Fortunate to have become a profitable trader

[JTrader]

Pause for thought.....

If you are fortunate enough to be a profitable trader, never forget how lucky/fortunate (albeit through your own skill, dedication & hard work) you are.

If you look at a vast number of non-good job types that people do in the UK & across the world, in order to pay the bills, requiring any one/all of hard work, health & safety risks etc. in the job, and often for low rates of pay, it really can make (profitable) trading look like fantasy land childs play....

 

[chump]

or in other words don't let 'familiarity breed contempt'...I agree completely.

 

[shadowninja]

Most definitely. I have just climbed over the brow of the hill where trading is allowing me to not have to work and can see a beautiful landscape bathed in a golden sunshine from here. I now work at most 2 hours a day, and furthermore, I have a thoroughly enjoyable lifestyle which means that I:
-don't have to answer to a demanding boss
-don't have to put up with irritating colleagues
-don't have to worry about deadlines
-don't have to endure traffic jams
-don't have to wake up before lunchtime and
-don't have to wear clothes

and this will more than pay my bills and pension fund and feed my sports car hobby.

Discipline is my only enemy.

 

[Kevin21]

Most definitely. I have just climbed over the brow of the hill where trading is allowing me to not have to work and can see a beautiful landscape bathed in a golden sunshine from here. I now work at most 2 hours a day, and furthermore, I have a thoroughly enjoyable lifestyle which means that I:
-don't have to answer to a demanding boss
-don't have to put up with irritating colleagues
-don't have to worry about deadlines
-don't have to endure traffic jams
-don't have to wake up before lunchtime and
-don't have to wear clothes

and this will more than pay my bills and pension fund and feed my sports car hobby.

Discipline is my only enemy.

word To be blunt i've had some **** jobs in my few years on this earth, plus i was homeless for touch over a year when i was younger (long story), during which i breifly stayed in a homeless hostel with smackies, downers etc etc... However i got my head down, worked hard, still made it to uni, got a first and was lucky enough to have some decent people help me along the way with my trading.

You know how the story goes... My life is massive cliche' and i'm proud :cheesy:

 

[beebop]

good on you!

 

[shadowninja]

Nice one, Kevin!

 

[DDI]

thats how i felt in 2006 when i made 46k from 10 k capital by doing lots of binaries (about 30 trades a day) and scalping fx with spread betting companies who have slow feeds and instant execution.

I really felt good and lucky. spent as i liked and thanked the heavens every day.

This year has not been so great. Initially the above mentioned tricks didnt serve me well and I couldnt take stirring at the screen non-stop 10 hours a day anymore. Also it wasnt the proper way forward.

I am now doing a lot of systematic trading where i have developed my criteria. Its nice, i make money little by little (as i dont risk more than 0.5% per trade) but its nothing like last year. If my algorithms prove to be successful am hoping to raise capital and maybe one day have my own little hedge fund.

 

[Kevin21]

The money i make is all going into a pot for other stuff. Main business plan i have is to get into trading top end cars. For example RRP for a ferrari F430 is around 110k, depending on what extras you get. However because of the limited supply of these cars, by nature when you buy them you pay a large premium. If you want to go get an F430 tomorrow expect to pay from 140k-160k for one.

These cars have big spreads when you're trading them. My brothers mate does a similar thing, He loves his cars, but the problem with cars like this is that, unless your last name ends in some name of main street in london, the cost of owning such car is really going to hurt (depreciation etc). So what he does is trade the cars. He gets himself on the list with ferrari for a new one, pays RRP, drives it for 6months, then flogs it on at a premium making around 30k for having a ferrari for a 6 months, then does it again with another ferrari, or an aston martin, lambo etc. Like at the moment he's waiting to take delivery of a ferrari 599GT which has just recently come out. There's a three year waiting list for one if you want it new from ferrari. As a result, if you want one now, the average premium you're gonna pay is 100k for the privlage. The car is around 150-170k RRP so it will cost you around 270K. He's already made a contract with a guy to sell it to him in 8 months time for an 80k premium after he's had fun with it.

Thats my plan anyway... I get to have all my dream cars and make a few quid doing so

 

[JTrader]

thats how i felt in 2006 when i made 46k from 10 k capital by doing lots of binaries (about 30 trades a day) and scalping fx with spread betting companies who have slow feeds and instant execution.

