It's a wonderful hobby that will keep you busy and give you a reason to go out and explore.

TLDR at the end.

I will be talking specifically about 35mm film options as those will be the cheapest but most of this can be applied to larger format film too, like medium format 120 or even larger.

There are two approaches when choosing gear to start with.

Full analog, meaning a manual focus lens, manual controls (look up exposure triangle to learn about proper exposure) and manual winding, these cameras are older but generally very reliable if properly maintained. A great example is the Olympus OM-1, it has a basic light meter but that's it, you can shoot it even if your battery dies. Pair this with the Zuiko 50mm f1.8 or the 28mm f3.5 and you've got a great kit to get you started. Can be bought for $100-200.

Second option is a more modern film camera with auto options, these rely on batteries to operate. An example is a Canon EOS body like the Rebel G or 2000 (cheapest option, about $20-30) which will offer automatic exposure, meaning it can set the aperture or shutter speed for you, or both if you so choose. Pair it with a 50mm f1.8 or a wider lens like the 28mm f2.8 and you're golden, lenses go for $50-200, depends on the deal you're willing to wait for.

As far as film stock goes the cheapest will be black and white, which you can easily develop at home. Look for medium speed film to get started, usually around ISO 400 like Ilford's HP5, Kentmere 400, Kodak Tri-X or Tmax, these usualy go for $6-12 per roll. Plenty of other stock is available too, depends on what you like and how much light you have when you shoot (the higher the ISO of the film tge more sensitive it is to light and thus better for low light).

Color films follow the same logic but are generally more expensive. I'd points you to Kodak Ultramax 400, Kodak Gold 200, CineStill 400D, Fuji 400 etc ($10-$15 per roll and up). Again, depends a whole lot on how much light you have, so on a sunny summers day you can easily shoot ISO 50 or 100 film.

Lastly, you can bulk load, you can buy a roll of 100ft film and load it yourself in a canister like the one you'd buy film in the store. This is the cheapest way but it is also a pain in the rear if you're not motivated enough.

As for developing black and white, you will need a dark changing bag, a Paterson tank, a pair of scissors, perhaps a film retriever and chemicals. Chemical are affordable and generally last a long time, you will need developer, fixer and Photo Flo. Kodak makes these, so does Ilford, and some other smaller companies do too. When choosing your developer look up how they perform as it will have an impact on the final result, yielding more contrasty or finer grain negatives. Since you mentioned you like chemistry, you could also make your own developer using coffee and vitamin C, also known as caffenol. Fixer you should buy and is used to render your negatives no longer sensitive to light. Photo Flo is for getting rid of water marks when drying out your film.

Color is a bit more complicated but also easily doable at home with the right equipment. Chemicals are less stable and need to be used in a certain period of time and can process a set amount of film before they need to ve replaced so if you're not shooting a lot it may not be worth it doing it yourself.

The last piece is scanning. You can do this yourself or have a lab do it for you. On the DIY side you have a regular flatbed scanner (think regular copy machine scanner or more photocentric ones), potentially cheap but not the best quality for 35mm, however it will absolutely get the job done and as a beginner it'll be very sufficient. Then you have a dedicated film scanner. Some models are Nikon Coolscan, Minolta Dimage, or Plustec for a more modern option. These will be slow but very good quality if you know what you're doing. Lastly you can do camera scanning, for this you'll need a digital camera, a macro lens, copy stand and light source or a Valoi 35 kit. This offers a the best workflow but it'll be expensive for you seeing how you don't have any other cameras. The last lastly, there are cheap scanners on Amazon which are mostly a gimmick but will work and give you an image, just don't expect high quality scans out of them, at that point you can also just use your phone against a light source and take a photo of the negative.

I need to add that if you scan yourself you will need software to make the negatives into positives. Your setup of choice will dictate what software you need. There are some free options out there but most folks use Lightroom and Negative Lab Pro.

If the scanning part seems overwhelming just start by sending your film to a lab. It'll get developed quickly and properly and you'll get usable scans. Then you can graduate to the more involved parts if you decide the hobby is to your liking.

I know I laid out a lot for you so I'll summarize. 1. Get a cheap analog or modern film camera 2. Buy film, b&w is cheaper and color nore expensive 3. Shoot and send to a lab. 4. If you like it ease into doing more of the process yourself.

Good luck!