I think it's $11 a trade when you start with CMC if you buy...

I think it's $11 a trade when you start with CMC if you buy under $10k so that's not too bad. They're usually pretty good. Don't have too many problems with them. That's who I usually use for longs. Have got Bell Direct as a back up but haven't used them for a while probably because I haven't got any money in there anymore so not really much of a back up. There are probably others. Have just started reading the thread so others have probably already told you the answer. And try not to worry about losing the $20k. I know it's a bit but I'm sure you'll learn from your mistakes and it will make you better. I lost over $100k at the start and felt like giving up but said to myself "This is not going to beat me" and gradually clawed all the losses back and started to do ok. $250 back is good so just keep chipping away and hopefully you'll do the same. The market has been pretty bad the last few months so I'm sure you're not the only one finding it tough. It's a good time to focus and try and pick out the few good trades that are around and when it picks back up again (which is hopefully soon) you'll do even better