Lack of Capital to trade.....

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nath100

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Hi all,

This is an introduction as well as a "vent of my frustration"

I first started studying trading etc over 4 years ago now, my first year I made alot of the classic mistakes ie too tight a stop loss, taking profits too early and letting losing trades go too far etc etc. Now 4 years down the line and can confidently say that my trading has greatly improved and I have a passion for trading, unfortunately I am not in a position to trade with a good amount of capital and have to do a normal day job too :( But last year I ended about 25% up and then had to cash in due to my own financial situation. This year so far I'm up 90% but using a virtual account with ETX.....before you say it...I know the psychology is a completely different story than when you are using real money.

I have learnt alot over the past couple of years and obviously still learning now and will continue to do so until one day I will hopefully be in a position to trade full time!

Sorry for the ramble.....
 
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Unfortunately this is shared by many and there is no solution in sight. I saw an add for male escort @ £500 a day, doing this for 10 days should be enough to get some capital together, I considered it for about 30 secs and thought what if it becomes a Male Gigolo story with uglies!
 
london88 said:
Unfortunately this is shared by many and there is no solution in sight. I saw an add for male escort @ £500 a day, doing this for 10 days should be enough to get some capital together, I considered it for about 30 secs and thought what if it becomes a Male Gigolo story with uglies!
Click to expand...

:eek: :LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
Hey nath100, I can greatly sympathise with your situation - I started a few years ago and made terrible trading seem effortless. I also feel I've made great strides in the right direction, but naturally still have a long way to go. Furthermore, I'm now a full-time student with mounting debts, which means I'm not active in the markets now.

What I would say, however, is that by being pecunious and saving as much as you can, you give yourself the best chance of being able to quit your job and pursuing trading full-time. In the mean-time, why not position trade, which you can do in your spare evening hours? This way you can keep your guaranteed income, but also work on your trading and improve until you decide to make the full-on switch.

Best of luck.
 
london88 said:
Unfortunately this is shared by many and there is no solution in sight. I saw an add for male escort @ £500 a day, doing this for 10 days should be enough to get some capital together, I considered it for about 30 secs and thought what if it becomes a Male Gigolo story with uglies!
Click to expand...

Lol, I think the same thought has crossed my mind to raise the capital too, glad I'm not on my own :D
 
It's always hard to get it going at first, but there's no short cuts, unless you'll want to go the gigolo route...

Seriously, take the time to work and save... it's hard but you'll also become a more prudent trader because the money to trade didn't come by cheap. In the meanwhile, depending on your commitments, try to pick up some side income. I helped boost my own capital a year ago by using my skills at the day job to lecture on the topic at schools 2-3 nights per week, as well as pick up some odd stuff on the weekends. It really helped to buffer my spending and give me more leftovers to save into my trading account.

Best of luck!
 
littlemog said:
It's always hard to get it going at first, but there's no short cuts, unless you'll want to go the gigolo route...

Seriously, take the time to work and save... it's hard but you'll also become a more prudent trader because the money to trade didn't come by cheap. In the meanwhile, depending on your commitments, try to pick up some side income. I helped boost my own capital a year ago by using my skills at the day job to lecture on the topic at schools 2-3 nights per week, as well as pick up some odd stuff on the weekends. It really helped to buffer my spending and give me more leftovers to save into my trading account.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks Littlemog, I'm determined to make it work so it will happen one day.
 
without wanting to come across as being too negative, It seems many are looking to trading as the "road to riches" and it is true that there is a potential for unlimited upside.

Thing is there are many ways to make lots of money.. in any industry... in fact I would say that trading and investing is one of the most difficult professions because your skills as a trader are virtually worthless in "real life" and it is the nature of all markets that can reward you for a time, then take it all away in a blink.

Good luck with your trading... but I would work on a backup profession (call it a hedge)
 
normbeef said:
without wanting to come across as being too negative, It seems many are looking to trading as the "road to riches" and it is true that there is a potential for unlimited upside.

