[Nut-upsuser] Newbie question: real-time power usage monitoring?

[Christian Convey]

Hi guys,

I'm very new to NUT, and power monitoring in general, so please
forgive me if this question is dumb.

I'd like to write a Linux app that will know, in approximate
real-time, how much power is being drawn by a computer plugged into an
outlet.

Is NUT well-suited to this usage?

And if so, can anyone recommend relatively cheap monitoring hardware
(ideally less than $200 US) that will meet my needs?

Thanks very much,
Christian