For the most part I certainly agree with Chris' comment. A lot can be learned from building your own kit - not to mention the fun of it. To save some money I suggest you ask lots of questions on this forum rather than going through the expensive of buying and testing different brands/forms of an item yourself (I speak from experience).

BUT, I might advocate purchase of Doug Ritter's Adventure Medical Kits Personal Survival Pak as a sort of starter kit.

My reasoning is two-fold:

#1 - This provides an easy, well-thought-out basic starter kit that puts most of the essentials in hand quickly. Suppliment this with items recommended in the kit Bonus material (locking folding knife, pocket-sized personal shelter, flashlight, first aid kit, and water supply - many carry water purification tablets) and you have a GREAT start for only $25.00.

#2 - Buying the AMK PSP for $24.95 (cheapest price I could find) actually saves you money compared to making separate purchases of several key kit items. I estimate the main items would cost at least $24.75 plus an additional amount for shipping costs since I couldn't find any single site that carries all the times. Most of the items are available at bestglide.com, but the compass and fresnel lens were not. Those were on two separate sites. So, I would have to order from at least three seperate web sites.

Per Item Pricing:
$8.95 -- Spark-Lite Firestarter + 4 Spark-Lite Tinder Quik (actually you get 8 Tinder Quik when purchased separately)
$4.95 -- Fox-40 Whistle (Howler is $6.49 on Amazon)
$6.95 -- Signal Mirror, 2"x3" (StarFlash)
$1.95 -- 20mm Survival Compass (lowest cost I could find)
$1.95 -- Fresnel Lens Magnifier, 2"x3"
$24.75 -- TOTAL COST, excluding shipping from at least 3 different suppliers

In addition, the AMK PSP also provides these items which are harder to price:
In addition, the AMK PSP gives you:
Duct Tape, 26"
Stainless Steel Wire, 6'
Braided Nylon Cord, 150 lb test, 10'
Black Nylon Thread, 10.5 lb test, 50'
Fishing Kit (4 hooks, 2 split shot, 1 snap swivel)
Sewing Needle
4 Safety Pins
HD Aluminum Foil
Pencil & Waterproof Paper
Vinyl Pouch

By the way, I'll also put out a recommendation for Doug's other gear. It is well-thought-out and always very competative amoung similar products.

I have both the full-size and mini RSK Mk1 knives and REALLY like them. I EDC the mini (nothing really mini about it - quite robust) and carry the full-size when camping & hiking.

I also EDC the Doug Ritter Freedom Micro-light. It rides in my left front pocket on my spair key-chain. It is everything described on equipped.org: tiny, bright, easy-to-use. The collar around the LED that keeps the light out of my eyes is wonderful. Though the light's yellow color is "painted" on - as opposed to molded in the plastic - after 3 months of riding amoungst a plethora of keys, the light hasn't shown a single scratch of the yellow. Since the batteries for the Photons are kind of expensive, I don't use this light as a primary light around the house or when camping - it is more of a backup & quick-use light.