Use etrade brother, it might cost you a little more but its worth it. I used scottrade for a while,it sucks, you can't buy stocks lower than 3 bucks, you have to call and they don't have good platform. If you want to invest, it is the time to do so; may be you wanna wait when the market goes down another 400-500points, i doubt it will go lower than that cauz i see some financial are slowly rebounding, that is a good sign along with the trouble asset plan by current administration, it looks like the rally might gain some momentum. Use your good jusdgement and analysis to invest in stocks, don't  just go by somebody's recommendation or some analyst says to buy it. I look for fundamentally sound company with good business plan, with a strong balance sheet and good cash flow. It will pay you over time. Before investing read some books and investopedia.com is a good site to start with. Good luck !