Successful Investing
If you want to be successful with investing you have to have some money to invest- sorry, no way around it. Logically there are only two ways to solve that problem either increase your top line and bring in more income or decrease your bottom line and find some ways to squeeze dollars out.
The first place I look at when it comes to the bottom line are fees. I hate fees. Think about it, we gets fees for having a bank account (so you hold my money and I pay you?), fees for your brokerage account, fees for your credit card, fees, fees fees! It is incredible how much money can seep out paying a tiny fee here a tiny fee here. I’ve done some research, here is what I recommend.
What I am looking for is an account where I can put my rainy day fund. I want to see the highest possible interest rate, 0% risk, and absolutely positively no fees. My solution. Ok I have 3. There are three big guys in the market that meet these criteria ING Direct, Ally and President’s Choice. When you get right down to it they all are essentially offering the same service the only difference between them is the interest rate. Currently Ally is offering a 2% savings rate whereas the others are coming in at 1.5%. I hold an account with each as rates can change with the drop of a hat.
I had a TD Checking account for years. It required a minimum balance and offers 0% interest- Thanks TD. The solution. ING’s Thrive account. While the interest rate is sure nothing to write home about their is no minimum balance required and really a check is a check so who cares? They also allow you to use bank machines on the exchange network so really what else do I need.
Again I started out using the banks and paying a $20 trading commission. When you are dealing with smaller transactions it is amazing how fast your profits get swallowed up buying and selling stock. I’ve since moved across to questrade where the fees are less than half and with the regular promotions it is pretty easy to have an account that gets several dozen trades for free a year. Oh and I love their web help desk where any questions can be resolved by chatting with a service rep. Way better than going into a bank or trying to call.
So there you have it. Here are some easy ways to keep hold of your money so you have more to invest.