Prioritizing my racing & training upgrades...

I'm pretty inexperienced, so keep that in mind..

 First thing to consider would be how often you'll be racing and in what temp and if wetsuit rentals are an option for you.  If a wetsuit is really important for safety (warmth) and will be used *often*, that could be the best purchase...but consider overall that you probably won't train in it a lot (I don't want to assume how you'll be training, but most of us are in the pool more often than OW) and that swim times aren't a huge portion of most races.  That alone would push the wetsuit down to the bottom of *my* list (might explain why I don't have one yet).

 On another note,  I swear by my HRM.  I have a strong tendency to train at much too high of an intensity and it really helps me keep it all in perspective.  I don't know if it's making me faster as I've only just recently started using it very effectively in that way. 

 As far as the pedals go...you'd probably be hard pressed to find someone tell you they aren't a worthwhile investment or high priority.  The HRM and wetsuit will get varying opinions, but I think everyone here would support the pedals ASAP.  There are so many choices that can be had for reasonably inexpensive by going with store brands from Nashbar or Performance as well that it's probably the lowest cost factor of the three (assuming you get a good HRM with strong record keeping capability - I quite enjoy the data that I get from my Polar S625x).

• Clipless pedals
• Heart rate monitor
• Wet suit (of course I live in FL where I don't have as much need for one)