Money Blue Book

Death and taxes. You can try to fight them both tooth and nail, but at the end of it all, it’s a losing proposition. Especially when it comes to taxes, the government is going to want its fair share cut of your salary and business profits one way or another, whether you like it or not. Rather than engage in tax evasion and possibly live the remaining years of your life on the run as a tax fugitive from the long arm of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you might as well confront the issue of taxes head on. All we can do is try our best to understand how income taxes work and take reasonable steps to minimize their effects on our financial lives as much as possible.

One of the most introductory ways to plan for the effects of income taxes is to recognize how the various marginal rates are applied to the corresponding tax brackets. Because the United States does not yet currently engage in a flat tax system, our taxable incomes are broken down into different taxation ranges with specific taxation percentages assessed depending on where they fall along the tax bracket spectrum. Although our 2010 tax returns won’t be filed until April 15, 2011, for planning purposes, it’s always good to find out the new changes to the tax code as early as possible. Let’s examine some of the upcoming tax rate changes that are being projected for 2010 and compare them to the previous year’s 2009 tax brackets.

Projections Of New IRS Tax Rates Have Historically Been Extremely Accurate

Year after year, even before the official IRS income tax brackets are released, a select number of tax experts have gotten together and crunched a determinative number of officially released statistics by governmental agencies – to project and extrapolate the upcoming year’s tax brackets. Year after year, the tax rate predictions released by these groups have yielded results in advance with near 100% accuracy. Such an income tax bracket projection ahead of time is possible because many of the major tax code numbers are pegged to officially released inflation statistics – including the standard deduction, the personal exemption, the actual income ranges of the tax brackets, and contributions limits for the investment retirement accounts (both the Traditional and Roth IRA account).

One of these tax prognosticating groups is the Tax Foundation, a Washington D.C. think tank which collects data and publishes research studies on federal and state tax policies. The other notable group operates under the auspices of the Wall Street Journal and is comprised of a merry band of private tax professionals and economists – namely William E. Massey, a senior tax analyst from the Tax and Accounting arm of Thomson Reuters; George Jones, a senior federal tax analyst from CCH; and James C. Young, an accounting professor from Northern Illinois University. For numerous years now, both the Tax Foundation and the Wall Street Journal group have consistently released to the public very accurate, albeit unofficial, early bird peaks at the following year’s projected income tax brackets based on available financial data – well in advance of the official IRS releases. If you’re eager to get a head start on tax year 2010, read on.

IRS Tax Rate Schedule Updates For Tax Year 2010

This year, citing a very sluggish economy and extraordinarily low inflation rates for 2009 to which upcoming 2010 tax rates shall be pegged to, the Tax Foundation and associated experts are predicting very little year to year change for the 2010 federal tax brackets. If there’s anything good that came out of this global economic recession that has been plaguing us for the entirety of 2009 – it’s that the combination of low gas prices, depressed consumer spending, and high jobless numbers with so many people filing for unemployment – have enabled inflation rates to stay quite low during the span of 2009 – at a mere 0.19%. Just compare that to the incredibly high inflation rate of 4.26% during the previous year of 2008 when gas prices were skyrocketing, and it’s clear the recent sudden and precipitous drop in inflation has been extremely unprecedented.

As a result of low inflation, for the most part the 2010 tax bracket ranges will likely stay relatively unchanged. As noted by the tax pundits, for the very first time since the IRS started to index the official federal income tax rates to inflation during the mid 1980’s, taxpayers will get virtually no significant benefit from inflation in 2010. As such – year 2010 tax brackets, standard deductions, personal exemptions, and even retirement account contribution limits will see very little (if any) alterations from prior year numbers.

I will update the table below to reflect the official IRS tax rates for 2010 if decidedly different numbers are ultimately released by the IRS. However, with tax bracket projections by the experts having enjoyed a near perfect accuracy rate for quite a few years now, I don’t have any reason to doubt that the displayed figures below will ultimately wind up as official.

