As a beginner, you might find yourself renting skates. In here (Philippines), Skate rental is inclusive with your ice time (regardless of whether you own one or not). I read somewhere that skate rental in the US cost $5.

Renting skates has done well for me when I was teaching myself with the balancing, walking on ice, marching, etc. But if you want to take it to the next level, I suggest you buy your own skates.

When I first enrolled myself in a skating class, I started with the rental skates. The skates are made of rubber and it lacks the ankle support I need. So I asked my coach to find me a used skates.

Used skates are advisable for basic lessons. It's less expensive and it has already been through the "breaking in" process. You can keep on practicing with it and wouldn't mind if it starts to worn out because it probably is worn out already.

After your basic lessons, you may want to sell your old skates and purchase a more expensive skates. When selling your old skates, the standard selling price is 50% off the actual price when you first bought them.