On my 60k account, it isn't very difficult to make 20k a month. That's only a meager 30%. I don't see any reason that with even a 40k account, you can't make 100k+ per year pretty easilly. I know that I can cut out like 75% of my account volatility and my returns would probably only drop to about 10-15k a month rather than 20k a month on the 60k i keep in the account.
I think putting too much of ones account into one position is too risky unless you have strict Money management rules like get out at end of day or $ or % loss get out rules good luck to you
alone ... no prop firm I agree with the P+L swings ... they can change my mood if I make 3-5-7 % of my trading cap in a week ... I feel great ... if I have a losing week that approaches a good week in % loss ... I feel like I should stop trading and get a real job. well so far ... still doing this successfully ... but it took a few yrs to get to this level and not sure if this level is where I want to be if there were added pressure of wife and kids to support as I am single
I always enjoy reading your posts. Your style of trading is an interesting read compared to the majority of styles talked about here on ET. On your trading profits, I say job well done. Carry On
Not sure if this is applicable to many people who posted. But I go through terrible mood swings. Yesterday was a good day, but I still focus on the losers more than the profits I took. But here is the the thing. When I waited tables I went through periods where I hated it. When I sold insurance there were highs and lows, depending on sales. When I did tax work and consulting, same thing. When I managed a business office I always felt like I needed to quit. Now I am self employed living the "dream", yet the pressure and the highs and lows are greater than I ever would have expected. So here is the question for introspection, is that not why many of us are in the position we are in? People who are "satisfied" with their jobs don't "worry" as much. Some are content working 9-5 and doing whatever after work. And there is nothing wrong with that, but many of us don't fit into that bucket, or am I wrong? I had a date last night, as I'm single again, joy, and when asked what I like to do, my honest answer was work. And it is personal, wether it was cleaning a restroom or doing a millionaire's tax return. So the my answer to the posted question, is trade if it is what you want to do. Failure is failure, just like any business you may start. But if you are planning on leaving because you think the grass is greener, watch out for the dog poop.
Seth, Risk is the name of the game. You have to take on lots of it if you hope to have multiple hundred percent up years. I don't think I'm taking on too much risk though. The mwy news on wed means that there won't be any more news that's company specific in months. It's trading at just over it's cash level with almost no debt. I really think that it was the most riskfree trade I could have done. That's why I did it so large. I needed the size also to get my basis down to 4 dollars. If I had a good basis, it would have probably been only 25k shares. If a trade is obvious, just like THV, there's no reason not to risk a lot of your account. Not doing so is actually taking just as large of a risk. You are risking that something better will come along.
Thanks to all who have answered so far. I've been reading posts here for about a month and I know it's pretty easy to just hear what you want to hear, and this would be a fundamental mistake for someone who wants to approach trading as full time, serious business, and I do. I'm still working on the "financial house" to have enough funds to start the business, including a nest egg for about 6 months of living expenses, which I'm told is a very good idea, for surviving the learning curve. As far as my aptitude and discipline for trading are concerned, I feel I'm in pretty good shape. I have been in a straight commission sales job for eight years and made a decent high five figure income. I was promoted four years ago and now manage the sales department for our company and am salaried at about the same level, but have grown somewhat tired of what I do and feel too limited in my earning potential. I am even considering going back to a straight sales job because of the limitations, both physically and monetarily of the staff position. I have traded stocks since 1997, starting with Schwab Online at an astounding $29.95/trip! that's $60 before any profits realized. I was only playing "part time", was seriously under-funded, uneducated and just plain dumb. It took about a year to lose 7K of my 13K account. Switched to Datek, learned a little more, cut my commission expenses dramatically and have traded with marginal success until late last year when I believe due to my trading only part time, I lost another 2k on a few shares of CSCO and INTC. It is obvious to me that all of my losses, since my initial learning curve have been due to only "playing" stock trader. If I could have watched my positions and gotten out at a disciplined stop loss level, I could have done much better. I haven't traded since last year and will wait until I can go "full time" as a business. I read, watch the markets, play trade with Cyber simulator and strategize for the time when I can make my living trading stocks, like so many of you have already done. I am patient and will wait until my financial situation is not a major roadblock and when I dive in, I will jump off the high dive into the deep end and not just dip my toe in, which can lead to the wrong idea of how cold the water is. Thanks again for the replies and I look forward to hearing many more. P.S. I forgot to mention that I LOVE the market and have a passion for it. It's the most challenging, interesting and difficult thing I've ever seen in my 38 years!