Federal Income Tax Brackets For 2010 – Based On Taxable Income Ranges

Beyond some slight numerical shuffling of the taxable income ranges, there will not be too many significant tax changes from 2009 into 2010. Here is a breakdown of the projected changes (if any) for 2010 as they compare to the prior year:

• Personal Exemption: No change. For the very first time, the standard exemption for 2010 will not be going up and will stay unchanged at $3,650, the same as it was in 2009.
• Standard Deduction: No change, except for Head Of Household filers. The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly will remain unchanged at $11,400. For those filing as single, the standard deduction will remain at $5,700 as well. However, Head of Household filers will see a slight increase by $50 – from $8,350 (year 2009) to $8,400 (year 2010).
• Overall Tax Bracket Thresholds: Will increase across the board for all tax filing statuses, albeit at a significantly lower amount compared to past tax year increases.
• Annual Gift Tax Exclusion Amount: No change. For tax year 2010, the current gift tax exclusion limit of $13,000 will stay the same. Often overlooked by most taxpayers, the gift tax stipulates that gift givers must pay a special tax on gift amounts that exceed a certain amount per year.
• Traditional and Roth IRA Contribution Limits: No change. Despite the fact that IRA and Roth IRA contribution limits did not rise in 2009 in response to strong inflationary pressures in 2009, there will still be no corresponding change in the maximum contribution limits to individual retirement accounts for 2010. The standard IRA contribution limit for 2010 will remain unchanged at $5,000. The catch up contribution limit for those 50 or older will remain at $6,000 as well.

Update: Finally Feeling Bullish and Hopeful For The Future Once Again

Despite the fact that historically, the month of September has traditionally been a down month for stock market investors – after months of sitting on the sidelines and hoarding online savings account cash, I’ve finally pulled the trigger and re-entered the market en masse. Rather than take the often advised path of investing in small bite size chunks through dollar cost averaging, I decided to plow all of my investment cash into long term equity positions simultaneously. I don’t plan to pull out of my newly invested positions anytime soon and am very determined to stay the course for the very long haul – in excess of 5 years or longer. Despite the recent run up in the market, stock market prices are still at historical once-in-a-lifetime lows – and I have every intention to double or triple my investments in the next 5 years. The irrational fear and gloom of pending economic depression that gripped the whole world back in spring 2009 has mercifully passed and it now appears the beaten down economy is finally back on the track towards recovery.

Of course, this is not to say that we are anywhere close to experiencing a traditional bull market anytime soon that’s punctuated by rising employment numbers and increased consumer spending, but at the very least, the specter of a crippled financial system kamikaz-ing into an irreversible death spiral has disappeared – and replaced by faint glimmers of hope. Who knows if President Barack Obama’s second economic stimulus package truly worked or whether any of the resuscitative measures implemented by Congress such as the increased FDIC insurance limits, the Cash For Clunkers Bill, the $8,000 Federal Housing Tax Credit for first time home buyers, or even the appointment of new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner really did much to jolt the economy back to life in a sustained way. But at the very least, these measures have at least reassured formerly scared to death and shell shocked investors like myself that the federal government is finally ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to get this economic ship steaming full speed once again. That seemingly firm commitment, as evidenced by the number of quick and decisive emergency measures the federal government has thus taken – is enough to assuage my once irrational fears, and encourage me to think about a more optimistic future once again.

While I do not know where we will all be economically 12 months from now, I’m starting to have more faith that things will be okay in the coming years. With the possibility of a disastrous economic Armageddon finally out of the way, I’m willing to finally start placing long term economic bets for the future, and allow the normal economic tensions of fear and greed to put the market back to normal equilibrium once again. True economic recovery may be months or even years away, but as savvy investors like Warren Buffett will agree – it’s during the worst of times that enormous amounts of wealth are created by those willing to take on a measure of calculated risk. For the next few weeks and months, I intend to take advantage of every dip in the market to invest more. As I continue to make money blogging and generate income through my small legal practice, I intend to plow all upcoming profits into this market while prices are still attractive. Price dips from here on are all potential buying opportunities in my investment opinion.

