What do you say you do for a living?

[Vaco]

This is a question that is uncomfortable when you first start out due to the risk of failure and having everyone you told in your 'excitement' giving you the i told you so look.

If you seriously believe that you have not worked hard in order to be able to make a profit trading the markets and therefore feel bad for others. then i fear for how long your success will last, unless your about to sell us something ofcourse

 

[new_trader]

I just started trading about a month ago and am very successful. What do you tell people you do to make all this money? What is your job title?

I tell people I'm a Futures trader to disguise the fact that I make hardcore porno movies for a website. Most of my money is made selling drugs though, to kids.

 

[rathcoole_exile]

as long as you're behind the camera and not in front of it !!
that would be too cruel .......

 

[Mr.J-Arthur]

I have a friend who is extremely bitter about my work. He of course is stuck in his 17$/hour warehouse job and spends his money the minute he makes it. This person claims he does "real" work and my trading isn't working or a real job, an "excuse" he calls it! Ha! If he wanted he could save his money and start too, but he would rather gripe and moan about how his life sucks and how I should get a "real" job. Trading is a career, not grunt work.

Needless to say, I would rather do anything else than hang around this a$$h*le friend of mine.
You gotta stay positive to be a trader and surround yourself with positive people.

I think within a year I'll be able to PROUDLY proclaim that I'm a futures trader. When the consistant profits roll in, nobody will talk down on me. And when you have money, you don't need to listen to that pessimism BS.

 

[shadowninja]

There are a lot of people (most) out there who would rather hold everyone back with them than encourage people to do their best and achieve their dreams. Dump the "friends" who don't want the best for you.

 

[0007]

I have a friend who is extremely bitter about my work.b He of course is stuck in his 17$/hour warehouse job and spends his money the minute he makes it. This person claims he does "real" work and my trading isn't working or a real job, an "excuse" he calls it! Ha! If he wanted he could save his money and start too, but he would rather gripe and moan about how his life sucks and how I should get a "real" job. Trading is a career, not grunt work.

Needless to say, I would rather do anything else than hang around this a$$h*le friend of mine.
You gotta stay positive to be a trader and surround yourself with positive people.

I think within a year I'll be able to PROUDLY proclaim that I'm a futures trader. When the consistant profits roll in, nobody will talk down on me. And when you have money, you don't need to listen to that pessimism BS.

I have a friend who is extremely bitter about my work.

Sounds like plain old-fashioned jealousy to me. Forget him - when you are profitable it doesn't matter what the rest think!

- and on 2nd thoughts that also applies when you're unprofitable also, unless of course it's someone who knows where you're going wrong. You need to be your own man.

 

[AtlanaAnna]

Well, I absolutely love this discussion. My computer has been crashed so I'm just now getting back to this discussion. I haven't decided how to handle this. It is as much work as any job but it pays a lot better. I made $20,000 in the last 40 days. I started with $2500! I'm not sure I should be telling that to friends or neighbors but thus far I haven't had to explain to anyone. I'm not even sure I should be sharing my profit-making on this forum among all of you who do the same thing. Currently, I'm caring for my mother who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's and everyone knows my priority is taking care of her. She requires care 24/7. We have been living on her SS check. I know I'm a newbie and have lots to learn. Currently, I have 4 books on my reading list and haven't even gotten half way through the 1st one.

 

[Masquerade]

Don't bother reading them, sounds like you're doing fine if what you say is true.

 

[fifty2aces]

Well, I absolutely love this discussion. My computer has been crashed so I'm just now getting back to this discussion. I haven't decided how to handle this. It is as much work as any job but it pays a lot better. I made $20,000 in the last 40 days. I started with $2500! I'm not sure I should be telling that to friends or neighbors but thus far I haven't had to explain to anyone. I'm not even sure I should be sharing my profit-making on this forum among all of you who do the same thing. Currently, I'm caring for my mother who is in the late stages of Alzheimer's and everyone knows my priority is taking care of her. She requires care 24/7. We have been living on her SS check. I know I'm a newbie and have lots to learn. Currently, I have 4 books on my reading list and haven't even gotten half way through the 1st one.

$2500 to $20000 in 40 days is an enormous return - I'd advise you to read up on risk management, because it's unlikely you could make such a huge return without taking excessive risk. You've done pretty well so far, but your luck could change at any time.

