To add to my paper wallet experience, I have found a way to get your coins out of a "bad" wallet and into a new one, easily, with a low fee.

I didn't know the wallet I was using had some of the highest fees, and no real way to control them beyond settings like "high," "med," and "low." That didn't give much control, and I also didn't like how the wallet was not upfront with what I was paying. It left a lot to be desired. I was also getting slow updates as to the value of my BTC. So, it was time to let that wallet go!

To move your coins to a new wallet, in this case it's BTC, get your private key from the old wallet and then you can either Import it or Sweep it into the new wallet. I did this, into the Electrum wallet, and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was, and that the fee was a lot lower!

This new wallet gives me fine control over fees, and the interface is much more detailed as well. Yah! Happy dance!

It's BTC only, but it's looking like a solid wallet so far. I'll be getting other wallets soon, including multi-coin ones.

Also, if you are buying BTC from an ATM, it's easier and cheaper to just use the address from your Electrum wallet and it'll go right in there. I did it this way, by taking a picture of the QR code my Electrum wallet provided and used that at the ATM, as the "send to" or receive address.

No need to use a paper wallet first, as then you have to pay for another transaction if you want to use your coins, as you'll need to get them from the paper wallet into something like the Electrum wallet (I'm not getting paid by Electrum, I just like the wallet).

If you are holding for the longer term, then keeping your BTC (or other coins) in a paper wallet is fine and is actually a good and very safe idea.

*Note: When I say "move" the coins, realize it's actually a case of switching to a different way to view the coins on the blockchain, where they are located, and they are not in any one wallet. The wallets are only a means to read and interface with the blockchain.