What do I need to start?
The first thing that you should install is a so called Bitcoin 
wallet. Bitcoins are a decentralized currency. No bank 
account is needed. For that reason, a Bitcoin wallet is 
the counterpart to your real money wallet. You can store 
your Bitcoins in it, use it to send Bitcoins to other persons, 
and of course receive Bitcoins even if you are offline. If you 
lose your wallet, forget your password, or (heavens forbid) 
somebody steals it, then your contained Bitcoins are lost. 
Bitcoins are like real banknotes, they belong to the person 
that owns them. So keep your wallet secure, make 
regular backups and choose a secure password!
A wallet in itself is a very small piece of software for 
windows, linux, or your smart-phone. You can see the 
transactions in it, you can receive Bitcoins and send 
Bitcoins using it. There is nothing more, small, simple, easy 
to use.
Bitcoin.org is a good starting point if you need a wallet. You 
can find several different wallets there. We recommend the 
use of an open source version of a wallet, don’t use web-
based wallets or versions where the source is not available. 
Remember: the web is dark and full of terrors (Yes, 
nerdling, this is a direct quote from GoT).