Nick,
I assume that you are talking about personal photos, and that you are probably thinking of small prints such as 4x6 inches. A box of 100 4x6 inches paper is under $20 (Canada), so count on 15 to 20 cents per sheet for the paper, plus ink. The advantage of printing yourself is not a matter of cost-saving -- you can probably go to a print booth somewhere and get prints cheaper -- but in printing with long-lasting pigment inks on fairly long-lasting paper. So, first you purchase a bool or two, or one of the tutorials from this site to learn the basics of printing; then buy a printer that uses pigment inks (Epson, Canon, etc.), and have some fun printing.
Printing images is important if you want them to be available to be seen by yourself or your grand-children some years later. Prints will always be human-readable; digital files, even if still around, are only machine-readable and the machine to read you 2014 files may not exist int he future: Betamax tape player anywhere?
Jean-Michel