Do you agree or disagree that the economic recession is nearing the end? Remember, the stock market is a forward looking entity, and has historically attempted to project what economic reality is to come an average of 6 months in advance. Optimism in terms of increased consumer spending and job growth numbers won’t likely be experienced by ordinary American consumers until the second half of 2010. Personally, I think the very sign that mergers and acquisitions are finally creeping back into the marketplace again is an extremely and exceedingly bullish sign that overwhelmingly overrides any of the current negative lagging indicators like low employment rates or even struggling consumer sentiment statistics.

My Current Net Worth and Financial Status Update Compared To Last Month

Picking Out Final Options To My New Construction Single Family House

As I mentioned in previous networth updates, I’m in the process of finalizing the purchase of my very first home – a 2,300 square feet, 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath, single family new construction house. After weeks of persistent meetings with my real estate agent and the home builder, I’ve finally completed the process of choosing and pricing all of my optional upgrades. After much thought, I decided to ditch the cheaper carpet route and go with all hardwood floors – even in the bedrooms. Despite the fact that hardwood costs substantially more in the way of optional upgrades, I think the cleanliness and maintenance conveniences of hardwood floors greatly outweigh the dirt and dust accumulation headaches of carpet floors.

With all optional upgrades including finished basement costs, upgraded hardwood flooring, a hardwired security system, and stainless steel appliances tossed in, the total price of the home will be around $620,000. I’m sure some of you who live in the Midwest or the South will be shocked at how much a mere 2,300 sq ft (excluding finished basement) home costs, but remember, I live in the state of Maryland – deemed by CNN Money to be the current wealthiest state in the United States, with high state wide income rates and high home prices to match. Pricey real estate in the general Washington DC, Virgina, and Maryland region is just a way of life for us. The ever present availability of federal government jobs here and the presence of highly ranked schools in my state make this area pretty desirable for singles and families alike.

In terms of good news in the real estate networth department, I’m pleased to note that my future home has already gained in home equity value, even though the home foundation has yet to be laid. Most recently, due to surging demand for up scale single family homes in my future neighborhood, the home builder who will be constructing my future house has decided to increase the base selling price for my home model by $9,000. At least in my future neighborhood (a pretty upscale D.C. suburb area of Maryland), the home resellers and new home builders are feeling extremely bullish about future housing demand.

With fingers crossed, I hope this is a portent of greater things to come in terms of future home appreciation. As I noted many times in past blog posts, I’m forever thankful that I was not unwittingly snagged by the housing craze of the last few years. By purchasing a home in 2009 after national home prices have collapsed by more than a third or even a half in certain regions, I’m in a much better position than many to experience the upside of home value appreciation. My prediction is that home prices will steadily rise from here on – certainly not at the crazy and outrageous pace that we all flabbergastically witnessed following the 2000 dot com crash, but I think home prices overall will very slowly but steadily trend upwards from here on as trepidatious home buyers return. The demand for housing never really abated, but the drastic plunge in home prices in recent years did scare away many prospective buyers, and force wannabe home buyers like myself to hold off until now. Remember, when prices are falling, consumers frequently ask themselves, “why buy now when I can buy later for less” as I myself did until very recently. But when buyers finally realize that there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel and that overall home pricing declines have significantly decelerated and are on the verge of  stabilizing, they will invariably return.

Paying Estimated Taxes For Self Employment, and Factoring In My New Home Deposit Into Real Estate Net Worth

This month, as I do every 3 months, I paid out a large chunk of my business profits in the way of quarterly assessed tax payments that likely deflated this month’s improvement in financial networth. Because my monthly revenue from my blogging business, legal practice, and other small business ventures are fairly significant, I pay out a tremendous amount of money every three months in the way of mandatory federal and state income taxes. Obviously, I’m hoping President Obama will be keen on keeping universal federal tax brackets low as he ought to, but with his apparent crusade to crack down on high income earners and push through his health care social agenda, I’m bracing for the worst in terms of future tax rate increases.

