Do stock market websites charge you per share, monthly fee, or both?

[Kevin S]

Most charge you per trade. It doesn't matter if you're buying $1,000 or $5,000 worth of stock; there's a flat fee for each purchase and another fee (or commission) when you cash out.

Some sites, which are clearly intended for established investors, might also charge you additional fees if your total portfolio is below a certain amount -- and that minimum might be as high as $100,000.

The best site I've found for investors who are just getting started is sharebuilder.com. There is no minimum and trades are only $4 on the buy side, which is all you'll need to worry about for a couple years. They also have a decent research/education section, but of course you'll want to gather information from several sources before you start investing.

Along the way, you'll probably find that you want to be careful with penny stocks. The potential rewards look very appealing, but you may well end up with a bunch of stocks that never pay off at all.