Many 23 years old with 20k are asking the same question. So you will have to think a bit harder to beat them at it!
If yield goes up you'll be losing principal. And it may be doing that right now. Housing will crack some when rates back up. Some places could get ugly.SF Boston etc
If I were 25, I would start buying rental property, build up an income from it and then trade knowing you have money coming in. Takes a lot of the pressure off.
Great thread here. I'm a 25 year old trader and have been in and around the business since I was 19. I started trading on my own in college, went to prop trading until 23, worked for a .com trading company until 3 months ago, and now i'm with a hedge fund. I read a few posts from some of our senior E.T. members, and expectedly they read something like, "25 yrs old, thick head, too much testosterone, won't listen to their elders..." I would say that most 25 year old eyes reading this, who are E.T. members, generally don't exhibit those characteristics. How could you live that stereotypically and survive in these markets? I have a few trader buddies around E.T. that are my age and are well liked for their maturity and respect by the older "success stories" of our business. I'm not saying that 98% of guys my age aren't hammerheads, but I just like to make the point that 20 somethings you meet here in this business might be a bit ahead of the crowd. Great thread again. Hey FX traders, check out the FX chat room here on E.T. It runs 24 hrs and has some great resources there. Good trading all! Todd.
wouldn't take no for an answer. wouldn't acknowledge failure. probably wouldn't have broken up with _______. wouldn't let naysayers steal my thunder. paid attention to my instincts more. gone to church. well, you asked...
Travel the world. Very slowly. Somewhere along the line you'll discover a great business. I guess I would begin in china, or certainly the pacific rim. ie - invest in yourself. Oh and fuck everything that moves. I guarantee this will be the advice I give to my son at that age, if not a bit before.