In terms of real estate networth, because I also paid out a $25,000 new home construction lot deposit this month that will be payable towards my future mortgage down payment, I intend to treat this $25,000 figure as home equity for now (as reflected in the table above). Eventually when my mortgage loan application goes through and I get a more finalized home valuation number, I’ll include the home value and mortgage numbers into my net worth calculations.

Back In the Stock Market Again As A Bull Market Investor After A Year Long Hiatus

After being away from the market due to excessive fear of the unknown, I’m finally back. This month, I plunged the vast bulk of my cash savings into aggressive stock market positions, primarily investing my money into popular exchange traded funds (ETF) with great future upside like the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) among others. Both are admittedly rather risky and considered to be more volatile positions, but like I mentioned earlier, I’m now in it for the long haul. Even if the market drops or dips 5-10% lower, I intend to hold on for the ride down and hold my breath for the swing back up again. I never feared normal stock market price fluctuations. It’s always been the catastrophic 30-75% price drops that scared the bejesus out of me -  the type of market plunges we witnessed from September 2008 of last year to March 2009. But with financial markets back on the mend and with irrational panic and economic hyperventilation among the masses finally in check, the risk of future major bank failures or collapses of major financial institutions to trigger another massive and prolonged sell off seem less likely now. Of course, anything can always happen from hereon, but the probability of such a return to the brink of disaster has drastically diminished.

Those on the sidelines may want to now consider opening up an online broker account for cheap stock trades and start investing again, or for the first time. If you haven’t opened a Roth IRA brokerage account, now may be the best time to do so. I know it seems like a cliche thing to say, but prices really are quite low at the present time, particularly for long term investors willing to buy and hold for 12 months or longer.

For the last week or so, I’ve been battling a particularly feisty spyware/virus infection on my home personal computer. I was using my desktop computer to browse the Internet like any other day when my PC’s performance suddenly started acting strange. One minute I was browsing the web, and the next minute my web browser was redirecting my Google search engine queries to a series of shady looking websites. Even my attempts to visit well known sites such as CNN.com or NYTimes.com by typing in the URL addresses directly into the web browser were mysteriously being redirected to adult themed websites or other advertisement filled home pages. Very soon after, a cleverly designed but obviously fake Windows Firewall alert message started popping up to warn that my computer had been infected by a Trojan virus – advising me to click on the provided link to access a supposed anti virus/anti spyware program that could get rid of it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until days after it all started that I finally realized that my computer had been maliciously hijacked and infected with either a worm or malware virus of some sort.

Dismay and concern immediately set in as I bemoaned the shear number of times I had used the compromised computer during the span of the last few days to check my Yahoo, Gmail, and business email accounts, and used the workstation to log into my confidential online bank and brokerage accounts. Who knows the number of confidential user login names and passwords I had unwittingly submitted using my infected computer that could very well now be in the hands of unknown criminals and evil-doers.

For those never infected by a computer worm, Trojan virus, or spyware download before and aren’t familiar with the telltale signs, you know your computer’s been infected when – strange things start happening when you’re simply doing routine work, files you originally had suddenly start disappearing, the operating system starts acting slow, or unfamiliar applications start installing themselves or strange alert messages start appearing on your screen. As a big fan and frequent user of music and movie P2P file sharing programs like LimeWire and Bit Torrent, I came to the conclusion that one of the files I had downloaded in recent days must have been infected and must’ve somehow bypassed my firewall filters and punched through my existing spyware programs and installed itself onto my computer as a parasite. While I had Trend Micro installed on my computer for some time now, I realized that I had neglected to renew my subscription and had not updated my virus definitions for some time, which may have been a contributory factor as to how the virus/spyware managed to infiltrate my computer’s defenses.

