You did say it was enough to make a living from, and I wouldn't disagree if it's by someone young with low expenses. I'm not that much older than you and probably have similar necessary expenses, and 16k would be enough to build into a decent amount within a couple of years, providing I'm a decent trader.
I don't understand half of the rules but when I have doubts, I call my broker and find out what, if anything, pertains to me. As long as compliance is happy with me, I got no probs Maximizing leverage is subject to interpretation. AFAIK, it's not a good idea to get near the limit because you need a buffer for fluctuations. In addition, when trading, the last thing you need is anything that takes away from your focus and concentration - such as checking to see how close you are to exceeding margin limits (and facing restriction). Near maximum leverage is for when you have confidence in your positions, in your abilities as well as the discipline to unwind when adverse moves begin. If the sh*t hits the fan and you're the deer in the headlights, you either need to dial it down or trade while tranquilized
When I started out, my plan was 1) not to lose and 2) to beat money market rates which would be the return for doing nothing. After that, everything was gravy. It may not seem like much of an accomplishment but when you are a no clue noob, it is. AFAIK, money management is far more important than the trade because winners take care of themselves. Staying in the game is essential to learning the game.
All excellent points. This guy really nails the difference between what some people might have done and what is actually a reasonably repeatable blueprint in a profession that already has a high failure rate -- never mind adding the handicap of a underfunded account. If you have traded for a while you have no doubt heard every story under the sun about the trader who started as pizza delivery guy and made a million bucks. Or the guy that had 800k in their account, suffered a draw down to their last $20 and then roared back to several million. Lots of these stories are true, (some are total bullshit) but they don't matter. They are stories -- that's it. They should not make any difference to your decision making process, how you conduct your business or how you trade. The fact that they somehow happened should make no difference to your life. Having a small account should not dissuade you from pursuing a career in trading. But if you start trading with little or no money, the reality is that you are the shortest of short stacks at a casino full of whales. How much money do you need? It depends. You should either have enough that you don't have to worry about a paycheck or so little that failure is not an option.
The OP shows more promise then the average noob. The average beginner will calculate the amount of money they need to make in a month and go about trying to make that money. They will most likely blow up before the first bills ever come. However starting off gradually and conservatively is only one piece of the pie. If I knew the OP personally I would worry about his ability to continue the path even after consecutive months of failure or stagnation. Seeing that he is married and has a family I don't know if he could continue failing when others are depending on him. I however don't know all the details of his situation but if the OP has the attitude of "I need to be profitable under this amount of time" then he will certainly fail. Realistically the only way I see you finding success is if you can amazingly accomplish a mindset that says "If I die a profitless trader then I die even at the expense of my family." The true question to ask is not what amount of capital is required. The true question to ask is can you endure failure at the expense of yourself and others? You need to be a realist, you need to know what it takes and what to expect in order to stay on the path.
You can actually start off trading with as less as $10 with forex . But if ur overly stingy and undercapitalized, ur destined to doom.
I've heard that trading is one of the few ways where you could start w/ a small account... and get rich. It isn't likely, but it is possible. When playing a small stack in poker, if you are a highly skilled player, you can still come up. For the OP, my opinion is that if you have more responsibilities, that can be an advantage as well. In nature, animals like bears are the most dangerous to be around when protecting their young. That's my 2-cents.
Wrong. The more responsibilities the faster the aspiring trader needs to make money. If a trader has a time frame where he absolutely has to start making money at a certain point then he will fail. An aspiring trader needs to naturally fail and experiment in order to find a mix of caution and risk. They will undoubtedly raise the risk too much if they find themselves pressed with a deadline.
I never said anything about a time frame. A true poker player will worry about the game of poker... not about how much money he/she can make in a day, week, month, or lifetime.
Yes but if a trader has a large amount of financial responsibilities such as a family then if he goes full time he will be pressured to make profits after a certain amount of time unless he has a ton in savings which is not likely.