5. VISANet routes transaction to your card issuer which then checks that your account is in good standing and that you have available credit to make purchase.

6. Finally, issuer's decision-- approved or declined appears on merchant's terminal.

At end of business day, merchant submits their VISA sales to their bank. Within 48 hours, merchant's bank will issue a reimbursement and merchant's bank submits its transaction records to VISANet for settlement, and is subsequently reimbursed within 24 hours.

Every month, dreaded card statement is sent out to you detailing all of your transactions. At this point, only people out any money is your bank and VISANet. It's now up to you to pay up or get dinged by those outrageous finance charges.

That's it in a nutshell. It happens so quickly and is something that we take for granted each and every time we make a purchase!

Membership to CSA is inexpensive and educational materials are very informative and drive home above noted investment principles. For only $79 a year, I decided to join CSA which includes a bimonthly magazine with two company stock studies, market outlook, financial planning and more. In addition, I have access to low cost investing program where I have set-up my investment plan. The great thing about such a program is that you can buy shares in any dollar amount from such companies as Johnson and Johnson, Microsoft, Pfizer, Wal-Mart. Your money is pooled with other investors and trades are executed during specified trading windows. For example, if you invested $50 in a stock that is trading at $30, you will own 1.67 shares. Another great feature is that dividends are automatically reinvested allowing for compounded growth.

Whether you join an investment club or are a self-directed investor, you work at your own pace. Learning how to analyze companies using stock selection guide which is a tool that was created over fifty years ago and is organized in five sections. The section guidelines will help you determine if company would be a good investment by:

1. Evaluating historical sales and profit growth and estimate future growth 2. Analyzing historical management performance 3. Analyzing historical profit and price data 4. Evaluating risk and reward and; 5. Determining potential return on an investment.

The software is easy to use and you can download company profiles with historical information thus saving you data entry effort. As company financials are released quarterly and yearly, you just enter information and keep an eye on performance.

For more information, you can check our http://www.better-investing.com or http://www.shareowner.com to find out more information.

Finally, if you want to be a successful investor keep in mind following:

1) A focus on long term. 2) A discipline to apply in building and managing a portfolio. 3) Patience to persevere.

Bear or bull markets, a sound, disciplined investment strategy will bring you investment success over long-term.