Your checklist

Where to keep the fruit of your work

• Draw the map of where your savings are and who holds each part 1 hourread the chapter
• Answer the 5 questions for your main account and your main investment 1 hourread the chapter
• Check that no single bank or broker holds everything you own 5 minread the chapter
• Set aside a small cash reserve at home 5 minread the chapter
• Decide which self-held asset you want to learn first, and with what small amount 5 minread the chapter

Your first wallet and your first sats

• Install a self-custodial wallet from its official source, after checking the developer name and its page on walletscrutiny.com 5 minread the chapter
• Write the recovery words on paper before receiving anything 5 minread the chapter
• Receive a first payment larger than the setup fee and send some back 5 minread the chapter
• Install a second wallet from another team and compare 1 hourread the chapter
• Move anything you left on an exchange to a wallet you control 1 hourread the chapter

Backing up your seed phrase

• Write your words by hand and check them twice 5 minread the chapter
• Delete any photo, note or file that contains them 5 minread the chapter
• Make a second copy and store it in a second place 1 hourread the chapter
• Test the recovery on a second device, without deleting the original app 1 hourread the chapter
• Write the sealed letter for your family and make a steel copy Weekendread the chapter

Lightning and euros in everyday life

• Pay a Lightning invoice, at the conference or at a merchant 5 minread the chapter
• Get a Lightning address and test it from a second wallet 5 minread the chapter
• Find 3 places near you on btcmap.org 5 minread the chapter
• Withdraw any balance from a broker or exchange to your own wallet 1 hourread the chapter
• Read how a peer-to-peer exchange works, before you need it 1 hourread the chapter

Privacy in Bitcoin

• Check that your wallet shows a fresh address for every payment 5 minread the chapter
• Find any address or balance you have posted publicly, and stop receiving on those addresses 5 minread the chapter
• Create separate wallets for savings, spending and exchange withdrawals 1 hourread the chapter
• Label every coin you own with its origin 1 hourread the chapter
• Connect your wallet to your own node, after chapter 18 Weekendread the chapter

Hardware wallets

• Decide what amount is "savings" for you and no longer belongs on a phone 5 minread the chapter
• Choose a device from the table and order it from the maker, to a pickup point 1 hourread the chapter
• Check the device and its firmware the way the maker describes, create a new seed and a backup, then send a test amount 1 hourread the chapter
• Wipe the device and restore it from the backup 1 hourread the chapter
• Verify the address on the device screen at every receive 5 minread the chapter

Running your own node

• Look in your wallet's network settings and see which server it uses today 5 minread the chapter
• Verify the Bitcoin Core download, install it in pruned mode so it does not fill your disk, and watch it synchronise 1 hourread the chapter
• Choose a platform and the hardware for a dedicated node, with a 2 TB SSD 1 hourread the chapter
• Build the node, start the synchronisation (a few days, unattended) and add an Electrum server Weekendread the chapter
• Point your wallet to your own node and remove the public server 5 minread the chapter