so ive been messing around in the starting area 
i helped that guy and me and the townsfolk beat up them guys who were hutning him 
ive headed south now to find out what i was doing when i got dusted, but all the dudes have better guns than me and my armour sucks? 
i made a lot of bad decision on playthrough 1 of fo3 and dont wanna do the same, where can i get some good caps/stuff?

Stick to the main road and you won't run into many guys trying to kill you going south. You might try sneaking past them if you do. You should be able to make it at least to Primm and maybe even the NCR outpost pretty early in the game without getting challenged by anything you can't handle. Go too far off the road early on and the geckos and Powder Gangers might overwhelm you. Honestly, I stuck with the Varmint Rifle for a long time into the game. You get that gun, I think, when you help clear out the geckos early in the game. You don't really need a great gun for the first ten levels or so. Of course, I played on the default difficulty, so if you're playing harder you might run into some trouble I don't know about.

yup, move around them.  you start the game pretty weak unless you know what your doing. So I would suggest dont go that way or sneak around them. You can always go back! what combat skill are you goin to level? Guns, melee or unarmed? I'm on my second play through and i picked melee as my combat "specialty", the baseball bat i have does way more dmg then any varmint rifle xD.  Had no problem with the group of thugs you're referring too
 
Also, if you manage to kill a few of them you can loot their bodies and take the armor they have, to help you finish off the rest.

try to get to novac or the mojave outpost a.s.a.p. and get yourself a companion.  

Oh come now, just have fun with it! Don't worry so much about how your first playthrough will end, you'll have lots of time to start over.

Unlike in Fallout 3, enemy difficulty doesn't scale. 
 
A lot of enemies are extremely difficult at lower levels. 

 A lot of enemies are extremely difficult at lower levels.  "

More like, how do I stop, amirite?

" More like, how do I stop, amirite? "

" Unlike in Fallout 3, enemy difficulty doesn't scale.   A lot of enemies are extremely difficult at lower levels.  "

Stick to the main road going in the direction of the main quest stopping at places on the way talking to NPC an taking on sub quest and what not
 
PIP BOY use it! for keeping track of quests and the map

 @hicks91: 
the trick is to head up north, pass the miners who tell you to leave, then pass along the base of black mountain to bypass the deathclaws. Once passed the quarry keep heading north until you reach camp mcGarran. Once inside head to the back into the supply shack. Inside, hide from the sargeant and steal a NCR uniform in a footlocker. Head to the monorail inside the camp and it will take you inside the strip. Cross the street to the Tops casino and confront Benny. You save approximately 6 hours of gameplay.

if you aren't trying to be friendly with the powder gangers i would suggest going up to the NCRCF facility and killing everyone there who is a powder ganger. You have reason to go there after visiting prim anyway. Pick up every gun and piece of armor you can and combine them so that you have multiple well repaired guns and armors. These will sell for alot of money allowing you to build up the bankroll necessary to buy ammo for the guns you like and to pay for high level repairs that you can get from the mojave station (you also go there pretty early).

I would say take your time advancing and try to stick to the path they basically layout for you for awhile, it's not hard if you do that.  Once you get comfortable with your abilities, go off course and try your luck.  You'll end up with a lot more money / weapons / and experience that will come in handy.