Awesome to see you getting started. Mine is already producing leaves to eat.
Should I be spending a couple hundred dollars on soil, seeds and seedlings when income is unknown
Hell yeah! You can save a ton of money on fresh vegetables, exercise at home and eat healthy. Maybe just grow from seeds? Or buy stuff that is more economical to grow.
I have to rent my garden for ~140 every year, then I thrown in another ~100 worth of equipment and plants and I easily get my money back in food if I exclude time.
Maybe it is different in this part of the world. If I added up the yield from the garden and calculated prices at the local grocery store, I bet I would be lucky to break even.
I do it for the experience, lessons and soul which are all things I don't mind investing in.
Haha there are definitely other things to value in having a garden.
Most people don't even try to make it profitable, either by aiming for aesthetics or some niche produce.
If you want to economize gotta grow the easy and productive stuff from victory gardens~ lettuce,cabbage, corn, radishes and potatoes etc.