Don't stress, everyone here has been a beginner, some still are ;) Just keep doing it and you will learn a little more each time about what works best for you.

Peppers don't grow anywhere near as fast as tomato plants. That's why when you plan on growing from seed you generally give them a good head start. I think that there's a good chance the plant will not be stunted and weak and will continue to grow, but the question is will it do so in time to produce fruit for you before your season ends? That doesn't seem likely. In my experience, the key with peppers is heat pad for quicker germination, growing under lights, and not overwatering because too much water is almost worst than not enough for young plants. It seems wrong but you really want the medium on the dry side.

If you know anyone in your area that does grow veggies, offer to buy them lunch or coffee or something and pick their brains. Or offer to help them weed, water, etc, and take a look at what works for them. It looks like your university system has a pretty goodextension with lots of publications about gardening in your climate. It isn't the easiest place to grow plants, so expect that you'll have to really work with it.

As far as expense, yeah, that can be a significant hurdle. I try to do a little each year and reuse/repurpose whatever I can. Some initial expenses are steep (like lights) but you can use them year after year. If you can make your own compost, that's a good, free, source of soil amendment. There are ways to stretch your money and still get a good crop. Just don't let yourself get too discouraged after only one season.

I started my peppers inside for the first time this year. Spent $300 on lighting and was religious on watering. The same thing happened to me. Once I transplanted them outside they were the proper size within 5 weeks with roughly 10 3-6 inch peppers per plant. Just be sure to harden the plant and to give peppers less water and more heat. If you overrated you will end up with leafless sticks...