Scan Your Computer Regularly With Free Anti Spyware and Virus Software

When reality finally set in that my computer had been hacked, the first thing I did was grab my spare laptop computer (presumably clean and spyware-free), and log into all of my various email, bank, and brokerage accounts to change the passwords. Fortunately, none of my important online accounts appeared to be compromised, and no strange identity theft activities had taken place without my authorization – at least according to MyFICO ScoreWatch, the program I use to monitor and track changes to my personal credit reports. Next, I went about the task of figuring out which of the free anti virus and anti spyware software packages out there would do the best job of cleaning up the infection and ensure that such an occurrence would never happen again.

While in general, the very best online security programs such as Norton, McAfee, and TrendMicro usually require members to pay a subscription fee to gain access to their virus and spyware prevention products, there are quite a few comparably high quality alternatives out there that are available for free. Because each of the following tools utilize its own different and unique detection algorithm to scan for viruses and spywares, I recommend downloading a combination of two or three to get the maximum benefit. After spending a day or so of downloading and trying out most of the best programs, here are my recommended selections that I felt did the best job of completely ridding my computer of  pesky spyware bugs and viruses:

Best Free Anti Virus Scanning Software

1. AVG Anti Virus Free Edition: Strangely and rather interestingly, I’ve noticed that the free AVG virus/spyware algorithm frequently provides for a more thorough scan than that offered by paid software programs like Trend Micro. Go figure. AVG AntiVirus catches quite a few viruses that the others miss.
2. Avast! Home Edition: Highly recommended. Avast! Home Edition is not only light on system resources, but it also provides excellent real time scans for free.
3. Avira Anti Vir Personal: Great free application that automatically scans for and removes both viruses and spywares that lurk on your computer.

Best Free Spyware Detection and Removal Software

1. AVG Anti Spyware Free Edition: Scans for both viruses and your run of the mill malwares. Easy to use and does a very nice job of keeping your computer clean.
2. SUPER Anti Spyware: The aptly named SuperAntiSpyware program is truly super and highly recommended. The free edition is 100% free and will detect and remove thousands of spyware, adware, malware, trojans, key loggers, dialers, hi-jackers, and worms. The only downside is that the free version does not provide real time blocking or scheduled scans.
3. MalwareBytes AntiMalware: I recommend running both MalwareBytes along with Super Anti Spyware. Each is likely to pick up spyware not readily detected by the other due to differences in their detection algorithms.
4. AdAware Free: AdAware by Lavasoft is one of the oldest free anti-spyware programs available on the Internet and much of it remains the same. For no cost, the program offers a pretty decent, albeit stripped down, manual spyware detection option for your computer.

Free Online Virus Scanners

The following services offer premium virus scanning from popular brands via online interfaces. They’re all very easy to use and generally offer high detection rates. The major downside is that some require you to pay a membership fee to initiate a virus removal after one’s been detected. But nevertheless, it’s still a good idea to run a full computer scan on occasion using each of the following services to ensure a clean computer.

1. Panda Security Free AntiVirus Online
   
2. Kaspersky Lab Free Virus Scan
3. Trend Micro HouseCall
4. Eset Online Anti Virus Scanner
5. BitDefender Online Scanner
6. Symantec Security Scan
7. McAfee FreeScan
8. CA Online Threat Scanner

If you want maximum protection, I recommend using Norton or Trend Micro, along with at least one or two of the free anti virus and anti spyware programs listed above. When it comes to your precious computer files like personal photos, important Word documents, and applications you have saved in your hard drive, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

• Trend Micro Promo Offer: Trend Micro’s currently offering a limited time 10% discount on its virus and spyware program with Trend Micro promotion code: “trendpro”
• Norton Anti Virus Offer: Norton by Symantec is also currently touting special promotional savings deals for new customers.

Reviews Of Cheap Stock Trade Offers At Discount Brokerage Firms

Anyone who has ever invested in the stock market before knows that one of the biggest potential drains on one’s rate of return is the amount of money spent on expensive commissions and trading fees, paid out to brokerage firms. Regardless of whether one only performs equity, option, or bond trades a few times a year – or engages in heavy duty non stop day trading – broker fees have a nasty and rather surreptitious way of chipping into one’s investment profits over time.

