A very good point that many occasional welders forget. Turn on the gas at the regulator, turn on your welder then hit the trigger for a couple seconds. Snip the excess wire off and you're good to go.
Although a lot of people don't do it, try to get in the habit of snipping off the little ball on the end of the wire before starting each weld. This is actually contaminated metal that will contaminate your weld. Yes, its a nuisance.
