Is there a way to buy directly from the companies themselves, thus bypassing any fees from a brokerage firm, and trading a DRIP for free? From what I understand this is a "yes" and a "no" answer. According to the Motley Fool, "Is it all free? Sometimes. Again, the plans differ. Some have buried fees and aren't really cheaper for larger purchases than a deep-discount broker. Most plans don't charge you anything. Some charge a modest amount per transaction, usually a certain amount per share and a minimal transaction fee." And what this tells me, as a newbie, is that it will take too much of my ever-dwindling time just to save a buck...if at all, and it's just not worth it!

And, as you all remember from last week's discussion, BUYandHOLD allows you to reinvest your dividends, automatically and for free! By using BUYandHOLD as our DRiP equivalent, we Moms can consolidate all of our stock purchases in one account. And, as always, we can buy or sell stocks twice a day.

I'll happily hand over my $2.99 - I would have had to research all this information from a myriad of companies trying to find the right DRIP... and just thinking about it makes me tired. That is too much work and I'd rather spend that time with my son. With "buying and selling" fees dropping, with the option of automatic dividend reinvestment, and with the additional educational resources that online investment firms offer, I'll stick with BUYandHOLD.

For those of us who are seeking the easy way out, we'll just stay with our online discount brokers. As far as I'm concerned, they're worth every penny that I send their way.

Next time we look at capitalization.

Thank you for joining me,

Joyce