I've just found my niche in trading last year and how to be profitable. Last month I decided I had made enough and consistenly enough that i could start pulling out monthly withdrawals every month to spend on luxuries or whatever. But now I am wondering how much i should pull out every month. To tell the truth, i dont really NEED to pull out any money(as i have 3 other sources of income), but if im not going to spend the money i make trading...whats the point right? So whats a good % to pull out every month? 10% of your profits? 30%? 50%? How do you guys figure it?
If you figured out how to be profitable, you need us to tell you how to balance your checkbook? Or are you just bragging with your 3 other sources of income. Arrogance gets cured very fast...
When I was building up my account, I pulled out the bare minimum needed to survive for the next month, and also a little to build up an emergency fund for 6 months of living expenses in case shit hit the fan. Everything else was kept in the account in order to fund new strategies. Now that I am "set in my ways" (haha) and have a comfortable amount allocated to each strategy (based on historical max D/D % of my ACTUAL trades, not some backtest BS), I withdraw 100% of all profits every month. Whatever I don't need to live I just put in a money market or other very liquid instrument. Why? My strategies are all funded adequately, and by taking out 100%, I always have a ready reserve to put towards a new strategy, or to protect from a meltdown of the ones I currently use. I don't expect them to blow up, but I learned a long time ago that in this biz, cash truly is king, and money management extends beyond the trade you are currently in.
I have a feeling you are a little overconfident in having "arrived." Being profitable for less than a year does not mean you are yet a successful trader. Your main worry should not be on how to milk a calf. Wait until it grows up and becomes a cow...
Take out your initial capital and use it for the lower priority itiems that were postponed at the time you provided the initial capital. Run each type of trading account you use at the market's capacity and sweep excesses (weekly) into the remaining unlimited application (for me its sector rotation). For any lifestyle you wish just use your trading accounts as the Bank. For instance if you are replacing one of your cars. Buy a new one for cash and pay yourself back plus common interest over the life (2 to 3 years) of the car. If you have other passive types of income, put that capital in your trading account since it is not making any money comparitively speaking.