Couple of financial questions.

[thefuzz]

I work for myself, therefore have no 401K, and now have enough cash stashed away that I am looking to get into the market.

What are some of your opinions on Scot Trade, E Trade, Ameritrade etc. if one is better than another for day to day investing?

I am not really looking to gamble, or play penny stocks, just looking to get some cash out of my bank account. Where I can A. keep up with inflation, and B. not continue to spend like a drunken sailor.

Any feedback would be appreciated, here's looking at you pstall.

[Mattiekrome]

I use a lil' place called Sogotrade. It's 3$ per transaction to buy or sell, which is why I started up an account there. I used to do ING sharebuilder @ 10$ per trade, and even then that was cheaper than the $20+ per trade that the big dogs charge. Then again, I was more less just "playing" with a few hundred dollars, making 40/50$ here and there which is why I had to go with the cheapest.

I haven't done much with it, but have never really had any problems w/ it. If I were a "serious" trader, I would probably go with one of the bigger and better known places. More reputable, better tools, customer service, etc.

[pstall]

Trade King is the way to go. Won many surveys across the board from applications, research tools, costs and knowledgable brokers.

Good luck

[thefuzz]

Thanks man.

Are the tools at say Ameritrade that much better than sogo? I am not planning on moving money around every day or anything, just really trying to put some away, but make a little here and there as well.

[thefuzz]

Trade King is the way to go. Won many surveys across the board from applications, research tools, costs and knowledgable brokers.

Good luck

P, I don't mean to ask too much of you, but could you give me some tips? Until now I have always just bought mutual funds, purchased CD's and invested in an IRA. This is completly new to me.

[natty]

Back when I was going to get into online trading I decided on scottrade(buying a house killed those plans for a bit), but wow, trade king looks great.

[thefuzz]

I just signed up for trade king, so far so good.

[pstall]

P, I don't mean to ask too much of you, but could you give me some tips? Until now I have always just bought mutual funds, purchased CD's and invested in an IRA. This is completly new to me.

No prob. At the moment I don't have any outright tips per se. With the pending election biz's are waiting to see how things shake out for taxes, health care costs related to the reform etc so the next 2 months may go either way.

First thing I always suggest is for newbies to read this book. http://www.amazon.com/Street-Journal-Guide-Understanding-Investing/dp/0743266331/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288289727&sr=8-1

Hands down the best book on getting a great, illustrative overview of the markets. This helps you to visualize how the market works and the interconnectedness of others.

This will give you a great foundation on how things work and that will help you be an even better investor. Plus you will be able to see past the BS going on and hit homeruns and stay clear of the herd when they get slaughtered.

DO NOT. I repeat DO NOT buy Penny Stocks at the moment. A) You admitted already what you don't know. I have seen too many people come out of nowhere trying to jump in. That means they have fell victim to the pump and dump and they are about to be left holding the bag.

Just have clear goals and rules for yourself. If a stock goes up x% say you will sell and if down the same. Start small and get your feet wet.

Become a guru of stop sells and stop losses.

Invest in what you know and understand and use. Does this product really benefit people? Will it grow? What company has market share to gain? What would you and your family use? Kinda Buffetesque but he has done well.

Never hesitate to ask me. I love seeing people do great.

cheers

[pstall]

an aside. that book should be read by High School Sr's and again as College Sr's.

[JakeFlake]

I would love nothing more than to be able to make money (unfortunately, I don't make enough) doing things like this. Would also love to buy a house sometime soon, but I don't even know where to begin with that. Maybe I need to read that book. I just want to be able to live a little.

[thefuzz]

I would love nothing more than to be able to make money (unfortunately, I don't make enough) doing things like this. Would also love to buy a house sometime soon, but I don't even know where to begin with that. Maybe I need to read that book. I just want to be able to live a little.

I am in Real Estate, and as you can imagine, the last 3 years have been very very tough. I am now starting to get my head above water, and have some extra $$$ laying around. From everything I can tell things are getting better out there, and if the Pubs get the congress and or Senate things will get a little better then.

I figure it's just time to try to beat inflation, and stop spending so much. My plan to start with is long term investment, and when I have that rolling switch over to a short term/income generating mode. I need to study a lot more to be able to earn more than lose though.

Jake, maybe take a big risk that you were otherwise scared to do, I did about 18 months ago, and it is just now paying off.

[JakeFlake]

I am in Real Estate, and as you can imagine, the last 3 years have been very very tough. I am now starting to get my head above water, and have some extra $$$ laying around. From everything I can tell things are getting better out there, and if the Pubs get the congress and or Senate things will get a little better then.

I figure it's just time to try to beat inflation, and stop spending so much. My plan to start with is long term investment, and when I have that rolling switch over to a short term/income generating mode. I need to study a lot more to be able to earn more than lose though.

Jake, maybe take a big risk that you were otherwise scared to do, I did about 18 months ago, and it is just now paying off.

Maybe so. But when you throw in property tax and closing costs and all of that stuff, it makes me scared to do it. I am on Homes and Land just for the fun of it and I can see some home prices have dropped considerably. There is no way some of these houses can be as cheap as they are from what they look like.

[thefuzz]

Maybe so. But when you throw in property tax and closing costs and all of that stuff, it makes me scared to do it. I am on Homes and Land just for the fun of it and I can see some home prices have dropped considerably. There is no way some of these houses can be as cheap as they are from what they look like.

I didn't mean buy a home, just that sometimes you gotta take some risks to get to a new level....job, 2nd job, etc...

[TheSaint]

Hookers and Blow