i am posting a new thread so my story does'nt get lost in the shuffle. here's the deal. i was a very good trader, believe it or not. however, i would have a 6 great months and one bad one would destroy me. i lost about 600k ;i am not exaggerating one bit. i kept replenishing my account and telling myself this was the last time until i was broke. i remember sitting in a parking lot of a jewelery store almost in tears because i was selling my last piece of jewelery to pay my phone bill so my wife would'nt be humiliated when friends called the house and then my car was re possessed and i hit rock bottom. you think i am trying to make the story more interesting? wrong ! i was fu##in devistated .thats when i got into the construction industry and am now doing very well despite the bad economy. i am a TOTALLY different person. i am serious,i just want to help people avoid going through what i went through. by the way, my car was repossessed twice; the first time i said it was a wake up call and i was now going to be a MORE DISCIPLINED trader..well, you know the rest. one last thing. you will lose your money quicker in the market than any casino,thats a fact. casino's don't offer margin.
You are a totally different person now.....now you are serious??? Who told you be be a non serious trader, sounds like a recipe for disaster, no wonder you left the business.
That's a tough story NY, sorry you had to go through that... The part about your wife is what resonates with me the most - ruining myself is one thing, but potentially taking down my family with me was just too big a risk. I kicked around the idea of trading full time but decided against it for exactly that reason and am very happy with my decision. Now I trade options, scalp the 6E afterhours when I feel like it and sock away profits from time to time in my retitrement account. Personally, I like the balance of a steady paycheck along with the opportunity to participate in the market without all the pressure. Best of luck to you and glad to hear you're doing well!
Thanks for sharing, it takes balls to admit your mistakes and move on with life. Best wishes for success in the future. ZR1
I'm curious if your trading style was trend-following or counter-trend (reversion-to-mean). When I was a counter-trend trader, I would have a string of profits and then wipe out a big chunk of them. This hasn't happened since I learned to trade with the trend and use stop losses on every trade.
Thanks for sharing hood. I know a guy who lost his million dollar home and 3 cars. Not to Mention his pride from trading addiction. He is doing ok now, but he says to have had money and lose it is far worse than never having it at all.
How are you doing well in construction, you have no transferable skills from daytrading. What year did you quit, and how many years did it take you to do 'well' in construction?
Hood, in my years of trading which is over a decade, the end story is this. 8 1/2 out of ten have this same story and leave bitter and broke. Great you found another source of income and i hope many other traders don't fall in this same situation ....
Hood, it does not sound like you should have ever been in trading. It sounds like you fit into something else much better. Too bad it took you so long to realize this. Happy to hear you are doing well in your new career.