shells tend to be cheap too.

If you want a rifle, try to find an affordable AR-15 in 223.

Used glock 17 from police trade-ins. Can also get a Ruger or Smith & Wesson the same way.

I’d personally want to have an AR chambered in 5.56, no real reason tbh but you can also shoot .223 out of a 5.56 rifle

guns.com lets you finance/pay in installments. a 250 dollar handgun split up into 4-6 payments seems pretty doable