hi i am currently a sophmore in college as some of you know...and i am planning on trading with a prop firm when im done with college...but i looked around on ET and couldnt find a past thread like it..so i though id start this thread for me and other pople who are deciding to trade with a prop... ok of course i know i will need a years living expense to be safe...but the question is what do you think a years living expense should be...?? of cours it matters how many expenses i have....but also what kinda of thing swill i have to be paying for right off the bat when i am starting with a prop? any other advice on living expenses i should know would be greatly appreciated....thanks guys joey
If you can't figure out your own living expenses for a year, you have a LOT to learn before jumping into a trading career. Sorry to come off so harsh, but money management skills are probably MORE critical to success in trading than any other single skill set.
do you think im some kinda a idiot..i have great money managment skills...im just asking peoples opinion...i know how much spend....but just asking others advice....like anything they didnt think would be a expense ect ect...
Live as cheap as you can. Take the subway if your in the city.. live with a roommate if you can. Dont try and be like others....flashy is not good. Most the guys you will meet trading are broke. As long as you live below your means until your first million. You will be golden. Think longterm, like the rest of you life. If you can pull it off, the life style is beyond most peoples comprehension. However, just like trading, you will learn when to cut your spending and when to raise it, as you know when to go full buying power/shorting power or pull back on size. I am speaking from experience. I have seen so many flashy traders go down in flames the last two years....mainly my fellow daytraders. The first thing my mentor said to me is " dont care about what others are making or how they are living.. Live below your means, and focus on building your net worth.....who cares about the others. er
Marry rich. That never hurts either. ER is right about living simply. If you have a side income from a night job (or a rich wife, see above) that will take pressure off of your trading.
Where you live is a very big factor in determining your living expenses. For instance, when I lived in the Austin, TX area I had to figure on a extra 1k/month just for "SUGAR's".