It has been a fruitful month as overall I have made some gains - contrary to what I have expected of having to pay 'school fee'. Research and charting has been time-consuming and could only take place quite late after work (US market opens at 9.30pm). There were many times when I "analysed till paralyzed" and ended up just sitting on the sideline. I do mostly swing trades and closing my positions within a few days.

As my positions were pretty small, my commissions & fees combined were a substantial portion (%) deducted from my gains. Broker is indeed the big winner regardless of whether we win or lose.
To so-call maximize my commission (and be more cost-effective), there are 3 possible