No time yet? No problem.

No time yet to open the brokerage account? No problem. I know the drill, have been there. It took a long time for me too. 

Be proud of yourself, you are already one step ahead of others. You have already chosen a broker, and it is an excellent one. 

Tibor's journey - was hard, but I was happy with my new broker

I opened my first broker account in 2001. It was at a Hungarian subsidiary of an Italian broker. It was already electronic trading but was very basic. For 11 years, I had the same account and I got more and more fed up with it. The platform crashed, some of my orders were not booked. Also, I was overcharged. When I converted some of my money to other currencies, I was charged almost 1%.

Still, it took me a lot of effort to make the switch. I was working 70 hours a week, so my work life was busy. Every Sunday I was telling myself, this week I did not have the time, but next week I will definietly do it.

One day, I got really mad at my old broker when I could not log in and at I missed a trade. This is when I set a deadline for myself. I set aside four hours on my Saturday. I made a to-do note:

• broker selection
• online application
• document submit
• asset transfer 

The first three went great, but the asset transfer was the hardest, and I could not do it on that Saturday. But, I was so happy with the new platform that I set time aside next week to do the transfer as well. What did I not do well? I needed two months to close my old account. But hey, you can't have everything, right?

I challenge you to open the account in one week

Take the time now.

A financially conscious life starts with a financially conscious day.

Have a final check at the broker comparison,  make sure you have the right broker. Yes, you do, you already selected it. Click the visit broker, and start the process.

You might be in a rush now. That is also fine. Open up your notebook, to-do app, or bookmark this page. Make a new item: "I will open the account in seven days". 

And what are the benefits? The five Olympic rings of opening a brokerage account:

1. The first steps are taken to control your money

2. Being the captain of your financial boat, beating most Average Joes

3. Educating yourself, learn about trading, investments

4. Having lower fees than at financial advisors

5. Being easy, taking only a couple of hours opening the account

Even if it is your first account, or you want to switch, learn from my struggle. You already selected a broker, you can do the process.

Make your to-do list now, and enjoy your new broker.

Best,

Tibor

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AUTHOR

Tibor Bedő

Co-founder, CEO

Tibor believes having a good stockbroker is everybody's privilege. He worked extensively in the financial industry, including at Morgan Stanley and at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He advised leading European banks on strategy, finance and risk management.

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