Hey dude, think you should wait it out till your older. I take it you're gonna be growing at your parent home? That's probably not a good idea. And $50 isn't gonna get you very far, you'd spend that on some decent soil, ferts and pots. If you go down the cheaper lighting route of using cfl's (which you'll probably have to do because you only got a 2.5ft high grow space) you're gonna have to start wiring up a few light fittings, probably not a good idea to start practising without supervision from someone experienced to check your work. Wait it out for a while and do lots of reading on what you're gonna need, how much it will cost and what you can expect in return.

Peace