Bonsai is not a cultivar of tree. it is a training method. Without the skills in place to care for your new tree in a tray. You are going to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to no good end.
Rather than rewrite an entish version of War & Peace. Search of the net for an active bonsai forum. and read around some.
In the spring look to your local "Free-Cycle" or "Craigs List" for a boxwood or juniper that a remodeler wants taken away. Dig out a big old fat stump and get to work. Your sweat equity should make you unwilling to neglect your investment.
