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I use Quark Xpress and photoshop, but I don't think that much power (or $$$$) is needed for the usual flyers and posters.
I've noticed that an awful lot of people seem to have photoshop, and considering it costs as much as a typical costume, that surprises me. Maybe there's a light edition (LE version) that's cheaper? It really is the best for preparing photos.
A lot depends on what kind of design you'll be doing. If you're mainly looking to arrange some photos, illustrations and words on a page, then you're looking for page layout software. Quark, InDesign, Pagemaker were the standards when I was in the business, but there are lots of others, like microsoft publisher. Some people even use Word!
If you're looking to produce really image-heavy work (small amounts of text over lots photos) then you'll want a photo/paint program. Photoshop is the highest standard, but there are others, like CorelPaint.
The other consideration is what you'll do with your finished files. If you're going to print them yourself, you can use any software you like. But if you're going to send files to a printer, you'll need to either be using high-end professional products OR make sure you have the ability to save your files as a PDF or jpeg format. Most printers can't/won't work with files from Corel, Microsoft Publisher, Word, etc.
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