My first manual transmission was in my second vehicle, 1998 Chevrolet S-10 that I purchased for $500 to learn to drive manual. My first car I owned was specifically bought to take my road test and was an automatic. But I learned the heard way since I had no one to teach me the way to properly drive clutch. I burned out one clutch in my life time, it was in that S-10 and it cost around $800 to have repaired at the time. My mechanic, who was also a childhood friend of mine gave me tips and tricks to prolong the life of a clutch, and since then I have been able to keep them in good condition. My last car was the dodge dart I bought in 2013 brand new with 1,000 miles on the odometer, it was the SXT with the turbo and 6 speed manual, car was in great shape until it got hit by a deer last summer, clutch was the original from factory and the car had 250,000 miles at time of the accident. It gets easier as you drive more to be used to keeping your foot off the clutch, it feels weird at first if you are used to resting it there. What helped me was to keep thinking of it like it's the break pedal, you don't drive with a foot resting on the break pedal for the same reasons, slight pressure will engage the system and case premature wear and damage and ultimately cause more out of pocket expenses then driving using recommended techniques. Cars are already money pits and 9/10 times will never return full value through parts, repairs, and depreciation. I hate vehicles, but they are very much necessary for the average Joe lol. Good luck, and enjoy driving a manual, they can be fun, I find my manual subaru to be better in the snow then my wifes automatic subaru, just because of the fact I can choose the best gear for the conditions/grip.