Why, if I'm up 23K and only two of my stocks are down by less than 2K is my buying power at -8K?

Not seeing your portfolio, I would say for a definitive answer, you need to click on the bug and ask WSS.

Offhand, I can hazard a guess or two ... one, do you have some shorts in your portfolio?    Also, don't forget that any pending orders reduce your buying power.  And if you have an outstanding loan, every day your money is reduced by the interest you pay on it, which also reduces buying power.

GOOD LUCK!

Thank you Melany....none of those apply but for the outstanding loan.  How do I pay it back now or can I?  I've read, I thought just about all I could and did not come across this.

You will have to sell some of your stocks to pay it back.  If you'll notice when you started, you had $100,000 but were able to spend more than that in initial purchases, what you spend in excess of $100K was basically your buying on margin.  If you sell a stock, you'll notice your loan balance should decrease.

Thank you J....have been unable to trade waiting on this reply. 

also ....it could be that you have made some less than profitable trades previously...and that is eating up your gains from your current portfolio...

thanks for the info