Stock trading basics for beginners: how trades work end to end — funding, settlement, and ownership — plus IPOs, fractional shares, and market hours.

Stock order types explained: how market, limit, and stop-loss orders work, what each one controls, and how to track your order status.

The real cost of trading: commissions and fees, the bid-ask spread, slippage, and dividend withholding tax — and simple ways to keep them low.