Accurate execution of a tested plan ain't too shabby neither. And those Leisure Paced Swing Traders can think all dang evening and enter the next morning and make bank, especially when the tide comes in and raises all boats, lol. If you truly do trade as we have seen explained in your posts, you have a trading book in you that I ain't read, fer sure. Maybe after your tenth mill, you get Chatgpt or a ghostwriter to put that together over boatdrinks in marlintown. I'll be wanting a signed copy.
I think you wrote a very compelling piece. What I wanted to say is that everyone can't be a day trader. In fact, the people that make all the money aren't day traders. Look at Warren Buffet. He rarely sells. Even mathematics works against the trader. As you said, you have 4 good says, and wipe out your gains in the 5th day. In the time you've been trading there's been some amazing moves take place. NVDA was around 60 in 2020. It was around 108 late last year. Recently it was round 235. The point here is that you didn't need to be day trading NVDA to have made some impressive money on it. And you could have done it while you had a full time job. You didn't need a 5 minute chart. Maybe the lesson here is that jumping in and out of stocks is not the way. And fortunately for you, there are many, many stocks down significantly even after this years rally. I've been a trader a good portion of my life. I can remember buying AMZN at around 9 in 2001, selling it around 11. I was pretty pleased with that trade. That was pre-split various splits. I think it might have been around $.50 or so adjusted for splits. It's been up to close to $200. Needless to say, that was the only trade I would have ever need to have made had I just kept it. Don't get me wrong, I like trading. I like watching the screen. It's what I do, it keeps the blood pumping. But it seems to me you have discovered what doesn't work. So get yourself a job, rebuild your life. Keep your eye on the market until you see something you like for the long term. You don't need to watch it every day. You don't need to trade in and out for a couple of points. Go look at some monthly charts sometime. Stocks move for years sometimes. Unlearn some of the day trader habits. Watch the daily or weekly charts. You won't need to buy at the low or sell at the high. Buy something that you can sit with for a while, give it a chance to work. Good luck to you.
Thank you Steve M for opening up about your decision to give up trading through a supremely well written post. I certainly can relate to some of your points and that alone helps digest some of the frustrations or anxieties that I feel at times. I just happen to be lucky not to be obligated to trade, which takes an enormous amount of weight off my shoulders, but losing money is never a satisfying outcome. Best to you on your future endeavors and don't let this tough decision ruin your life. You tried and gave it your best, that's the best anyone can do. Now draw a line and move towards your next adventure. You'll have plenty of stories to tell your kids!
@SteveM thank you for sharing what must have been difficult to put in writing. I am sure that you have learned a lot, and have grown a lot, during the years that you were trading, and that you will be able to put that knowledge to work in a corporate workplace. While you are having a job you might want to consider to become an "investor" instead of a "trader" beside your day job. With this I mean opening positions and holding them for a longer period than what you were used to doing during the last couple of years. This usually involves less work, and causes less stress, while at the same time can result in good profits.
Thank you for sharing your humbling experience. One thing stood out in your experience. Your trading capital as a full-time trader was $150,000 and that represented your entire savings. I don't know what is your monthly cost of living. While $150,000 is a decent sum as savings, it certainly does not sound sufficient for a full-time trader as trading capital if you are living in a first-world country like United States. Based only on what you have written, I think insufficient capital size is the main factor for your temporary failure. I emphasize the word temporary. As long as a person doesn't give up and is in good health, all failures are temporary. This is how I view my "failures" when I am going through a drawdown. All of us here have suffered through a drawdown. Someone who says otherwise is either a scammer or an overconfident newbie who has only seen good markets. If I were in your position, I will reflect on whether the present losing situation is due to poor trading or insufficient capital. If you underperform your benchmark consistently over a long period of time even when the market is good, then it is a good reason to quit trading permanently. If your capital is dwindling because it is too small to start with, then build up the capital from a salary job first. Do update us here on what happens later. Hope to hear good news from you.
One of the better advice. That together with fixing under-capitalization would probably make a hypothetical next attempt more successful. Under-capitalization is kind of funny, btw, because if you're actually doing trading that works, you will automatically be well capitalized in a few years at most. So people start under-capitalized because they most likely aren't doing something that works.
An excerpt from Chapter V of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. "And right here let me say one thing: After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! It is no trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear markets."
Hey... it could be worse... $75K is a lot better than zero. All in all, not bad for 7 years. I think ya did pretty good. Regarding this: I have no idea what HR departments look for now, god only knows what woke-ism now demands... but I'd fill that hole with the post you just wrote. I'd hire ya on the spot. It explains everything to a tee and it shows you have incredible character, thoughtfulness, maturity, and the willingness to work hard and try something new. "Welcome aboard Mr. Steve. Can you start Monday?"