Getting Started with Crypto/Bitcoin - Tutorial for beginners

We've all been there and I think we all can agree it's a minefield, so I've decided to put together a basic guide on getting started with Crypto/ bitcoin. I see posts all the time on Reddit/ Facebook / Discord ect asking "How do I get started with Bitcoin?". So I thought I'd write a basic, handy guide of how I got started and try to create a place for people to share their experiences too. I'll post links to every website mentioned in this guide at the bottom of the post in the reference section.

Budget - Before you start anything, determine your budget. Don't gamble with money you don't have and don't risk your children collage money! Crypro is volatile and nothing is guaranteed.

Strategy - Do you want to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and hold it in the hopes it grows in value or are you planning on trading it with other Crypto's in the hopes of making a fast profit? There's no right and wrong answer and many people do both but it's good to know what your plans are before starting out.

Getting Started -
I have found Coinbase is a easy way to get your foot in the door with Bitcoin and Litecoin. It's pretty straight forward and self explanatory. Coinbase also has a sister company called GDAX, once you have a Coinbase account you have a GDAX account by default. Making trades from GDAX has much lower fees, so this method is recommended.

Good youtube video out explaining this.

If you want to purchase a large amount quickly £3000+ I'd recommend looking at LocalBitcoin. However, if this is the first time you are using this website, traders will often charge you a premium due to your low/no reputation. The more you use Local Bitcoin the more trust you build with the traders hence the lower price.

Now you have your bitcoin you will want to do something with it.

If you want to store it for a long time safely, I use a wallet called Trezor. It's safe and secure but there are many others on the market and I'd recommend doing some research.

If you want to play with it (exchange it) you should register with a exchange site, the one I use is called poloniex. Here you can trade it's value for other crypro's and due to their volatile nature you can make a quick profit or a quick death. I'd recommend doing research into anything you plan on buying but Ripple is a interesting one at the moment.
When you're ready to cash out, send it back to Coinbase and transfer back into your account.

Tips - Don't get too greedy while you're still learning the ropes. I created a basic spreadsheet that tells me when to buy/sell to make 2% profit on each transaction. It's straight forward and low risk while you're still learning and it soon adds up. Happy to post a link to the spreadsheet if this post gets enough interest .

Ref:
https://www.coinbase.com/dashboard
https://www.gdax.com/trade/BTC-EUR
https://poloniex.com/
https://trezor.io/

If you like the post guys, I'd really appreciate a upvote. This is the first blog post I've ever done so any suggestions and constructive criticism will be taken on board.

If you want to buy me a coffee -
BTC - 3BontHaBSVYrTXxsL1GbHQK6BEvfo6ybEi
BCH - 1PLby5DRq5n3W2qAYDruLZqbRfJ5hQyE3g

Thanks for reading, I hope this has been helpful.

:)