Any tips for someone who's new to concept of Buddhism and or paganism.

I do Buddhist Studies in grad school, I can answer any questions you're curious about 

ive studied buddhism before!! honestly i think the best place to start is research.

as much as wikipedia is unreliable you can start there and use linked sources to learn more. learn the basics. i find it easier to start with the history (ie who was siddhartha gautama?) and then move to spiritual concepts (ie the four noble truths, eightfold path, karma)

buddhism has a lot of variants depending on region of the world, so look into those as well and decide what works best for you.

the more understanding you have the better! i find that a lot of western people, mostly americans have this weird inaccurate perception of buddhism as a religion thats just chill meditation and being minimalist. that can be part of it but its far from the whole story. piece together as much of the story you can so you can make better, more informed, and more respectful decisions.

i know this reply was about buddhism but tbh i think research is important for getting started with paganism too, or any belief system tbh.

Most forms of Paganism don't have any criteria other than you believe in what they believe in.