Hi Dave
The main cost associated with monitoring is the strips (that's why a lot of companies give the meter away free). A lot of us use the SD Codefree meter because the testing strips are more reasonably priced. The meter is sold by Home Health, they have stores on Amazon, Ebay or their own website. I tend to shop around and get the cheapest deal on the strips from one of these. There are some discount codes which I am sure someone will post here.
As for testing I do one who I get up in the morning (Fasting Blood Glucose) then immediately before and 2 hours after each meal to see the effects of the food. If you are trying new foods maybe slot in a 1 hour after eating one as well just for the first time. You'll probably want to start keeping a food diary alongside the readings so you know what should happen when you eat certain foodstuffs.
A lot of us follow a Low Carb High(er) Fat diet (LCHF) as we find that restricting carbs helps bring better control of Blood sugars. I will tag
@daisy1 who will post you a great intro to Low Carbing diabetes control.
If you have any questions please don;t be afraid to ask. We have all been newly diagnosed and know what it can be like.
Also have a hunt around on the threads here and you will get loads of great info.
All the best
Mark