By "don't really care about the money" I think it means they don't necessarily define their personal value in terms of dollars. So the reason you don't see them living large is because money isn't the primary source of their joy, satisfaction, contentment, dignity, worth, etc. But, this does not necessarily mean that they don't have a healthy respect for money--and that sense of respect might be why they choose to live frugally.
yea, i agree, guess it's just like this weird disconnect where (i) respect for money --> living frugally, shopping at walmart, eating $2 McMuffins, etc (ii) being coolly detached about +/- hundreds of k within few hours, literally equivalent to decades of savings for many people
I've only met only one trader in person (not an online story) that stated he did not care about money regardless if he won big or lost big... He only said that because his wife had a nice fat government job as a manager in the pension department. My point, if someone has a safe secure backup plan about income, they too may not care about the fact that they lose big and win big.
Ah, yes, I remember Wade Cook. What a scum bag. I paste below, for your edification, his Wikipedia intro. Wade Bruce Cook (born October 9, 1949) is an American author and self-proclaimed financial guru. Cook claims to have started his success when he was a taxi driver in the 1970s. His first book, Real Estate Money Machine, was originally self-published in 1981. He filed for personal bankruptcy in 1987. An updated version of his book was published in 1996. His company was liquidated in 2003 after it had been forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by creditors, and he served 88 months in prison for tax evasion. He still offers trading advice through his website and publications. P.S.: His advice to take in pocket change, as you put it, was precisely what caused him to bankrupt his own trading account. He tried to push the value of short puts on his audience during a bull market run, as today, until it caught up with him. If there is anyone whose advice you do NOT want to take, it is Wade Cook.
i remember him so well the cumulative tick count thing reminded me so much of the td count indicator and other high powered guru's in the day. but i will say it made me look and study hard and my leg muscles got firm chasing after shit like that. lol
I think you're confusing Wade Cook with Mark Cook. Mark Cook is the cumulative tick indicator guy. https://www.markdcook.com/
In the OP there are 2 completely different issues mixed up: 1. Treating gains and losses as points, ticks instead of dollars, thus not having a psychological effect on the trader. 2. Spending gains frugally.