Setting up for paper scrapping (all those years ago) was a big ole expensive slippery slope but I gave it up in favour of digi scrapping a couple of years ago and that cost is much easier to calculate

Assuming most people have a computer I bought a software programme (PSE which cost about £60/$80 ish) and I was away. There are endless freebies available and of course they can be re-used ad infinitum as well as being able to change the colour of them and so on so that was my initial cost - and it made as many pages as I cared to make.

I didn't actually buy any papers/kits/embellies for quite a while...until I got fussier about what I wanted.