Maaco paint job?

I tried the first route... learned quickly that there is an art to painting a whole car, and I don't have the talent. In fact I still have a rotator cuff problem from sanding all that crap over and over again.

The prep & body work is the most expensive and time-consuming part, so do as much of that as you can. For a good paint job all the glass, trim and locks/handles have to come off. Get all the rust, dings and waves out of the panels. THEN go to a shop to have it sprayed by someone who has the technique. (Also, if you do it in the garage it's hard to get it clean enough that there won't be bugs and dirt somewhere, usually in the most visible spots too. And paint is not cheap - if you're going basecoat/clearcoat, get the best clear you can afford, probably about $400 for a gallon).

I did all the disassembly/reassembly on my Dart, and roughed in the filler and dent repair. Then took the trunk lid, hood and doors to a small body shop and they made them smooth and shot the paint. Finally I had the shell towed over for the same treatment. It's not absolutely perfect but it's a good three-footer ;) Total investment about $3,000.

If I'd just driven the car over and had them do ALL the work, probably would have cost more than $10k...
Edited to add: I saw that you're on a limited budget and still in high school. But I don't think you'd be happy with the "Paint Any Car for $399" chain store special. It'd look decent, but for how long? I bought Shopline base coat, and good clear coat as mentioned, so the materials alone cost more than that. Might be better to save your money until you can do it right the first time. Just a thought.