Greg Mustang,
Consider purchasing a used trainer if you can find one. Your first RC airplane should not be your pride and joy. First aiplanes have a way of giving way to a second airplane relatively quickly. Building and flying are almost separate hobbies. If you desire to build, build that second or third airplane now while learning to fly on an ARF or used plane.

I purchased my first trainer style airplane at a garage sale for $25, purchased a used radio advertised in the hobby store and bought a new engine. I found an instuctor and soloed in 2 weekends. That was 17 years ago and would still be good advice today.

As others have brought up, finding an instuctor is the single best advice you can get here. Not having time to find a club or instructor will almost guarentee you will crash. It is much cheaper just to spend the effort for a few weeks and learn to fly w/o putting you, your airplane or others at risk. Remember, experience is what you get just after you needed it. I would find a local club and ask about a used trainer and an instructor. Some clubs even have their own trainer airplane to let people train on. Your club may require dues and or insurance. If this is the case, this is where you first dollars should be spent.

Nowadays, you can purchase a brand new trainer (high wing, flat bottom airfoil) a lot cheaper than in years past. An ARF, 4 ch radio and engine will still eat up most of that $300.

As someone else has suggested, a flight simulator will greatly improve your learning speed. There is a free RC simulator called FMS that you can download. You will either have to purchase an interface (approx $25) or if you are handy with a soldering iron, you can make your own interface with parts from an electronic store. You can download it here http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

Good luck to you!!