But the point of this (now very long thread) is that you don't need to be intimidated about getting started. You also don't need to have a lot of cash on hand. Just get started, and remember to set aside some of your profits to pay taxes on them. :)

Stock trading isn't the end all be all of investing, as you save more money in the market, you'll want to also learn about bonds, and other securities that can be safer. I also encourage you to not get caught up in the day-to-day activity. Buy something and hold it for a long time.

Personally, I recommend FZROX and FZILX. They track the whole US Market and the largest 500 companies respectively. Last time I checked, each share costs less than $20, so that means you could get started with a relatively safe investment for the price of a case of beer.

Index funds work by having investors pool their money, and then they buy a little bit of many different stocks. That way you're not relying on any one company, you're betting on a whole industry or a whole market. That makes them much safer, but there is still some risk (see the recent news.)

For some, choosing stocks is a hobby, and something they put a lot of time and effort into. Good on 'em, but as a beginner, you should know that's a relatively risky way to go, and that there are simpler options that are safer and have historically been very lucrative. They're called index funds.

Once you've opened an account, you need to buy a stock. Typically, you buy whole shares. You can buy any stock you can afford, some are cheap, and you can buy them for just a few bucks. Others, like BRKA, are hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You can open a brokerage account with Fidelity with no account minimum. www.fidelity.com/trading/the-...

I'm sure E-Trade and Robin Hood also have similarly low barriers to entry, but Fidelity is the one I happen to use.

All good - I still struggle remembering all the different quadrilaterals.

In before everyone corrects the type of triangle.

Final object.

Taking it from right cut lumber to dimensioned wood.

The wood has been sitting in my rafters drying for this occasion for three years! Simple project, but it was fun to watch every step of the process.

There are two things you can do today to help these young people:
1) Reach out to them, to let them know that you respect them and know they are doing their best in the face of hard circumstances.
2) Police bad behavior you see directed at them. Stand up for them so they can focus.

I applaud local hockey leaders for taking action to protect these young officials. But I worry that the response we see is only happening because of the national visibility this story received. www.seattletimes.com/sports/other...