Back in the day when I opened my Roth IRA account and started investing for the very first time, brokerage commissions for equity trades were in the $20-30 range. That was how much I paid in the way of transaction fees for a single stock transaction back then – for an account that barely broke $500 at the time. These days, with the emergence of deep discount online brokerages like TradeKing and Zecco – for the same amount of money, one can now buy, sell, and transact securities two to three times over.

Of course, while many of these emerging top online brokers are able to offer their customers extremely low fees and discounted charges for investment transactions, bear in mind that they can do so because they offer their account holders substantially less in the way of investment tools, premium research material, and customer service support. While  not always the case, you generally get what you pay for. Premium high end brokerage firms such as Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, and even Wells Trade charge more for the brokerage services they provide, but in exchange they offer their customers more attention, provide them more expert investment advice, and back up their services with reputations that have been honed for a greater period of time. But even with that said, if you are a beginner to investing and are primarily interested in the major index funds, or if you are an experienced investor who doesn’t need the extra hand holding that more expensive full service brokerages provide – then going with the cheapest discount stock brokerage may still be the best option for you.

Personally, I own and retain accounts with most of the major big name brokerages (a few opened just for experimentation purposes). For my fund investments, I invest primarily in established mutual funds run by top fund brokerages like Fidelity, Vanguard, T.Rowe Price, and Charles Schwab. However, at the same time, I also balance my fund-heavy portfolio out with a number of individual stocks, and exchange traded funds (ETF’s) that trade like ordinary stocks. Savvy investors who want to maximize their investment returns may want to do the same – utilize popular mutual fund brokerages like Fidelity and Vanguard for no load, no transaction fee (NTF) mutual fund investments – but take advantage of discount online brokerages that offer cheap stock trading rates for individual stock and ETF purchases.

List Of The Top Value Discount Brokers With The Lowest Commission Costs

While going with a cheap stock broker that offers basement prices for equity trades may seem like the natural way to go for the cost conscious investor, I would advise readers to not overlook the importance of value. Sometimes, paying a tiny bit more might be worth it if what you’re getting in return in the way of a better trading experience outweighs the cost. After pouring through a large number of excellent online brokers and researching their commission structures and fee tables, here are the results of my findings. For comparison purposes, I’ve also included the cost per stock trade numbers in parentheses below.

1) Zecco ($0.00 per trade): Zecco customers enjoy a special recurring offer of 10 free stock trades every month so long as they maintain a $25,000 minimum balance or make at least 25 trades each month. However, even if an account  is unable to satisfy the requirements to get the free trades, the regular Zecco commission rate is only $4.50 per trade – still an extremely good deal for even the most price sensitive of investors. For no load mutual funds, Zecco charges $10.00 per trade. With its tandem promotion of free online stock trades and regular low cost commissions, Zecco will likely appeal to active traders the most. While the gimmicky brokerage firm does not offer the best all around package in the way of investment research features or advanced trading tools for its account holders, those who are willing to perform the bulk of their stock and mutual fund research elsewhere should be able to easily overlook this nominal downside – in favor of Zecco’s super cheap rates.

2) OptionsHouse ($2.95 per trade): Charging only a mere flat rate of $2.95 per stock trade, and a flat rate of $9.95 for option contracts, OptionsHouse is one of the most affordable discount online brokerages in the market today. With OptionsHouse, there are no monthly minimum balance requirements and no maintenance fees to contend with. Ranked #1 with an award of 4.7 stars by Barron’s in its 2009 Online Broker Survey as the best choice for options traders, the brokerage firm’s offerings are not limited to just options. Despite its name, with OptionsHouse, you can trade stocks, ETF’s, no-load networked mutual funds, options, spreads, and invest in most of the usual host of financial products you’d expect from any other major discount brokerage firm – but without the high commission cost. Currently, OptionsHouse is running a host of exclusive online promotions, such as offering a free $100 bonus rebate when you switch to OptionsHouse from your current broker, as well as extra $50 OptionsHouse referral bonuses for when you Refer-A-Friend to the firm.

