I have two stories for you, one from Jan 2010 and another from Jan 2011.
Jan 2010, got a M401 manual from an outlet in China. Got myself some 54mg juice, used VG and PG to get it down to around 12mg. Smoked, vaped, smoked and vaped some more, tried apple and coconut, tried some "cowboy". I liked the idea of vaping, nothing put me off but my mixture did not qute do it for me. Eventually just stopped vaping carried on smoking.
Jan 2011, got an intellicig, so basically a M401 automatic. Got some of their 24mg ecopure regular. First day I got it I was vaping and smoking, second day I smoked mostly. Third day, I ran out of tobacco at 8pm, was going to buy some more but decided to see if I could go the evening without a real cig. Managed it really easy on the E-cig, so next day I thought I would see how long I could go. It was easy, it was just a case of choosing to vape instead of smoke. Had no cravings to smoke at all. After a week I diluted with VG to 18mg, and started to experient a little with flavours again. No problems at all although my batteries did not last as long on 18mg so I guess I am vaping slightly more. Now it is 13 days without a smoke. I used to smoke a lot, tobacco hand rolled, one after the other sometimes, sometimes I could go a few hours without, but never for very long. I guess I used about 75g of tobacco a week.
So, maybe try running out of smokes at 8pm one evening like I did. I felt that if I just used my E-cig for that everyday it would improve my health and help me sleep healthier. Stick to a flavour that is well liked, look for reviews that claim it is an "everday and all day vape flavour", consider buying it pre made, the less messing about the better at first. I would also say that you should try to keep at a high strength for the first week, that does not mean you have to vape 24mg. It just means that you may find the transistion easier if you vape at the top end of your tollerance for that first 7 days. You can start to reduce it and lower the price of the juice as time goes on. Also, try something with a long lasting battery, or get a usb passthrough.
Your goal for those first 7 days is not to reduce costs. Your goal is to make the move from smoking as effortless as possible, so pre-made, long lasting, passthroughs, automatics and whatever else you can think of. Sure none of the alternatives to these take much effort at all, but take advantage of the easier alternatives, at least for now. Do not worry about buying the wrong thing, there is a ton of adapters and tips and tricks out there to rescue any initial mistakes.
Good luck.