Quote from: tread93 on November 14, 2022, 07:03:30 PM

With that said, I know this is probably a question that has been answered many times but what is required to effectively run a full node of your own?

Really not that much. Its pretty easy and cheap to run a node nowadays. You either build one yourself (easy with the right tutorials) or you get one ready to go(more expensive and less learning, but fast). But i would advise option a, as its actually fun and feels rewarding to do it yourself.

Quote from: tread93 on November 14, 2022, 07:03:30 PM

What kind of equipment & knowledge does one need to have and how much would this investment cost?

A raspberry pi or old laptop, an sd card and 1tb ssd should suffice. Raspberry pis are hard to get at the moment, but sometimes its possible to reserve one by just contacting an official retailer found on the official website. This should come around 150-200, but its also possible to do for cheaper. It might seem complicated to setup at first but with the right instructions like raspibolt and a community for when you need help its definitely doable. So not much knowledge is needed beforehand, youll acquire it while building and when asking questions to understand how it works.

Quote from: tread93 on November 14, 2022, 07:03:30 PM

Are there other benefits you get from doing this other than holding the keys to your coins?

Better privacy, you enforce the consensus rules and decide which rules run on your node and no need to trust third parties anymore. You get a whole copy of the chain, you can resist changes you dont agree with and verify everything yourself. Helping the integrity of the network and allowing yourself to become sovereign.