Thing is there are many ways to make lots of money.. in any industry... in fact I would say that trading and investing is one of the most difficult professions because your skills as a trader are virtually worthless in "real life" and it is the nature of all markets that can reward you for a time, then take it all away in a blink.

Good luck with your trading... but I would work on a backup profession (call it a hedge)
Click to expand...

Agreed, I have a backup profession but I'm in financial services so not alot of money to be made at the moment with the way things have gone. My day job just serves a purpose.

However, trading is something I really love and as long as I make a consistent profit- I am happy- it means I am right with my system/trading decisions. I'm not expecting to make millions, although that would be nice :LOL:

___________________

The hardest way to make an easy living......
 
Consider it like an entreprenurial venture with no loans and we will get there. The male escort proposition is always open and could be fun at the same time. I am scaring myself :-0

Best of luck
 
normbeef said:
and it is the nature of all markets that can reward you for a time, then take it all away in a blink.
Click to expand...

I'm certain this will only happen if you follow the hit-and-miss school of thinking. If you are a skilled trader then the markets won't take it all away it will be you who loses it. In which case you were not as skilled as you thought.

and @nath100

"tight stops" are not a mistake. I don't know what you mean by "too tight", perhaps you mean for your level of proficiency?
 
He probably means too tight for his strategy. Setting stops - and thus determining the profit and risk profile of a trade - can be an art. Especially when trading reversals, stops may be too tight - i.e. get hit although the trade would have been profitable later. This may be an issue with determining where to put the stop in the first place - though a wider stop naturally would have implications on the risk profile of the strategy.
 
NetTecture said:
He probably means too tight for his strategy. Setting stops - and thus determining the profit and risk profile of a trade - can be an art. Especially when trading reversals, stops may be too tight - i.e. get hit although the trade would have been profitable later. This may be an issue with determining where to put the stop in the first place - though a wider stop naturally would have implications on the risk profile of the strategy.
Click to expand...

Maybe, I was expecting him to tell me EXACTLY what he meant rather than probably. I would say it's a problem with determining where to enter.
 
new_trader said:
Maybe, I was expecting him to tell me EXACTLY what he meant rather than probably. I would say it's a problem with determining where to enter.
Click to expand...

When I first started trading over 4 years ago I started position trading and yes from my lack of proficiency I was stopped out because the stops were too close as opposed to giving the stock enough range to move within- since then i have learnt alot- although I still sometimes make the mistake of entering a trade too early and stopped out by a pullback etc :rolleyes:

I don't claim to be an expert but can consistently make a profit now. But still alot more to learn of course..
 
nath100 said:
When I first started trading over 4 years ago I started position trading and yes from my lack of proficiency I was stopped out because the stops were too close as opposed to giving the stock enough range to move within- since then i have learnt alot- although I still sometimes make the mistake of entering a trade too early and stopped out by a pullback etc :rolleyes:

I don't claim to be an expert but can consistently make a profit now. But still alot more to learn of course..
Click to expand...

If you consistently make a profit, you are an expert ;)
 
nath100 said:
Hi all,

This is an introduction as well as a "vent of my frustration"

I first started studying trading etc over 4 years ago now, my first year I made alot of the classic mistakes ie too tight a stop loss, taking profits too early and letting losing trades go too far etc etc. Now 4 years down the line and can confidently say that my trading has greatly improved and I have a passion for trading, unfortunately I am not in a position to trade with a good amount of capital and have to do a normal day job too :( But last year I ended about 25% up and then had to cash in due to my own financial situation. This year so far I'm up 90% but using a virtual account with ETX.....before you say it...I know the psychology is a completely different story than when you are using real money.

I have learnt alot over the past couple of years and obviously still learning now and will continue to do so until one day I will hopefully be in a position to trade full time!

Sorry for the ramble.....
Click to expand...

When you know what you are doing you will only need £50 - £100 starting capital to make your fortune.
 
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