(MONEY Magazine) – Q I began using an online discount firm with really low commissions because I wanted to save money on my stock trades. Then a friend told me that I was probably losing more than I was saving. He says discounters make extra money on the "spread," the amount between the price being asked for a stock and the price that buyers will bid for it. Is my friend right? BRUCE COX Abington, PA.

A. Overall, you are probably coming out ahead with the discount broker. But this is a complicated issue, so bear with me. Some discounters may--I repeat, may--handle your order in a way that allows them an extra profit at your expense. (This is perfectly legal, by the way.) But the amounts involved are likely to be fairly small. Let's say that broker A gets you some stock for one-eighth of a point more than it would have cost had you bought it through broker B. On 100 shares, one-eighth of a point comes out to $12.50. That's far less than you save on commissions by dealing with a discounter: Online brokers may charge as little as $8 a trade, while you can pay $100 or more at a full-service broker.

Of course, discount brokers may find other ways to nick you--for example, paying a lower interest rate in the in-house money-market account. But, says Bill Burnham, an electronic commerce analyst with Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis: "There's no guarantee you'll get a better price for your stock from a full-service firm than you would from a discounter."

For more about online trading, see Virtual Investor on page 49. Also, let me direct you to a Website where you can learn about investing costs and the merits and demerits of dozens of discount brokers: www.sonic.net/donaldj.

Q. My wife and I are in our seventies and still work in our own business. We've been making mandatory withdrawals from our IRAs and Keogh plans, but we'd like to take advantage of the tax savings we'd get by continuing to contribute to them. Can we do that even if we're withdrawing money at the same time? ROBERT CALVERT Garrett Park, MD.

A. Yes and no. You can continue adding to your Keogh each year you're working, no matter what your age--even while making mandatory withdrawals. You cannot contribute to a traditional IRA, however, once you're past age 70 1/2. But as long as your joint annual income is no higher than $160,000, you and your wife can each sock away as much as $2,000 a year in a Roth IRA. You won't get the tax deduction for your contributions, but after five years, you can withdraw money from your Roth tax-free. What's more, you do not have to take mandatory withdrawals from a Roth as you do with a traditional IRA. You can keep your money compounding as long as you like. And if you leave the account to your heirs, they won't owe any income taxes when they start to withdraw the money.

Q. In 1983, I paid $1,000 for about 90 ounces of silver, which the seller, a New York City company named Deak-Perera, stored for me. When prices headed south shortly thereafter, I put the ownership certificate in a drawer and forgot about it. I've moved a couple of times, but recently I unearthed the certificate and tried to find Deak-Perera. The company seems to have disappeared, along with my silver. I know I shouldn't have waited so long, but can you help me retrieve my investment? MARY TOMPKINS Houston

A. Sure--what's left of it. The company called Deak-Perera, which was once a well-known precious-metals trader, changed ownership several times. Eventually, your silver wound up with an outfit called Gold Line in Santa Monica. When the company was unable to find you, it appropriated part of your holdings to cover storage costs (although it's not clear that your original agreement permitted it to do so). As a result, your original 90 ounces have dwindled to 29. Meanwhile, since you bought your stake, the price of an ounce of silver has skidded from $11 to $6. This left you with a mere $174 worth of metal in your account, according to company records. But there's a silver lining, sort of. When we got in touch with the company, it volunteered to return your original 90 ounces intact.

Q. I think my late grandfather might have been entitled to some pension benefits he never collected. I need his Social Security number to apply for them, but I haven't been able to find it among his possessions. I know Social Security numbers are supposed to be top secret, but is there any way to track this one down? WYNONA FROST Detroit

A. Yep. Just ask Social Security. I was surprised to discover that dead people's numbers are easily available. As long as the Social Security Administration has been notified of your granddad's death, you can simply drop by your local office and ask someone to look up his number for you on the spot. If his death has not been reported to the SSA, however, you'll have to provide a death certificate or other proof of his demise before you can get the information. If you are handy with a computer, you can also get the number from a Website called www.ancestry.com.