3) TradeKing ($4.95 per trade): Bottom line, Tradeking is one of the best discount brokerage firms out there, and one of my personal favorites. Whether online or broker assisted, trades via the popular brokerage firm are incredibly affordable at a mere $4.95 per equity trade for both market and limit transactions. With TradeKing, there are no minimum balance requirements and no account maintenance fees. The very highly ranked company has won numerous accolades and high praises from major publications like Barron’s, SmartMoney, and Kiplinger’s for its award winning account features – something that should offer great appeal to both beginners and experienced investors alike. But perhaps TradeKing’s most commendable feature is its highly touted and highly regarded customer service reputation. Whether you desire extensive customer service support via a live representative or need technical support via phone or email, TradeKing is there to deliver the support you seek. Currently, the firm is offering a bonus deal of $150 for new account transfers and $50 for each new account referral. For a more detailed overview of my personal experience with the firm, please see my TradeKing review.

4) Scottrade ($7.00 per trade): Scottrade is probably a pretty well established and recognizable brand name to most American consumers, as the firm advertises heavily on mainstream media networks like CNBC, CNN, and elsewhere online. In terms of fees, Scottrade really shines – charging only $7.00 per online trade with no account maintenance or inactivity fees, and low balance requirements. While phone and broker assisted trades do cost more, they can be easily avoided by simply sticking with online trades exclusively (as everyone ought to anyway in this day and age of Internet based brokerages). For mutual fund investors, Scottrade offers a broad selection of  NTF funds that are completely devoid of fees, as well as a broad selection of out of network funds at a price. But for the majority of retail investors, Scottrade’s greatest appeal will likely be the large number of physical branch offices that the company maintains and operates. While most online broker investors will undoubtedly conduct the majority of their investment transactions via the Internet, Scottrade’s incredibly large network of branch offices nationwide is there when you need to tap into it. Check out my Scottrade review for my personal analysis of the popular discount broker’s pros and cons.

5) TradeMonster ($7.50 per trade): As a subsidiary of options trading brokerage firm, OptionMonster – TradeMonster is a relative newcomer to the discount brokerage scene. Despite its relative newish stature, the company’s reputation has already been rapidly lauded and reviewed by financial publications such as Barron’s, recently awarding the brokerage firm 4 stars for review categories such as trade experience, usability, research amenities, and portfolio analysis reports. Offering a pretty impressive online trading interface for its account customers, TradeMonster’s pricing structure is also quite competitive – at just $7.50 per trade up to 5,000 shares, and a mere $0.50 per options contract. For mutual funds, the company charges $15.00 per purchase and nothing for sales. Trade Monster also offers all of the usual investment products and possibilities, including stocks, options, ETF’s, mutual funds, bonds, traditional IRA’s, and Roth IRA’s. Although new, this low cost brokerage is worth a hard look.

6) E*Trade Financial ($9.99 per trade): E-Trade has been around since the advent of discount online brokerages. In the early days, the company was one of the first to offer an integrated all in one power trading and Etrade banking service for online investors, and one of the first to offer continuously streaming quotes and regularly updated news reports for its customers. Since then, the popular online broker’s services and features for account holders have only continued to expand. While ETrade is by no means the cheapest brokerage option in the market, the firm brings forth a tremendous amount of value. The company has won an impressive number of accolades over the years, including the very coveted number #1 ranking for the best overall online discount brokerage firm according to the 2009 SmartMoney best broker survey. In the editorial review, E-Trade received extremely high marks for almost all facets of the firm’s offerings, snagging extra praise for its top notch customer service, excellent banking features, and highly regarded research tools. If you want the very best in the way of financial research material and investment calculation tools, you really can’t go wrong with E-trade. In terms of fees and charges, Etrade’s offerings are decently competitive – charging just $9.99 per equity trade for those who make at least 30 trades a month or maintain $50,000 in account assets, and charging the standard rate of $12.99 per trade otherwise. Currently, ETrade is also offering a limited time bonus offer of 100 commission-free stock and option trades for new accounts.