Let's be honest. From the outside looking in, what goes on within the crypto community must look kind of crazy. Between the insane price volatility of our golden child Bitcoin, the sibling rivalry between Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic [ETC], and the threat of exchange hacks (looking at you GoxFinex!), it might seem like quite a risk to take part in the buying and selling of crypto currencies. WELL...
I'll be here to hold your hand as you learn the ropes of buying your first Bitcoin, buying your first Alt-coin, and selling them on exchanges. And no, I won't let you strain your eyes at walls of text; I'll try to keep things pretty straight forward.
OK? Ok! ...First things first.
Step 1: Buy Your First Bitcoin.
There are several services you can use here. I recommend CoinBase as it was what I first used and was super easy, but there is also Circle, Shapeshift, and Local Bitcoin for those who would rather remain anonymous while buying... (hmmm, great tip 
Step 2: Get your Bitcoin Wallet!
One of the most important rules to learn when dealing with crypto is to never leave someone else in charge of your coins. This means getting your own wallet and keeping track of your private keys! You can get a bitcoin wallet from several sources, but I personally recommend breadwallet. It's what I use on my iOS. You could also use https://blockchain.info/wallet/#/ or https://jaxx.io/, among others. There are even hardware wallets such as https://bitcointrezor.com/ or https://www.ledgerwallet.com/ and you can even store your coins on paper wallets! Remember, DO NOT misplace your private keys.
Step 3: Choosing an Exchange and Exchange Services.
Now that you've gotten your first Bitcoin, it's time to pick an exchange. There are many exchanges, so use Google to find the one you like. I personally use https://bittrex.com, but I know many others prefer https://poloniex.com. Typically, an exchange is where you'd go to buy alt-coins.
{Alt-coins is a broad term, but it mostly signifies a crypto currency that is not bitcoin. Some alts are better than others. Ethereum (ETH) is a very popular alt-coin, as is DASH, and of course, STEEM! You can buy these alts at pretty much any exchange.}ANYWAY, first you must send some of your Bitcoin to the exchange so that you can use it to purchase your coins. Once you do this, your BTC will be stored in a 'hot-wallet', and is ready to be spent. The exchange will keep track of your BTC balance for as long as you keep it there. Other services provides by exchanges are charts and margin trading.
Step 4: Buy Your Coin [Enter Your Bid].
This part is pretty easy. In order to buy alt-coins, someone needs to be selling! So navigate to the order book and see what the going price is for your coin of choice. If you set your buy order/bid for a higher price than the lowest ask (seller's price), it will be filled very quickly typically. If not, you may need to wait a bit for your order to be filled. Once someone accepts your bid, the order is filled, and that alt-coin will be found in a wallet within the exchange.
Step 5: Sell Your Coin [Set an Ask].
Once your coin's price has gone up to a point where you'd be satisfied selling it (or not, and it's fallen to the point you want to cut your losses and run...its good to be a realist in crypto), you need to set an ask. When you do this, you can set the price at which you would like your trade to execute. You can sell one coin at a time if you want... but most people do a batch sale, or several across a certain amount to catch price swings. When a buyer accepts your ask price, your trade will execute, and your Bitcoin wallet will be filled with the buyers Bitcoin.
Step 6: But Wait, There's More!
Here's a few helpful links I used while I was learning how to buy, sell, and trade crypto currencies. I hope they're of some use to you.
List, engage!
- How to Buy Bitcoin - src: ibtimes. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-litecoin-dogecoin-vertcoin-how-buy-cryptocurrency-1435435
- Information on margin trading - src: Poloniex. https://poloniex.com/support/aboutMarginTrading/
- How to store bitcoins - src: Coindesk. http://www.coindesk.com/information/how-to-store-your-bitcoins/
One more thing! Don't invest / buy more than you can at a given time! Crypto is awesome, but it is volatile.