Getting Monero before you need it

Getting Monero is not difficult. The only choice that matters is how much of your name is attached at the point of purchase, and that depends on what the coin is for.

A large exchange

The simplest route. Many exchanges list Monero, you pass an identity check once, and you buy with a card or bank transfer. Fast and reliable. The catch is that the exchange now holds a record connecting your name to a Monero withdrawal. That record stops being useful once the coin moves, because Monero breaks the link on the way out, but treat the exchange as a public starting line rather than a place to send from directly.

A peer trade

Buying directly from another person through an escrow backed marketplace, paying in cash or another method you are comfortable with. No central company keeping a file on the purchase. It takes more patience and more care, and it is the route people pick when they want the acquisition itself to leave as little as possible.

A swap

If you already hold Bitcoin or another coin, an accountless swap service will convert it into Monero. Because Monero is on the receiving side, the trail effectively ends at the swap. Quick, and useful when you already have coin sitting somewhere.

Whichever route, move it first

The coin should never travel from where you bought it straight into an order. Send it to a wallet you control, let it arrive, and pay from there. That single step is what separates a purchase from a straight line back to an identity checked account.