I just counted the number of stock trades I’ve done this year. 48 so far. With any broker, this cost can add quickly– Scottrade charges at least $7 (online only; in their offices this costs $27), and other brokerage houses charge even more. Those 48 trades could easily take $500 out of my pocket.

I’ll be the first to admit it: trading fees are a huge burden. And they can ruin your portfolio’s return. If you try to take advantage of market declines to increase a position, or just want to invest some money every month, these fees add up quickly.

But not for me. In fact, I haven’t spent a penny on those 48 trades. Because I use the ultimate discount broker: FreeTrade. Freetrade gives me 20 free stock trades a month, including market and limit orders, and even short sales. And no commissions. (If you make more than 20 trades per month, trade fees are based on a sliding scale that starts at $3 and drops to $1. They also offer margin trading, real time quotes, and options, but charge fees for these services.)

Freetrade allows me to do things that would not be practical with any other brokerage. I can buy small quantities of a stock, for example– just a few hundred dollars worth, or even just one share as a sort of “bookmark” (as mentioned by Peter Lynch in “One Up On Wall Street”). If I read about a company that sounds great, I can buy a few shares, get on their mailing list, keep an eye on it, and do a little more research. While not for everyone, I love it.

Freetrade happens to be a little-known service offered by Ameritrade. And Ameritrade is one of America’s largest discount brokerage houses. So they’re not going anywhere.

However, there is no telephone customer support. At all. They do offer e-mail support, and often respond within just a few hours. That’s good enough for me, but not for everyone.

They also do not accept checks for the initial deposit (which must be at least $10,000). They only accept bank wire and direct transfer from another brokerage account (I used to use Datek Online, which was bought by Ameritrade, so I just requested an asset transfer). Once the account is established, you can make deposits directly from your checking account.

This might cause some investors to stay away, but I don’t view them to be negatives. Because I can make over 200 stock trades per year, at absolutely no cost. So while you pay for each trade, my broker effectively pays me more than $2000 per year– a substantial return on any investment. I don’t lose the money, I keep it. And who wouldn’t like that?