Q. During the 1991 gulf war, the Topps company issued trading cards and stickers featuring Colin Powell, Norman Schwarzkopf and even Scud missiles. I spent about $50 collecting several sets. Are they worth more now, or is it too early for them to be collector's items? CLAY WELLS Bryan, Texas

A. Even in mint condition, your trading cards and stickers are worth, at most, $100 or so. And the passage of time isn't likely to add much to their value unless Colin Powell runs for President--good luck! Topps printed an estimated 69 million cards, and other companies produced still more, including my personal fave, the "Damn Saddam--The Wacky Iraqi" series printed by Pot Shot Productions. "There are just too many of these novelties around," says Mike Jaspersen, price guide editor for Beckett Publications, which tracks the value of various collectibles. But if you want, you can test the market for your cards by posting them on a Website that is popular with trading-card buffs. It's www.ebay.com.

Q. When our monthly dividend check from Krupp Government Income Trust didn't arrive last November, we asked the company to reissue it. We got a new check, but Krupp charged us a $25 penalty. When I asked why, I was told it was "just policy." Is this fair? Is it legal? DAN GROTHAUS Dayton

A. Fair, no. Legal, yes. But Krupp's consumer-unfriendly policy is unusual. My colleague, Roberta Kirwan, did an informal survey of major investment companies, and not a single one charges for reissuing a lost check. And despite our repeated efforts, no one at Krupp would provide an explanation of its stance. (Instead, Krupp mailed us a prospectus!) My advice: If you are satisfied with Krupp's performance, this irritating lapse in courtesy shouldn't drive you away. If you're not happy, though, this is the perfect time to switch. Either way, you might feel better if you wrote a crisp letter to customer service deploring this policy. Feel free to include my comments.

Q. I've got a strategy that sounds so great, it must be illegal. Let's assume I buy $2,000 worth of stock and it appreciates to $3,000. Since my cost basis is $2,000, could I put that stock into an IRA as my yearly contribution? Then I can sell the stock and avoid immediate taxes on the gain. Or do I have to value the stock at its current price and contribute only $2,000 worth of it to my IRA--still not a bad deal? STEVE WALKER Marlborough, Mass.

A. You're a bold thinker, Steve, so I really hate to discourage you. Unfortunately, you can't contribute any stock at all to an Individual Retirement Account. You can transfer existing assets, such as stock, from one IRA to another, but you can make new contributions only in cash, which you then invest.

Q. As a broker and a financial analyst with years of investment experience, I think I'm qualified to create my own mutual fund. But I need to keep my start-up expenses low. What's the cheapest way to launch my fund? JACOB KAMUONKA Brooklyn

A. Cheap is out of the question. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires you to set aside at least $100,000 of investment capital to seed your mutual fund. And you may have to ante up another six-figure sum for administrative expenses, including a law firm to write your prospectus; a bank custodian to handle your seed money; and a transfer agent to handle the buying and selling of fund shares.

You may be able to shave your start-up costs a bit by hiring a turnkey mutual fund administrator, such as American Data Services in Hauppauge, N.Y. (516-951-0500). For $50,000 or so, ADS will write your prospectus and get it approved by the SEC. For another $46,000 a year (for funds with up to $10 million in assets), the company will handle everything else, while you manage your fund's portfolio.

Still too steep? In that case, ADS president Michael Miola suggests that you start a private limited partnership. You don't need SEC approval, a custodian or a transfer agent as long as you sign up no more than 99 investors. You don't even have to put up seed capital; the investors contribute that. Although there are some legal requirements, ADS can take care of them for a one-time fee of approximately $25,000. "If your partnership is successful," Miola says, "you can turn it into a mutual fund later."

Reporter associates: Judy Feldman, Patrice D. Johnson and Roberta Kirwan