Tibor's Journey

Can't find the time to open a brokerage account? No problem. I know the drill, I've been there. Let me show you my investing journey to help you learn from my mistakes. It wasn't easy, but now I'm happy with my new broker.

First of all, be proud of yourself! You are one step ahead of others. You have aleady chosen a broker and it is an excellent one. 

I opened my first broker account in 2001 at the Hungarian subsidiary of an Italian broker. They already used an electronic trading system, but it was a basic one. I had the same account for eleven years, but I was getting increasingly fed up with it. The platform often crashed, some of my orders were not booked and I was sometimes overcharged. When I converted some of my money to other currencies, I was charged almost as much as 1 percent!

Still, it took me a big effort to make the switch. I was busy, working 70 hours a week at that time. I promised myself every Sunday that although this week I did not have the time, next week I will defintely do it.

One day, I got really mad at my old broker. I could not log in and as a result, I missed a trade. This was when I set a deadline for myself. I made a to-do list and blocked out four hours on Saturday to complete it. My list included the following items:

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

The first three tasks went great, but I couldn't get the asset transfer done on that Saturday. As I was so happy with my new platform, I set aside more time the following week to complete it.

What didn't go so well? I needed two months to close my old account. But hey, you can't always have everything, right?

Now that you know my story, I challenge you to open a brokerage account in one week.

A financially conscious life starts with a financially conscious day.

Do a final check on the broker comparisons to make sure that you have chosen the right broker. When you're ready, click the 'Visit Broker' button, and start the process.

You may be in a rush now. Don't worry, that's OK! Just open up your notebook and add this page to your bookmarks or to-do lists. Make a new item: "I will open the account in seven days". 

So what are the benefits of opening an online brokerage account?

1. You have taken the first steps to control your money

2. You are now the captain of your financial boat, beating most Average Joes

3. You are educating yourself and learning about trading, investments

4. You pay lower fees than you would at financial advisors

5. You are being easy, taking only a couple of hours opening the account

It doesn't matter if it is your first account or you want to switch to a new broker, learn from my story! You have already picked a broker, all you have to do now is open an account and start your own investing journey!

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

Good luck,

Tibor