 

[new_trader]

Don't bother reading them, sounds like you're doing fine if what you say is true.

I agree, should be writing trading books instead!

 

[zupcon]

I agree, should be writing trading books instead!

Why would a trader write a book ?

 

[AtlanaAnna]

Well, I do think there can be a fresh perspective when someone is new to something because you can see how rediculous some of the rules are. You will probably all gasp but I don't use Stop-Losses. I call them Certain-Losses. I stay with my computer. One of the first things I read is that the market is ranging about 75% of the time and breaks out into a trend only about 25% of the time. I'd rather take a loss once in a while when I'm on the wrong side of a trend than take a Stop-Loss on lots of trades due to the wide swings that can occur with a ranging market. I can't stand to have a losing trade. My goal is to never have a losing trade. Now, my account rep is vigorously trying to reign me in to all the conventional ways of thinking and trading which may not be as profitable. He absolutely hates dollar-cost averaging and I understand why but in a ranging market, it works and the market ranges 75% of the time. He has told me that I made almost 500 trades during this period of time and my average contract was $30,000. My first goal was $100 a day. My next goal was $1000 a week. I guess $1000 a day is the natural progression for my next goal but that goal does look intimidating. I've also had a choir of people singing a negative song called, "She's Going to Lose Every Bit of that $2500" which probably spurred me on to defy them.

 

[Vrothdar]

My goal is to never have a losing trade.

I'd say that's a very unrealistic aim. Perhaps it's time to reflect on your success so far to ensure you continue to be profitable? Sounds like you've got off to a good start though - Hope it continues for you.

What do I say I do for a living? Well I don't say trading because I don't trade. I've no problem with talking about my interest in trading and intentions of making it my only source of income. Usual mixed reactions - one of my best mates is incredibly supportive and the other is much more critical (he's a mortgage advisor and dislikes his job...).

Girlfriend thinks I've got my head in the clouds but once I'm ready to commit capital I'm certain she'll be supportive so long as I keep her in the loop as to exactly how much I'm risking which, in her position, I'd want to know too.

 

[Hoggums]

Why would a trader write a book ?

Those who can do.
Those who can't teach.

 

[eagletower]

Those who can do.
Those who can't teach.

sound's like something i think Vinny Jones once said"commentators are people who couldn't make it as football players" - or along the lines of that

 

[TomTom]

Having read most of the postings on this subject, I can say that the normal guy on the street who never takes risks and works the 40-50 hr week is extremely jealous of what we do.May be because they would like to get out of the rat race, but they dont have the balls.
When I used to tell others about my work many would not belive me, as time progressed they got used to the idea. Some have remained friends, but others even though they have not directly said it would rarther I not be in there company.

To become a trader it take a cirtain kind of person, we are the minority.

Remember its not the trades that ruins the account balance its the lack money management.

 

[Adamus]

Hi AtalanaAnna,

I wish you the best of luck and I'm not saying this for any other reason than that you said you're at home looking after your mum on the income from her SS check. So first of all, congrats on turning 2500 into 40 thou or whatever it was.

Now you should know there's something you as a newbie are in dire danger of becoming: it's called a rocket to crater trader - in other words, you make a ton of money and then the markets take it all back again, including your starting stake.

When I was working at a brokers, the best example of this was a client who turn 20 thou into over a million in six months, and then took six months to turn it into zero.

Oh and that reminds me: don't listen to your broker! Speak to him if you have to, but you should isolate yourself from his input or better yet, trade online and you won't have to speak to any broker at all.

Lastly, maybe you do need to get hurt by the market - it would be a salutary lesson - but try not to get killed!

ps: sorry about your mother. must be hell.

 

[Calvin]

It's a brave approach, and one that seems to be working for you, so best of luck.

One word of warning though - I used to follow a very similar strategy, and it took me to a nice 70k profit, but I got over confident, opened too large positions and then refused to take the hit when things went against me. I thought the positions would come back, and eventually they did, but not before they went so low that I was forced to sell just to cover the punishing margins.

Mind you, that was commodities, and like I say, I just got cocky and blinded to the risk, thinking I had enough banked to cover any dips. Bad money management, bad risk management.

So go with your instincts, but don't go too big to quickly.

Out of interest, what do you trade?

 

[Old Man]

Tell them you play a piano in a whorehouse.

 

[white_goodman]

self unemployed