Well, to trade for the purpose of not having to work, thanks to the money you make from trading and that allows you to support yourself means as well that you are trading for the money. I always wanted to be a philosopher or at least to spend a lot of time reading philosophy books. If I can quit my job thanks to trading, and then spend time reading philosophy books, I can say "I am trading so I can be a philosopher", but the means to it was the money that I made from trading, so I still did trade for the money. I will never buy rolexes, ferraris, or even jewelry for a woman. So I guess I am "frugal" as well, but I am conscious that the more I want to be free to be a poet, painter, artist, thinker, the more I have to be after the money.
Well chinky-chuggy-chani, guess what, most at ET are trading for freedom because they ain't ever going to achieve riches. But then riches is the only thing that gives you real freedom.
Can I assume that most of you trading for the "freedom" don't have wife/children to support at this point in your life?
OP, thank you for this thread. For me, it is about not having to commute, work for someone else or have anyone else telling me what to do. I live on my own terms and make all the decisions. I am very independent and really could not bring myself to be fake everyday in a corporate environment. I would say trading brings more security than a corporate job, more accountability and more personal growth. Hell to me would be having to spend a required amount of time in a cubical, filling out useless paperwork, obtaining approvals, creating useless initiatives just for the sake of doing something to get promoted while creating no value, etc... I'm not impressed by titles or corporate jobs. I feel sorry for all of those that bought into the scam of the "real world". It's all what you make it and hell with what others think. Easier said than done, and if you are able to take a non-corporate path you are already well ahead of the game in terms of your mindset. I have friends that think I am nuts but so be it, I think they are nuts! To each their own.
I guess many people take the all or nothing approach. Either its totally back or its totally white. Not everyone who trades the markets is a millionaire, the same way that not everyone in the markets loses their shirt. Why can't some people understand that you can make a normal income (ie. what one makes in your standard corporate job) via trading? I'm not talking about huge amounts, just enough to pay the bills every month. The flipside is, you get to work when, how, and when you want. And you are self made, you do not have a "coporate title" to hide your mediocrity or have other people around you to point fingers at when you make a mistake.
"Buildings?" In how many of them do you presently live? And what is your definition of doormen buildings? Where doormen live?
This is an interesting thread. I think you have hit the nail right on the head by writing: âThe flipside is, you get to work when, how, and when you want.â I suppose we sometimes have to stop and think and ask ourselves why did we begin to trade in the first place? I believe most of us trade because we want to improve our quality of life, either by having bigger income, more freedom, prestige, or just for the pure intellectual challenge. I wonder how many traders began to trade so they can have better quality of life, and eventually they end up devoting 12 hours each day to the markets, chasing every wrinkle on 5 min charts while being constantly full of adrenaline from stress (speaking from past personal experience). Now I'm quite happy to sacrifice large income from intraday trading, and rather place on a longer term trades and go fishing or whatever I like, and have much smaller income but enjoy life. We live only once, and no point to spent our one and only life in front of monitors, sacrificing our relationships with families, just to get extra digit in our account. I'd rather make smaller amount per month and work only couple of hours per month, than have unlimited income from endless stressful hours and no time for my family or myself. Life is a gift, why throw it away sitting stressed out in front of half a dozen monitors for few measly extra bucks? Who cares if someone makes more money than I do, my self esteem is not a direct reflection of my material possession. Frugality gets my vote.