A-Train Finance

Good afternoon,

Today is a break-it-down-so-you-can’t-possibly-mess-this-up entry. This entry will provide you with the steps you need to take in order to begin your journey towards financial security.

There are a couple ways that you can start up your Roth IRA. I’ll describe in detail the one way that I think is the most cost effective and will allow you future flexibility when you want to add to and or balance your portfolio.

Here’s what you need to get started.

• $1017.00
• A discount online brokerage account (www.Scottrade.com)

That’s it. If you don’t have $1017.00 to get started there are ways that you can begin a Roth IRA for a commitment of just $50 per month, which I will cover later.

First thing is first, you’ll need to open an account with an online broker. I use and prefer Scottrade because it’s just $7 per trade for stocks, there is a local branch office near my house, there are no annual fees or anything beyond what you pay for each trade. Scottrade does use a referral program which offers 3 free trades to both the referrer (me) and the person opening the account (you). So if you would like a referral please e-mail me @ aongaro AT gmail dot com from the address you’d like to use and I’ll send you the referral right back.

Once you get the referral link in an email from me click the link which should take you to the Scottrade website. Begin filling out the forms with the appropriate information. You’ll need your social security number and I’m pretty sure also your drivers license number.

When signing up make sure to select the “Individual” option, and then under account type select “Roth IRA”

When you open the account you’ll have to fund it. You can do this buy going to your local Scottrade branch office and writing them a check, sending a check in the mail, or doing an ACH Trasfer via the website. You’ll need to transfer $1017 into the account. Once the money clears, do as follows.

1. Log into your account, click on the “Trade” tab.
2. On the left hand side of the screen select “Mutual Funds” should be the 3rd option down.
3. Under “Action” use the drop down menu to select “Buy”.
4. In the amount box enter the amount of $1000 (Or however much you’d like to invest minus the fees.
5. Under “Symbol” enter the ticker name “PREIX”. Which is the S&P; 500 Index Fund that we previously talked about.
6. Under “Earnings Strategy” make SURE to select “Reinvest” for BOTH “Dividends” AND “Capital Gains” this is ESSENTIAL.
7. Click the “Review Order” button.
8. Look over all of the details and make sure they are correct, then click the “Place Order” button.
9. You’re Done!

It’s always fun to check back every week or so and see how your investments are doing. Take your time and the more you learn about the stock market, the more you should invest in different mutual funds, stocks, and eventually bonds. Keep in mind this is only a beginning to investing. It’s a great way to get you off to a solid start in the stock market.

Thanks for reading and as always, please e-mail with any questions or referral requests!

Until later,
-Anthony