A while back, when buying equipment for a new character, I figured out that I was trying to solve the same problems over and over again. I decided to put together basic sets of equipment that should allow almost any character to be well-equipped with the basics at first or second level, with a minimum of effort.
Today, I present these kits to you. Each kit gives both a gold and a weight total (for both Medium and Small creatures), and suggestions for how to use or modify the kit to suit your character. They include both a basic for-everyone kit as well as an extremely stripped-down version of the same, advice for distributing heavy gear, and suggestions for additional equipment to purchase as more money comes in.
I hope they're useful to you.