AHello all! I'm kinda new to cake decorating. I have done some in the past but am looking to start getting seriously into it. Can anyone tell me where I can get cake decorating tools for a decent price (I'm a college kid, help me out ;) ) also what are your favorite tools for doing both buttercream and fondant cakes?

I would say Ebay ( you can get things for cheap from Hong Kong), Michael's (with a coupon) and ACMoore (with a coupon.)  I have purchased many things from Global Sugar Art as well, but most things on that website are full retail and not inexpensive.

The best way to keep your costs down is to not go crazy when shopping for cake toys.  It is really easy to get lured into the stores and the cool things they have.  Just buy them as you have a need.  An actual need, not a....gosh that would be great if I ever have to do an xyz cake.  Wait until you do an xyz cake to make the purchase.  You should have a turntable, some decorating tips.  The box with a bunch is nice even if you don't use a lot of them later, nice to have them to play with and try out.  A bakers blade, some bags, good colors-Americolor if you can get them.  I don't do fondant so don't know what you actually need for that.  I have specifically not gotten into fondant because I didn't want the added expense to buy, finding a place to store, etc all the toys that come with that.  Sticking to buttercream really simplifies the tools.

AYou can go to michaels, hobby lobby or joann fabrics and use 40% or on certain weeks 50 % coupons on one single item and michaels and hobby lobby take the other stores coupons. I went to each stores website and downloaded where I get there weekly coupons.

There is so much garbage that is marketed at cake people it's insane.  There is so much you don't need at all and a good lot of the stuff is junk.  I have shelves of stuff and really?  All I use on a daily basis is my decent turn table (Ateco, about $45), a few angled icing spatulas (~$20), a roll of piping bags, a flat bench scraper (~$5) and a few tips (#2, 4, 12, 104, 2D is really all anyone needs these days, ~$15).  Well, and you need cake.

If you want to get into fondant, make it from a bag of marshmallows.  You'll need a rolling pin (you can buy a 2" dowel from a hardware store for about $3 if you don't want to spend the money on a rolling pin, which can be spendy), a fondant smoother (~$5), exacto (~$10), and some corn starch.

Buy some basic gel colors.  You don't need "teal" or "violet" or any of the shades if you are on a budget.  Buy Americolor black, red, leaf green, royal blue, royal purple, deep pink, orange, & lemon yellow (~$25).  

That is more then enough to get anyone started, and you can add stuff as you go.

Good luck!

AThank you everyone for the posts! All are very helpful!