Pan requirements

Hi Kala, welcome to the forum. When I started baking first, I got a Baker's Secret bakeware set. It had 2 cookie sheets, a muffin tin, a bread loaf pan, two 8 inch round cake pans and a pizza pan. I was able to bake a lot using this itself. Then slowly I started adding to my collection. Got another muffin tin, 2 mini muffins tin, two 9-inch round cake pans, two 8 inch square cake pans, another bread loaf tin, a pie pan and big cookie sheets. Try to get the aluminum ones or at least dull finish non stick ones. It is costly than the usual dark coated non stick pans but it's worth it. The darker ones tend to brown the baked goods quickly. I did not get them all at once. Get one pan every month so that it does not bite your purse. Get the insulated aluminum pans at least for the cookies. It gives perfect cookies.

I first got a hand held mixer for 8$ in Walmart. This was when I started baking, back in March 2008. Surprisingly it worked for more than a year and a half. A couple of months back Hamilton Beach's electric mixer. I think it cost around $30. I have not yet got a stand mixer. I think for the amount of baking I do I can manage without it.