Whether you're new to development or an old-hat programmer, Visual Basic 6.0 is one bloomin' powerful tool. Whilst a little on the steep side, it's probably advisable to go the whole hog and purchase Visual Studio 6.0, which includes VB6.
With plenty of samples to get you up-and-running on the MSDN CD-ROMs, coupled with the fact that Visual Basic developers are HOT on the contract market, this exciting package could be the best investment you make this year. Get it!