Notice! I've decided to jump ahead and cover stock brokers first. Order their
(new account) information right now. Most discount stock brokers require that
you open your account with an initial deposit of five hundred to two thousand dollars. You can make smaller deposits after you open the account.

Some firms that I'll tell you about will accept smaller amounts of money to
open your first account. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call.
Ask for their customer service desk. Just about every firm has a toll-free
phone number. Some require as little as $500.00 to a $1000.00.

I'm going to list the best known "Deep-Discount" brokers at this time.
These brokers offer one-way (a buy order or a sell order) trades for
$9.99 to $19.95 per trade. The number of shares you can purchase for
this price can vary from firm to firm. Shop around and compare prices.

Most of these brokers have a 800 number (automated) trading service,
that allows you to place all your orders over the phone, without having to
talk to a real person. This keeps their personnel cost low so that they can
pass the savings on to you, in the form of dirt-cheap trade prices.

Just about every one of these firm's offer a online stock trading program.
You can buy and sell your stocks right on your computer. All your trading
and account information is completely private and secure. You'll get a
special account number and password for easy access to your portfolio.

You can place your orders to buy or sell 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you place a after hours order, it will be entered at the opening bell of
the next session. You'll never need to talk to a broker again. If you're not
quite sure about how to place a order you can call a customer help line.

This help is usually just for placing the actual order (not stock advice).
You'll be doing your own research. When you know what you want to buy
you'll pick up the phone and place your order, or you'll go online with a
computer and enter your order.

Always read the commission schedule for the actual dollar cost per trade.
Example: ($14.95 up to 5000 shares plus 1 cent for each share over).