To invest in stocks, get a broker. its a process, and you'll need a bank account to start. TDAmeritrade was the fastest set-up i ever experienced compared to ETrade, primarily because I bank with TDBank. They both charge $9.99 commission fees no matter the size of your buy or sell order, so if you're going to trade stocks, trade in big movements, preferably a hundred dollars going into precious metals or commodities due to the notorious Brexit. Alternatively, there are trading platforms that charge a cheaper commission cost (i.e. ShareBuilder.com charges 4$) but I know nothing of their reliability. In all regards, trade with either ETrade or TDAmeritrade for the sake of real-time quotes and no advertisements. If you explore the internet and find a trading platform that suits your budget, then by all means, trade on it; some platforms are better for trading penny stocks while others are better for trading pricey stocks like Apple, Microsoft, etc. never get bummed and wuit if you lose a lot on a admittedly dumb trade; do your homework and never invest in turtles. high volume is your key to finding hot spots