Just to add to your post, my wife has some inherit

Just to add to your post, my wife has some inheritance money sitting in Edward Jones. She keeps up with some of my doings with stocks. She said let me give you 1k dollars and buy me MINE and 1 more. She made $200 her first day. I told her she surely would not have made that with EJ. Now she may lose $200 today-who knows. But your points are well taken. It won't kill her if she losing it all, but I think she can make a few thousand in the next month or so. And she is certainly not a gambler. You're NOT going to hit the lottery, but you 100% will not hit it without a ticket. But you could actually get lucky and become rich from penny stocks, ala UNVC and Mr. Buffett.