good luck..... u are just getting started and 40k is hardly a lost opportunity....I hope u make 10 fold...peace
after 10 yrs of trading i have learnt to manage the stress levels i create. just like any job there are good days and bad days and if the day really sucks and i feel like crap(mentally) then i'll quit for the day and go work out. i amde a list of pro's and con's of trading vs reg job and the only pro for the reg job is more money.and this yr i don't think that will be an issue either.
Goldenarm, I stick by the statement. It's not stressful when I am doing it right. Don't know about OPM, you may be right about that. Trading WAS stressful for me in the past. Trading is no longer stressful for me. Maybe because I trade interest rates with slower movements and I stick to my rules which makes it hard to have catastrophic days. If I'm stressed I will not be in a position.
But to answer the original Q, I would like to have at least 100k in my account before I considered full time, and would need to make at least 3k a month. Wouldn't do it unless I had a few months worth of expenses in a savings account as well.
LOL. I would love a job at those guy's Mc'd. Working at Mc'd and having >25K to daytrade with, must be nice.
I just gave up my 100k job (and a fiancee, and an expensive uptown apt, and the rest of my bourgeious yuppie lifestyle (selling the bimmer after I get back from snowboarding in Chile). I'm going back to school (was offered a research assistanceship in the finance dept of a small university in Alabama). The rent on my new place is $300/mo. All of my other expenses will decrease in about the same proportion. I'm happier than I've ever been, even though my trading is mediocre at best (for now) So, no, its not just about the money. It's a matter of having the nuts to do what you want to do. If I can make a subsistence living (without burning through my savings getting to that point) I will be very very satisfied. --laz