The most common platform for trading investments is through a brokerage. You can sign up for a brokerage and use their web platform to buy and sell securities. Generally people use discount brokers, such as eTrade, Ameritrade, and Scottrade, which are either free or relatively cheap.Full-service brokers are the alternative, where you usually get an investment advisor who gives advice on your trading, and you pay significantly more per trade for the service.  You can create an online account with the broker you choose, enter your bank account information, and specify the amount of money you want to bring over for trading. When choosing your broker, consider both the amount you want to pay and the level of involvement you plan to have in your investing activity. A full-service broker costs more, but some will even make trades on your behalf based on the strategy you specify. Most people who use full-service brokers are investing large amounts of money, generally over $100,000. This is because of the high cost of paying a full service broker, which is often not cost effective for casual investors. Once you have researched and determined which securities you want to buy, use your broker to purchase them! You will be able to see how much the security costs, and specify how many you want to buy of each. You may want to start small and build up to investing more money just to get the hang of trading. Consider spending one to two weeks trading before investing the rest of the money you have set aside. Once you have made your initial investments, you need to monitor them to watch how they perform. It is fun to watch your investments grow, and you should also watch for problems indicating you should sell. The kind of monitoring you do should be based on your investment strategy, and you should know this in advance.  If you are investing in securities for retirement, for a child’s education, or some other far-out withdrawal, you should check in on your portfolio at least every six months. If you are investing for mid to short term, check in at least once a month. Read the quarterly statements for the stocks you own, and evaluate whether they are likely to continue providing returns. For day-to-day or very short-term trading, you will likely monitor your investments every day or even every hour. You may learn about new, emerging markets that you want to invest in, or just decide you don’t want to keep your investments in the securities you originally chose. Whatever the case, follow your investment strategy, and make changes to your portfolio to reflect that strategy. Resist the urge to sell a security the moment it’s value drops below what you paid. Unless you are doing very short-term investing, you should expect to see changes, including drops, in the value of your securities.
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One-sentence summary -- Choose an investment platform. Purchase your selected securities. Monitor your investments. Make changes to your portfolio as necessary.


Women will be attracted to you if you're a man of the world and are able to see things outside of your perspective. If you work to be more cultured, not only will you be more attractive to women, but you'll have a more informed outlook on life. Here's how to do it:  Learn a new language. You'll be able to appreciate a new culture, and if you become fluent in a sexy language like Italian or French, the ladies will be impressed and excited to hear you flatter them in a foreign tongue. Read a wide variety of books. Reading fiction and non-fiction by a range of authors can help you appreciate how big the world is, and may give you topics to discuss with the ladies. Travel if you can. See the world, or at least your part of the country. You will learn a lot about the world and will meet a variety of interesting people, some of whom could be sexy ladies. Watch a variety of films. Watching both classics and current films can help you appreciate the complexity of the human existence. Your love for movies will also allow you to impress women with your insight when you invite them on movie dates. Open your eyes to a variety of cuisine. Don't just stick to pizza and pasta--try the new Korean or Burmese place in your neighborhood. This will also help you find a great date destination. If you have a great relationship with your family and an eclectic group of friends, the ladies will want to be a part of your life. Women are wary of a guy without friends or a close relationship with any of his relatives, because this may indicate that he doesn't know how to get along with people, or doesn't find meaning in friendships. Here's how to work on the relationships in your life:  Make a point of seeing or talking to your family members as much as possible. How you treat your family---especially your mother---says a lot about you, and ladies will be attracted to you if you're a doting son. You don't want to look like a momma's boy, but casually showing the ladies how much you love your mother will show them that you're a caring person. Develop an eclectic group of friends. While being best friends with everyone in your fraternity or at your cool new workplace can be a lot of fun, having a diverse group of friends can make you a more interesting person. It's great to be friends with a few guys from your fraternity, but if you've also developed relationships with your friends in your weekend soccer league, you may learn more about the world. What's more, the ladies will be attracted to your ability to be able to get along with a variety of people. Throw any dead weight off your friend-ship. If you're hanging out with a person who is rude or unpleasant just because you've been friends for years, it may be time to reevaluate the friendship. Besides, if you bring around someone who is deeply annoying or rude, the ladies will think this is a reflection of who you are. If you're not only interesting to be around but actually have a lot of knowledge, the ladies will be attracted to your manliness and your ability to get things done. Here are some examples:  Learn how to cook. Start by adding just a few simple items to your repertoire. Once you perfect something, like the perfect steak or glazed salmon, you can invite the ladies over for dinner. You'll look sexy with a chef's apron on, whether you're behind a grill or in front of a stove. Learn how to be useful around the house. Whether you know how to fix a leak or a broken table, the ladies will be turned on by your know how and may even ask you for help. You may be interesting and cultured, but if you won't go far if you don't know how to make a lady laugh. If you have the right sense of humor, you will be much more likely to attract the ladies.  Here's how to do it:  Be clever. You don't have to be the loudest or most outgoing person in the room, but if you make a cutting or sharp comment at the right time, the ladies will be impressed. Have the right delivery. If you have a funny comment, make sure you say it loudly enough and when no one else is talking. If you have to repeat your joke, it won't be funny anymore. Be appropriate. Make the right jokes for the right people. If you're hanging out with your best bro-friends, your jokes should be more raunchy than they are in front of a new group of girls, and especially if you're meeting a new lover's parents for the first time.
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One-sentence summary --
Be cultured. Develop many healthy and exciting relationships. Pick up some useful skills. Develop a sense of humor.