Bearded dragons for beginners?

I have never owned any type of reptile before, and I'm thinking of getting a bearded dragon. I'm so confused. I have seen many bearded dragon care sites but they all very different. I hear that it is not uncommon for bearded dragons to stop eating. My friends bearded dragin was a picky eater, and it would only eat pinky mice (I'm not sure they understood proper bearded dragon nutrition though). Are they good eaters when you feed them correctly or are they like ball pythons where they just stop eating for months for no reason. How much does it cost to feed them monthly (this is very important for me to know because I am going to pay for everything myself and my mom won't let me get a bearded dragon if it's going to cost me thousands of dollars to house and feed it). Is keeping live feeders (crickets) a hastle. Can they eat meal worms and super worms or will it cause them impaction? Will their heating and UVB lighting cause the electric bill to go up (if it goes up a lot I'm going to have to pay for that too). Can a baby bearded dragon be caged in a 40 gallon tank so I don't have to buy a bigger tank? If a 40 gallon tank is to big for a baby can I use a divider to make the cage smaller? What size cage would you cage a full grown bearded dragon in? Are bearded dragons a good pet for beginners at all? Thank you so much. I know that this is long, but it will help me from making a bad choice. Thanks again!