Let's try this again. Nck, this question has been asked many times and there are hundreds of posts from wise FTRers ALREADY WAITING FOR YOU on the beginners board. I don't think it's reasonable of you to expect people to tailor answers to your vague questions when they've already given a lot of thought and time to others in your situation.

Get off this thread, go to the index of the Beginners' Circle, and start reading down from the top, in particular the 8 or so "sticky" posts with the yellow icon. These deal with key concepts for beginners and have been judged excellent enough to be retained at the top for all newbies to see.

If there are specific areas you are interested in, the forums have a search function - I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. Certainly, all the specific questiosn you've asked so far are there for sure.