Before I ask for assistance on this long drawn out complicated matter I just want to say everyone on this site is excellent and provides great advice??? Ok here is my situation.. I am 31 and currently I swing trade but I have always dreamed of becoming a fulltime trader..With this dream in mind I have worked hard several years in my day job to save a decent size account (about 100k). I have always been terrified to leave my 80k yr salary at a fortune 500 company because of all horror stories I have heard about daytraders....Well last Friday as I was walking out the door I overheard my supervisor say that I was a horrible employee and some other things but I did not catch the rest of it...She did not know I that overheard her. I just continued walking out the door...I could not beleive it. I have been with the same company 5 yrs and worked my ass of everyday of those 5 yrs....I just sat in my car and my stomach sank...I was exausted after a long week and I wanted to go in and confront her but I was late to my brother's graduation. As I was driving away my mind was racing...I could not imagine coming back to place that does not want me..They all smile in my face but deep down I know they want me out.. I feel maybe this is the opportunity to take the leap and start trading fulltime. Here is the problem....I have a serious girlfriend...I also am looking at building a new home in my dream neighborhood...I am currently renting but I would like to eventually get married start a family and buy a lot in this area...I am so sick of my apartment, my neighbors and my landlord. These are all dreams of mine and they are costly....But I hate to say this but my biggest dream is trading fulltime...I dread the thought of sabotaging even a PENNY of trading account to have these other things...Sometime I think maybe I mentally deranged or a degenerate gambler to have these thoughts but I cant help it..These are my thoughts.. Here is my question to You....I am at a well paying job with benefits in a company that does not want me...I have not been fired yet.....My savings is to embark on a trading career if I do get the boot...Should I risk a large protion of this capital for a new home purchase??? What would you do?
For most forms of trading, you don't need $100,000 to trade with in your account. Start with $50k on 4:1 margin and commit to losing no more than $20k as part of your learning curve.
Keep the job. Buy the house. Get married. If your passion was truly trading full time you would already be doing it. Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear. Just my opinion.
Don't take anyones advice. You're the one that will have to live with the consequences. There's a saying "Expert advice is always comforting, even when it's wrong".
Thinking about it, Nico has actually made a very good point... understand what truly motivates you. Then follow Rigel's advice not to take other people's advice.
topguntrader, the problem with being an employee is that you're always a line in the budget somewhere. Whenever time comes to cut costs, you get a new boss that doesn't like you or a similar event, most companies will let you go. You only really have a chance to fight those "eliminations" if your a pregnant woman, a minority or over 40 - none of which obviously apply to you I made the decision to focus on trading full time a while back, knowing that it would take several years before I would be making comparable income. The biggest benefit of being "solo" is that no one else is messing up your life and goals. It all depends on you. For some that's stressful, for others a relief. A trading career can be started at anytime. If you have the courage to believe in yourself, have good starting capital, and the dedication to stick it out for at least a year, you can make it work.
topguntrader, It is clear from your post that your current employment may be nearing its end based on the comment you overheard. What is unclear is why that comment was made. In any case, one way or another you will eventually move on to something else. Whether it is trading or another full time job depends on your need for security. As for the house and family, it is very unrealistic to assume you can begin a full time trading career, buy a new home, and support a family all at once. You are going to find that there are numerous expenses that come with owning a home, even if the house is brand new. When you get married you will have more pressure from your wife for making the house the #1 financial priority. You should prepare for a career transition soon. If you have little or no experience trading, then you MUST be prepared to lose money at first. Again we revisit those statistics which remind us that maybe 10% of traders make it. So there is no guarantee. That being said, you cannot possibly think about allocating a good portion of your savings for a house down payment. Move into a different apartment and let your career take its course. Either soon you will be fired or you will leave on your own. These two changes of moving and career change are going to be a major adjustment. Don't add marriage, homeownership, and children to the immediate concerns you have right now. It is too much to handle all at once. Lastly, I did not cover the topics of health insurance, taxes, and other issues you will have to deal with when you begin trading full time. Those too will be important concerns that take time to research and understand.
Stick to you job, learn to daytrade in between until you are consistent with you trading. I start trading 2 1/2 years ago. I still keep my day job, and daytrade in the morning for 2-4 hours. $80k a year job is hard to find in this kind of economy. If you are quiting a job, and learn to trade. You are like starting a new career from ground. If you become successful, happy ending. If you failed, you life sux, you probably will wish, you never had given up the $80k job.
Something to think about. Your serious girlfriend might have a different opinion of you after she see's you go from a 80k company guy to a moaning, cussing guy sitting around the house in front of the computer terminal in his underwear all day. To most women image is everything (what would her friends think? LOL)
During the bull, I was pulling in $0.5-$0.75 million annually. Under current conditions, I will pull in about $0.25million by the end of this year... this is with the benefit of many years of experience i.e. as time goes on, I get better and better. Implication: trading has simply got less profitable because market conditions aren't great anymore, there is a lot more competition from other daytraders, the market makers / specialists have gotten MUCH smarter, chart patterns don't work very well anymore because the scene is so crowded etc etc etc. With your capital and with no experience in trading, I suggest to you that your $0.08million a year job will make MUCH more than your trading will for at least a year (indeed you are likely to LOSE capital for the first few months). So ask yourself if you REALLY want to do trading, at the sacrifice of the other things in life. If you really want to do it, follow your desires and simply DO IT. Who knows, you may be able to pull off a "Hitman"! (he is a highly successful rookie trader on this forum who started late last year, who is on target to make decent first year earnings, from what I understand)