Question about what computer to buy if I'm going to do a project in machine learning

I'm halfway into Andrew ng coursera course ( currently watching previous videos . I started late so I'll be getting the SOA by joining the next batch)

I'm hoping that after doing this course and reading some more , I'll be in a position to start attempting kaggle challenges ? Or be in a position to make a publishable paper ( nothing grand ) in a local conference.

I think I'll start with deep learning after finishing the coursera programme.

Now my noob question is , can I accomplish the above goals with a normal laptop ?

I don't have access to any labs and I cannot pay dollars for any cloud services. So please advice me which areas from machine learning I can focus on with my limited hardware.

Also be brutally honest if I'm being over ambitious in thinking that I will be in any position to start solving problems after a coursera programme.

Thank you