Well, I was dumb and did most of it all at once, even replacing things I already had that would have worked ok with better stuff...
if you have a year to plan, maybe pick out all of the gear you want/feel you need, and get the total retail dollar amount. divide that by 12 and see if your budget can handle it? it could be more reasonable than you think if you have some things already and dont need new optics and high dollar items like that....if starting from scratch obviously it can get expensive quick....depending on how high quality of gear you buy, but also remember a $250 jacket doesnt make you a good hunter as discussed in other posts, just a more comfortable one and possibly able to hunt longer because of it.
i would read through the gear forums and start making your list of what you want/need, see what it adds up to, and if it exceeds your budget look at options for where you can sacrifice a bit...just my thoughts on it after buying it all at once this summer.
also core4element on camofire.com makes some decent merino base layers that are much cheaper than most other companies they come in black or camo if you subscribe and keep an eye on it, will save you some money in the long run....i have kuiu, firstlite, and core4 merino stuff and my personal opinion is the are equally comfortable. also core4element makes a full line of mountain mimicry camo gear sold specifically on camofire, i've heard mostly good things but cannot say for myself as i do not own it....just a thought if you need clothes it may be an option to help the budget