All you need is a domain name and a google account. A personal email for under $1.00 USD.
Step 1
Get a domain name from a provider. You can get low cost domain names from http://www.godaddy.com you can get TLDs for as little as $0.89 USD a year. Don’t select any additional options like add a website or email.
Step 2
Go to Google Apps for Domains page and create an account by clicking the get started button on the right (seen below). The basic business account is free and you get all the features listed to the right.
You get enterprise compatible services and can sync your email, calendar, and contacts using Microsoft Exchange Server settings from the iPhone.
Use the wizard to set up the features you want to use. You can choose “Manage your Domain” option in the links at the top to set various domain features. In your Domain Dashboard click on the Email Link seen Below.

You will get some options to modify your email settings scroll down to click on this link:

In this link you will get detailed instructions on how to configure you MX records for godaddy, networksolutions, and many others.
Step 3
Log back into your hosting account, for this example we used godaddy for their cheap domain name registrations. Modify the MX records like the instructions noted.
Step 4
That’s it, you just have to wait up to 72 hours for the changes to be updated to all the DNS servers.