Need help growing

First and foremost, almost ANYTHING you need to know about growing can be found here. To be a successful grower you have to be willing to put in a lot of time learning and researching. I read and researched and asked questions for almost a damn year before I put my first seed in the dirt. I started out growing bullshit bagseed in dirt under CFLs and have now upgraded to hydroponics with good genetics in a tent with HID lighting. And I learned almost everything right here at GC. Now, I'll try and answer some of your questions...
 
1) Approximately how long does it take until the final product?
This varies dramatically. And it depends on SO many variables. Things such as are you starting from seed, starting with clones, what kind of lighting, how long you're vegging, etc etc. But to give you a VERY VERY rough estimate, you can figure on average a month of veg time (many people go longer, I vegged longer on my current grow). Then flowering takes another 70-90 days. So I guess a VERY rough estimate would be four months total. It ain't quick. But growing is half the fun. It's so rewarding to smoke your own, even if it ain't top shelf meds.
 
2) Is it possible to grow indoors, in my room? 
Absofuckinglutely. You obviously need some sort of closed off box or tent to contain the grow. For example, you don't want light leaks during the dark period or else you run the risk of your plants going hermie. It's also much easier to control the entire grow and tweak the variables when it's a closed system like that. Many other things too, that's just the basics. But of course you can grow indoors. Just take a look at the indoor growing sub-forum.
 
3) Does it smell? If so, how do I eliminate it during the process of growing? More specifically, can I grow stealthy?
YES. It smells like a motherfucker. Particularly when it's flowering. They make carbon scrubbers (filters) that filter out the smell. You can make them or buy them. Stealth grows are very common. I've done plenty.
 
4) What do I need to do differently in order to grow indoors and get a reasonable amount of final product for personal use? 
Differently from what? You need grow medium (soil, hydro, coco, etc), seeds, light, nutes, and water. CFL lights are cheaper and run cooler than HID lights. But HID lights will GREATLY improve your yield. If you go HID, use MH (metal halide) for vegging and HPS (high pressure sodium) for flowering.
 
5) What's the minimum amount of money you need to start growing?
This is almost impossible to answer. I mean, technically you could grow very cheap. You could grow with 20 bucks if you wanted to throw a seed in dirt and put a lamp over it. But your product would suck.
 
6) What are some reputable and cheap sites that sells the materials needed?
For seeds, there are plenty of reputable sites. I've used the single seed centre before (because you can buy individual seeds, i.e., much better for the small scale grower). But plenty of others use Attitude and many others. As far as lights, tents, etc. for equipment, I'm a big advocate of Amazon. I'm a prime member so I get free two day shipping on almost anything. But if you have a local grow shop or hydro store, check it out. Those guys usually know their shit and are willing to help people get started. Obviously don't go in there talking about growing bud. Unless it's legal where you live. Plus, I like supporting local small businesses.
 
7) If I start growing, do I get seeds that grow a specific strain? If so, what strain is the best? 
Absolutely impossible to answer. What's your favorite movie? Exactly. You need to research strains and decide what is best for you. Sativas get stretchy and tall. Obviously they are not as suited for micro grows as indicas are. That's certainly not saying you can't grow a sativa in a small box. There are all sorts of training methods to give your plant as low of a profile as possible. Research the flower time (don't crop by this, it's an estimate by breeders, always look at trics), research the characteristics, and what you want the medicine to do, etc. You also need to decide if you want to grow an auto or a photo. Too many variables here.
 
8) What are some tips/setup that help make the process easy?
Read, research, read some more and research some more. You're going to do things wrong, that's a given. But it's a learning process. Every grow you do you will notice things you could and should do differently next time. I'm still a novice, but each grow I have had has been significantly better than the one before.
 
Growing quality bud ain't easy, but it ain't rocket science either if you put in the time and effort. I hope that answered some of your questions, but many of them are just too difficult to answer. And many of them could be found very easily just looking around this forum for 5 minutes.

 

Excellent post JD

 

This is all you really NEEDED to say...do some reading...OP your questions aren't specific to your situation they are common to all first time growers.  Reading is your best friend...and you will have to find out what works best for you...everyone has a different situation.

 

OP your questions aren't specific to your situation they are common to all first time growers
^^Exactly what I was thinking the whole time I was typing out my dissertation.