Crypto Exchanges
Everyone starts here, because only an exchange allows you take money from a bank account and buy crypto. When you use a crypto exchange (unlike a wallet), you don't need to worry about loosing a seed phrase or forgetting a password. All crypto exchanges require you to go through KYC (Know Your Customer) process, which means you need to provide your ID and SSN, like any other bank.
Crypto Wallets
Wallets are for advanced users. You cannot participate in Token Pre-Sale if you don't have a wallet, because they all use "Connect Wallet" and you cannot use an exchange for this. You need to use a wallet if you want to earn money in crypto projects. You are responsible for retaining your seed phrase, because it cannot be changed likt a password. It is very similar to an encrypted disk drive, if you lose the key, you cannot recover what is in it.
Earn Money
DePIN projects give you passive income. You can earn $1000 per year by driving your car. You can earn $50 for sharing your GPU power, and so on.
Fidelity Investments
You can buy Bitcoin and Ethereum in Fidelity Investments. Currently, you can only buy BTC, ETH and LTC. You cannot send it, withdrwal, or deposit, perhaps temporarily, maybe not.