One question comes to my mind when I started lurking on here after some time away... why so many new registered users and how did you get started ? Haven't you heard trading is a losing game yet ? And hasn't every inexperienced trader involved with stocks got crushed in the past 12 months ? Hell even experienced people that didn't stay short all the way out of stubborness and luck got taken for a ride ! Mind boggling, I would think no one wants to trade again after stock investors and govt bond shorts got killed and probably many Fx traders got run over as well due to leverage ... Me I keep trading because I am forced to .
With more unemployed people out there, wouldn't there be more people thinking of alternatives to traditional employment?
my mom has been out of work for several months now. she's swing trading now. lol. she's always thinking "it was 20 dollars before, now its 2 dollars, soon it'll be 10 dollars again and i'll make lots!"
I'll give you my answer. It comes in two parts... 1) History tells us that today's circumstances are PERFECT for starting out in trade. This is when people are going to get rich, AND/OR 2) If we truly are in a SHTF scenario, our cash will be worthless anyway. And rifles would and farmland would be a better investment. (A small arable plot I just acquired just over 6 months ago, just about large enough to support my family if I have to produce ALL our food). Call that insurance, I am not betting on SHTF, but I prefer to not ignore the possibility either. I actually come from a banking family background, but I myself am in IT. My wife and I gambled unwisely on realestate by not selling our homes when we moved, so we are now stuck with 3 mortgages, one of them upsidedown. Ce le vie, we 've never had much liquidity together, just lots of assets. So I have started saving some money starting a few month ago with the intent to trade with it. Not invest mind you, but trade. I do pretty well in my from-the-hip predictions in markets I have familiarity with. And I have been playing an online economics game with about 250,000 participants for about a year and a half. I started out with $10,000 in-game dollars, and in this time frame I have amassed something around $10 billion in net worth. Yes this however is real life and not a game, I realize that, and I don't expect to make 10 billion dollars in a year starting out with so little money. When the money is play money, its a lot easier to take massive risks. I do however believe I will at least be able to leverage more yield out of my money than traditional yield bearing accounts like savings CD and bills. So that's why I as a newb have suddenly become a trader. I hope y'all found that at least a little interesting.
in trading, the barriers to entry are almost non-existent, so it gives the illusion that it is easy to make lotsa dough
Well there is one barrier. You need money. Anyone with half a brain knows that if you want to "Trade" rather than "invest", you need enough capital to surmount commisions and fees on trades. I'd say you want to target 1% or less in commisions and fees to make it worth while. More commissions and you are fighting your profits with the costs to do business. In most cases for bargain trading brokers, that's about $1000 per trade ($10 commissions and fees). Everyone can save $1000 in a couple month, I don't care who you are, but it requires you do put that money away and not think of it as backup money for something you will need or want. Its gone.... If I can do a trade and cover my commissions and increase my yield and capital, that will make me happy for now. I'd "daytrade" later when I have enough capital to produce an income from it without hurting my growth. Beyond having initial capital, yes no barrier....