How do I get my money out of stocks?

Sell, wait a day, withdraw. In the app, open the stock, choose "sell," enter the number of shares or the dollar amount, and confirm. The shares are gone immediately and the cash appears in your account, usually marked as unsettled.

Settlement is the delay between the trade and the money legally changing hands. In the US it is one business day for stocks, so a sale on Tuesday settles on Wednesday. Most brokers let you reinvest unsettled cash right away, but you generally cannot withdraw it until it settles.

Then transfer the cash to your linked bank account. A standard transfer takes one to three business days; some brokers offer instant withdrawal for a small fee. So the realistic end-to-end time from tapping sell to seeing the money in your checking account is two to four business days. Plan for that if the money is for something time-sensitive.

Two things people forget. If the account is a retirement account like an IRA, withdrawing before age 59 and a half usually means taxes plus a 10 percent penalty, so think twice. And in a regular account, selling triggers capital gains tax on any profit, which you will settle when you file.