BetterTrades places an emphasis on learning to trade the stock market by using options, an instrument that typically allows an individual to control more shares of a stock at a discounted price. Better Trades has helped thousands of students learn the proper procedures for buying and selling options and has developed a system to help keep individuals safer and potentially more profitable through the use of these financial instruments.

An option is a contract to buy or sell a specific underlying asset, usually a stock or exchange traded fund, for a specific price (called the strike price) on a specific date (called the expiration date). Unlike a stock, an option has a shelf life; it becomes worthless on the expiration date, meaning a trader must take action by that time or lose his entire investment. On the other hand, the investment at risk is much less than it would be through a stock purchase.

Most people have always been told that options are dangerous. BetterTrades will help refute that notion by teaching its students the rules that will enable them to be safer. The company's instructors like to equate an options purchase to driving a car. The idea of putting an unskilled or untrained person behind the wheel of a 3,000-pound car that's capable of going 100 mph seems dangerous, unless that person has learned to drive a car. Likewise, allowing someone to buy and sell options can be financially dangerous, unless the person is trained and knows what they're doing. Better Trades wants to help teach individuals the proper way to be involved in the options market.

Options trades are the foundation of the BetterTrades education program. By learning how to buy and sell calls (used when a stock is expected to go up) and puts (used when a stock is expected to go down), a trader can employ a number of strategies that will work regardless of whether the stock market is bullish, bearish or marking time.

Among the strategies taught by Better Trades are:

• • Directional credit spreads, which cap a trader's potential losses and can be established for potential upward or downward moves;
• Non-directional credit spreads, conservative positions that pay the trader up front and can be profitable regardless of the stock's direction;
• Covered calls, a conservative policy that allows a trader to "rent out" their stock for the month in exchange for a premium;
• News trading, which enables a trader to take profit when a company's stock price goes up or down, based on a news event, such as a government ruling or an earnings announcement.

BetterTrades provides an education that can put a student on the road to realizing their own financial dreams. The strategies can be used in any market, meaning an individual always has the ability make money, regardless of whether the economy stinks or if they lose their own job. The amount of trading is up to the individual, who can spend as little or as much time as they like. Some people like to stay glued to the computer and watch their positions like a hawk, while others prefer to put their trades on autopilot and check them at the end of the day.