You're still young, plenty of time on your side. Work a day job for 3-5 years and live well below your means. Go rent a studio apartment, get a futon, etc. Put any extra savings into as much gold/silver coins as you can. Save up until you at least have well over $10k to trade with.
Thousand, How much thinking have you done about the possibility that you might lose the borrowed money, and the effects this would have on your future? Have you thought about it all? What will you do if you lose the borrowed money? If you don't have good answers to these questions, but you proceed to trade the borrowed money anyway, then I would see this as the self-destructive behaviour of a compulsive gambler.
I have done a lot of thinking. I have thought about playing it safe and putting borrowed money into S&P for a long term investment. However, the return would be quite low, because I would only be getting the spread between the rate of return from S&P and the interest rate. As well, the tax would have reduced the return significantly. So, this leads me to think about putting the money into stocks instead. I have picked out a company that have a great business model, profitable, and that I could invest in for long-term purpose. (this is in case I loose my discipline and let the stock price dropped below my stop loss limit) Using technical analysis, I have purchased their stock at a price level I feel comfortable with. Since I would be doing swing trading, I would not be using any more leverage with my trade. However, I do understand that I might loose a lot of money. So I have set an amount I am willing to loose. If I did loose the money, I will either move back with my parents, or if by that time I have completed my accounting designation (meaning more free time), I will get a second job.
The psychological effects of losing borrowed money are much worse than losing 'owned' money. Not only do you have the loss to contend with, but repayment! There has been a lot of advice thrown your way to get another job to increase cash flow, live below your means for a while etc. Take it! While it may sound hard to do, you will benefit from capital ownership when it is all said and done. Sit down (it's nearly the end of the year) and make a plan for next year. What do you want to accomplish in 2006? Where do you want to be at the end of the first semester and at the end of the year? It seems like forever when your job sucks out loud, but you will get there by just chipping away at the money problem. I bet there are several 'posters' out there who have had to do the same thing. I know I have! Good luck!
I was a retail trader in futures 7 years ago when i blew my account up. (was only 5k but I was 24 years old and that was alot of money to me) Had to get a job so i got a job as a dealer in Las Vegas. 6 weeks of dealer school to learn craps and plenty of casinos hiring. In a way it was like trading because you never knew how much you were going to make each day. Some days you made $50 some days $250. And if you got a job at the hilton or the hard rock you could make some nice scores. Some days they have 1000 dollar days. Even heard that one time at the las vegas hilton Kerry Packer (austrailian billionaire)came in and tipped so much that each dealer walked out that night with 30k each. Anyway...its alot more fun than accounting if you are looking to not be so bored and pretty easy to get a job right away. But anyways before i overhype the dealing jobs the average dealer makes about 30k a year.... only the big joints like ballys, paris, hard rock and a few others are pulling in the 50k+ a year. But like i said...its alot more fun than accounting and you get 20 min breaks every hour
Thanks for the clarification. With that information...I think it may be more suitable for you to get your personal life organize to a point where your comfortable and happy... Prior to trading. To many traders underestimate the psychological aspects of being retail traders. In my opinion, its the main reason why most fail. Further, when you complete your accounting designation, found that better paying job and have more free time for a second job... Trading could be that second job to you and you'll be better prepared for the psychological demands of trading. Whereas doing the above in reverse will only increase the odds to be seeds of self-sabotage. In addition, you may not give it your best effort because of other things occurring in your life. There's just too many traders failing because their timing is wrong when they got involved with trading via walking around with too much baggage. Mark (a.k.a. NihabaAshi) Japanese Candlestick term
dafugginman, if I remember correctly he was also living on credit card, saved rent by move in with his girlfriend then one day he made $200 and more next day, should be a mil by now if not more.