start studying for the exams with online tests, and look for places near you (often! sometimes in some places multiple times a month) and get a license. the test teaches you mostly what you can and can't do with your license. you don't have to buy gear, for instance there are many low parts count projects you can build using junk components, but read about all the kinds of devices that people use, and practice soldering. i personally got into radio to use APRS after seeing hackpgh use it to track weather balloons. since then i build a very simple direct-conversion software radio, but you can also check out www.websdr.org to play with those kind of radios online using a java app. best of luck!! tons of things to explore.