Step #1: Convert fiat (debt-backed) cash into cryptocurrency
There are multiple ways to do this but none of them are easy or convenient yet, which is part of the reason this is a great investment. So be prepared to jump through some hoops and comply with unnecessary requests for personal information because it will be worth it in the long run when you are holding your cryptocurrency.
Go to the coinbase website and sign up for an account.
Step #2: Use your Credit Card or Bank Account to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. These are 3 of the most popular cryptocurrencies and are all good long term investments. Each type of coin will have a separate wallet with it's own address. Coinbase and other online exchanges will manage those wallets for you.
Step #3: Transfer your cryptocurrency to the place of your choice, either a digital wallet on your personal computer at home for storage or to an exchange such as Bittrex for trading/investing. Typically, Coinbase will make you wait about 1 week to actually get your coins in your account after purchasing them. Once you have them, you are free to transfer to any other wallet of the same TYPE. For example, if you buy Bitcoin, then you may transfer the BTC to another Bitcoin wallet. If you want to just store them on your home PC, then download a wallet (there are many available online), you will have to synchronize the wallet first which can take some time initially. Then, in your coin base account, click SEND and enter the address of your personal wallet on your PC and the amount you would like to send. The transfer should take anywhere from 2 to 15minutes and the coins should show up in your wallet on your PC when you are finished. IF you would like to trade into other alternative coins, go to Step #4.
Step #4: Open an account at Bittrex for trading cryptocurrency. Bittrex offers 100's of coins including several with great potential to increase in the future. Again, they will ask for a lot of personal information and you have little choice but to comply if you want access to the crypto markets at this time. Once you get signed up and logged in, you will see a section called "Wallets". This page will show you all of your account balances and show each coin with a + - next to it. To ADD or DEPOSIT coins, simply click the + button and it will show you the address to send that specific coin. Copy the address and go to Coinbase or your personal wallet wherever your coins are kept and find the place to Withdraw or SEND. Enter the address from Bittrex that you copied and the amount you want to transfer and send it.
Step #5: The coin that you sent will initially show up in the Pending Deposits area until it has been fully confirmed which can take from 2 to 15mins depending on the network and coin type. Once it has been confirmed it should show up as a Balance and you are free to trade it for Bitcoin or if you have Bitcoin already you can buy any other coin on their platform. Simply search for the coin you want and you can place a BID which is an order to buy the coin of your choice.
I hope this helps some of the newer investors in the CryptoSphere! Let me know if you have any questions or run into issues and I will try to walk you through it. *NOTE: This was written based on the steps required for USA based investors. If you live in another part of the world, such as India, there may be different but similar steps. Instead of coinbase, you may have to use Unocoin