If you live in Alabama, you already know what to expect from the weather. Of course you'll be doing more than just going from the house to the car. I wear mostly military surplus from around the world. It's good stuff and cheap. The stuff doesn't come in sizes to fit my wife and daughters so I've had to lay out lots of dollars to get them set up.
You don't need to spend a pile of money on equipment. My wife hunts with a Proline youth bow we bought at a yard sale for twenty bucks. She's taken at least one deer a year with it. But if you have lots of money, go for it.
You can learn a lot from books. I really like "Big Bucks the Benoit Way." We spend a whole lot more time in the woods scouting than we do hunting. It's like a year 'round thing.