does the PH have all of the rules in it?
...no, not exactly...but D&D isn't a game that has a fixed set of rules, like chess does. It's more flexible than that, and with a lot of optional material.
I am going for cost effective, but I want them to get the full experience as well.
OK. Then...personal advice:
* Download the books, don't buy them.
* Do pay full dollar to buy a nice hexagonal map to play on, and some cheap wet-erase markers from toys-r-us to use on it. (Important: white boards use dry-erase markers. Expensive gaming maps use
wet-erase markers. Don't try to mix and match or you may permanently ruin your map. Test new markers on an edge or corner.
Don't start drawing your game map with an untested marker.)
* Have each player buy their own miniurature for themselves, and their own set of dice.
Don't use miniatures for monsters. Use
dice. This is extremely convenient because you can set the dice with a number facing up to indicate which monster they are. A player can easily look at the map, say "I attack orc #3" and you can easily look at orc #3 in your notes without having to figure out which miniature is which.
* Download some pre-made character sheets from online somewhere, print them out and use them.
If I wanted to, I could get a pirated PDF, but I won't
Ok. Then modify the first bullet point above to:
* Buy a player's handbook. Read it, and decide afterwards whether you also want a monster manual and/or DMG.
my dad was an AD&D player
You might consider asking him to DM for you and your friends, and pay close attentino to how he runs the game. That way you learn what's required from someone with experience rather than having to muddle through it on your own.