Question: I'm not a big fan of spending 100ish dollars to buy all three core rulebooks. Are there monster stats to be found online? Also, is there an online substitute for the DMG (for items)?

Answer: 
A site called [Open5e](http://open5e.com/) recently launched that has everything from the SRD: rules, GM guide, character creation guide, spell list, some monsters, and equipment. 

It's easily searchable and it's open source, so people can contribute more info if there's anything they've missed.
You can also look to Fantasy Grounds (www.fantasygrounds.net). It is an online campaign manager for D&D, and other game systems. It has the rulebooks built into its libraries, and allows the creation of all the hard cover printed books. You also have options to create your classes/abilities/etc.