The Possibilities with Zero Commission Stock Trading

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Wow, that’s all I have to say for my initial reaction when I heard the news. Once one brokerage went to the “Zero Commission” trading model, then all of the other major discount brokerages had to follow or die. It’s the ultimate example of dominoes falling once the first one toppled into the rest.

Zero payment for a service is a horrible business model for business, but luckily most of the brokerages make their money in their other branches of business. Ha, I wonder if the brokerages are going to run online Ads like other internet businesses? I joke, but some might actually do this, and it might not be a bad idea if done intelligently and in a limited fashion…

Anyway, for me personally, no commissions open up entirely new strategies for me to experiment with, and for those considering investing for the first time, this is the perfect time to test the waters.

One HUGE benefit of this change is that you can now invest with little money without any negative effects. When you have $50 to invest and the commission was $5, you start your investment with an instant 10% loss. With the commission penalty gone, young and starting investors have no reason not to jump into the investing arena.

I can’t way to start creating different strategies that commission fee would limit me at before!

Anyway, short post today, in my mind, I’m still reeling in all the possibilities.

Big win for us all!

Don

The Kindness of Strangers

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I’ve been living in a darker state than normal these past few years, especially lately. Negative memories about my life have resurfaced, but this time I experience these events as a well seasoned adult instead of a inexperienced young child. In some ways, this time I’m lucky, as I’ve done some things financially that put me in a situation where I have options in my life. But even with these options, my mood is still sour.

A recent habit that I’ve picked up is going to “dive” bars to drink and contemplating about life and my current situations. I’m in very good shape and I still have a quick wit about me even if I’ve been drinking that makes me a good person to talk to (or so I believe). So recently, I went to a small, rundown dive bar to escape and engage in this odd manner of thinking that I prefer. The bar had five other people in the bar, three elderly men and what appeared to be a youngish couple playing pool so I started drinking and thinking…

I was talking to the bar owner when the youngish couple came up to get some drinks from the bar owner (who was playing the role of bartender that night). The female from the couple recognized me from the gym that I attend and we all started talking and getting along quite nicely. We got along so well, that after our drinks the couple invited me to explore another dive bar that was about 5 miles away.

We drove to the “other” dive bar and I surprisingly had an awesome time. They were such a fun and giving couple I was astonished! First they offered to drive me there because of my mood they probably assumed I was drunks, but I wasn’t. I explained I was good, so I drove separately. Once there, the male instantly bought a round of fireball for all of us. I actually said I would get it, but he beat me to it. I said I would get the next round, but I was beat again, so I only got to reciprocate on the third round. We slowed our drinking after than and that’s then the magic started to happen! We all laughed so hard about some many things! They were both of a similar background and sense of humor as I was so we gelled! I’m not doing the experience justice here, but I had a blast! For the last few hours we all sang Karaoke, which as an introvert, I never done before.

These practically strangers created one of the best bar experiences that I’ve ever had in my life. The rabbit hole goes much deeper than this, and I am indebted to them for their kindness!

Life is full of surprises! And this was far above and beyond one of the better bar experiences that I’ve ever had!

Don

Are You Running in the Wealth Accumulation Race?

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I hear people complain about not being wealthy or people complain about “so and so” being wealthy, but I have to ask, are you even trying to become wealthy? Are you participating in the Wealth Accumulation Race?

The wealth accumulation race involves a few thing to participate:

  1. Frugal habits – spending too much money on coffee, cigarettes, and booze just won’t cut it and of course, these are impulse items. My advice, “Think on it for a while before buying”.
  2. Investing money that you have saved from your Savings Delta. If you don’t invest, how do you expect your money to help you become wealthy?
  3. Believe… You have to believe that it’s possible! This is important because if you don’t believe there is a great chance you won’t even try. It’s simple, but half of the wealth accumulation race is believing it’s possible.
  4. Your spouse needs to be on board too. If you are saving and your spouse is spending as fast as you are saving, you will never get ahead.
  5. Don’t fear small market downturns. This might not be as obvious, but sometimes you’re going to lose money in investments. Either do more research or invest in a good index ETF.
  6. Sacrifice, yes, if you are not born into wealth, you will have to forgo some things to get ahead… such as a vacation each year, eating out as much as you want, drinking, smoking, etc.

So if you are not doing most of the steps above, how do you ever expect to get wealthy? Luck is great, but most of us don’t have such financial luck, so lottery tickets are out of the question.

So what next? Do the 6 steps above and see how far you go over a 5 to 10 year span of time!

Thanks for reading,

Don