I really felt good and lucky. spent as i liked and thanked the heavens every day.

This year has not been so great. Initially the above mentioned tricks didnt serve me well and I couldnt take stirring at the screen non-stop 10 hours a day anymore. Also it wasnt the proper way forward.

I am now doing a lot of systematic trading where i have developed my criteria. Its nice, i make money little by little (as i dont risk more than 0.5% per trade) but its nothing like last year. If my algorithms prove to be successful am hoping to raise capital and maybe one day have my own little hedge fund.

Thats similar to how i successfully started in terms of screenwatching level 2. I couldn't take staring at L2 for 8 hours per day, and therefore abandonned that approach & looked for easier & more economical & sustainable methods, spread over the course of a few years. I now realise my knowledge of the markets was very limited in the L2 days.

 

[shadowninja]

Kevin, that sounds like my kinda business. I love sports cars!

 

[DDI]

Thats similar to how i successfully started in terms of screenwatching level 2. I couldn't take staring at L2 for 8 hours per day, and therefore abandonned that approach & looked for easier & more economical & sustainable methods, spread over the course of a few years. I now realise my knowledge of the markets was very limited in the L2 days.

Exactly. one can make money doing 50 trades a day in and out but while its very taxing on the eyes, it also isnt proper way of trading and will not help your career in any way.

I've been trading since 2002 but only this year have learnt the implications of MA cross-overs or divergence or candlesticks!!!

Tells you i been tossing away for 5 years allbeit i made a total of 100k but didnt learn a thing, apart from improved discipline i guess.

 

[moreliver]

DDI,



You've made 100k trading over 5 years and you've improved your discipline.

Don't knock it mate, I call those 'accomplishments.' I look forward to ticking those boxes myself.

 

[DDI]

DDI,



You've made 100k trading over 5 years and you've improved your discipline.

Don't knock it mate, I call those 'accomplishments.' I look forward to ticking those boxes myself.

thanks man,

But I can say a good proportion of the 100K (at least 60 - 70%) was simply scalping and taking advantage of companies/brokers who gave bad prices. This is:

1. Not real trading, you accomplish very little.
2. Extremely taxing on the eyes.
3. opportunities becoming rare as brokers are becoming more efficient.

 

[JTrader]

thanks man,

But I can say a good proportion of the 100K (at least 60 - 70%) was simply scalping and taking advantage of companies/brokers who gave bad prices. This is:

1. Not real trading, you accomplish very little.
2. Extremely taxing on the eyes.
3. opportunities becoming rare as brokers are becoming more efficient.

It is a good achievement, but with the downsides you mention. Also, brokers don't tend to like ity for some reason when clients only trade dodgy prices eg. WS, therefore you feel that you have less control as the broker may hamper your ability to place trades at any time, with dealer confirmation delays etc, thus ruining your ability to make a living. The same can be true for scalpers.

 

[cshieldsx]

Hearing you guys talk about your relative success makes me soooo driven. I've recently started reading loads about the financial markets and started paper trading equities, and I really want to do it for myself as a career. I think there is something far more impressive getting out there and putting your ass on the line to make a living, other than being a statistic in a giant corporate machine such as UBS/JPM/GSahcs or whatever. I just hope I can make it. I know I've got the drive and intelligence, and hopefully the discipline - I'm just worried about luck - it's the one thing I can't control...

 

[Kevin21]

if you want something bad enough then you'll get it. If you don't get it, then you didn't want it bad enough...

 

[cshieldsx]

Good philosophy - it's made my signature - you should feel privelidged !

With reference to my "luck" comment, someone just reminded me that in the long term there is no luck, only odds.

...In fact I might just stick that in my sig too.

 

[shadowninja]

Lack of discipline is the killer. It can strip you of a week's winnings in minutes.

 

[Kevin21]

Good philosophy - it's made my signature - you should feel privelidged !

With reference to my "luck" comment, someone just reminded me that in the long term there is no luck, only odds.

...In fact I might just stick that in my sig too.

I want my name quoted on it One day you'll tell people that you knew me

 

[cshieldsx]

Done , by the way sorry about the annoying question in the dax forum the other day "how do you make 500 points a day?" or whatever it was. I can see how questions like that can **** people off.

One day I'll rub shoulders with giants, be making 500 points a day, and people will be quoting me in their sigs haha :cheesy: