I thought it might be helpful to post my Basic Watercolor Supply List. The items on this list are things I like my students to have. Different instructors might suggest other items or quantities. As I say at the top of the list, I feel it is important to buy professional or artists grade paper and paint because the student quality can really cause issues with learning and using watercolor.
If you need to purchase items slowly, then I would get one piece of 100% cotton watercolor paper from Arches or Fabriano. There are other professional brands, but these are readily found. You can cut it up into smaller pieces and use both the front and back.
Also, if you can only get a few tubes of paint to start, I would purchase Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone (Quin.) Rose, Hansa Yellow Light, and add Burnt Sienna when you can. These four tubes of paint will give you a wide variety of colors by mixing them.
I hope this watercolor supply list is helpful.
