Iâm a 7-year trader, basically treading water the past 3-4 years, hereâs why: got two young kids (and an evening job). My wife works 9-5 while I watch the kids. Naturally Iâm responsible for the little ones (ages 4 and 1) as the exchanges are trading. Being a good dad and a good trader is basically hopeless or so it seems. I find myself being impatient, forcing trades and lacking a general point of focus as I tend to the kids. My goal is to eventually become a full time trader and ditch the decent paying evening work. Life is short. I have the confidence but no time to hone my skills. This is my first post. Iâm not looking for advice per se because being dad to handcuffs and shackles will always come first but Iâm interested to know if anyone on ET has gone through this and how they may have managed. Or are you all just single, care free and without kids?
1) Keep the evening job at all costs. 2) You can consider yourself lucky because if you have been trading for 7 years AND have a 4-year old, a lot of wives would have given you an ultimatum 1 or 2 years ago to either stop trading or face divorce. 3) Consider developing trading methods that are related to specific times of the day so you're not waiting for randomly occuring "signals" to appear. 4) Consider developing trading methods that are longer-term and trend-following in nature so you don't have to constantly watch the computer screen at the expense of your children.
Ah ... that's so sweet ... and so true. *** If you trade the financial markets (S&P500 based stocks, options or futures), focus on the early morning session or the late afternoon session. 1) Don't trade both 2) Don't be greedy 3) Do keep a detailed diary of your trading results 4) Do keep honing your skills (it's like shooting a basketball, driving a car, riding a bike or dancing). This will give you plenty of time to take the plethora of opportunities that exist in the financial markets while also taking care of your family. Good Luck
Are you a daytrader or do you trade longer timeframes? I can't imagine daytrading and babysitting kids lol! I think longer term trading is the way to go especially with a family. Daytrading for a living is stressful enough without having the whole married w/ kids dynamic added into the mix.
Madel-brotha his best option would be to stop trading. 7 years trading and his reason for not making money are he has to babysit. Sorry I know you don't want to hear this, but if you stop now and focus your energy elsewhere, you'd probably be better off....peace...I ain't putting you down, i'm trying to lift you up
I know from experience how difficult it is to combine (short-term) trading with kids - actually, for me it's impossible and I'm at about 5% of my capacity. Might be a good idea to hold off the trading for a few years until they're greater, or look into longer term trading/swing-trading. You could check out pairs trading for instance. Best of luck to you, and remember the markets will always be there to return to.
Being a profitable short-term trader is just an illusion. Besides, you are giving the wrong example to your kids. Why not be a profitable INVESTOR?
Is there a reason why you don't want to use day care??? I use it 2 - 3 days per week even though it's paid in full for each week for the toddler and the older one goes to kindergarten. On the days the toddler is home...the spouse takes care of him. Simply, trading and taking care of the kids at the exact same time is almost an impossible task to be successful at both. Don't forget about the local babysitters in your neighborhood especially in the summer that can come to your home and watch the kids a few days per week for a few hours while you trade prior to them putting the kids in bed for their naptime. Mark