What do you say you do for a living?

[normbeef]

Its a tricky one... I used to tell people i am a "consultant" .... but now I just say I am retired which normally raises eyebrows because I am only in my mid 30's... thing is its kind of true !!!

Its difficult not to look like a show off, especially when others are having a **** time... thats why I moved to a holiday island, because nobody cares too much about what you do for a living...

 

[rathcoole_exile]

thats why I moved to a holiday island, .

alcatraz ?

 

[barryb]

How is AtlantaAnna getting on? I have to admit i winced a bit reading about her hating taking losses and the insane leverage she must have been doing. I'm hoping it was more than a lucky first month...

 

[jimbob42]

Never tell anyone anything!
Never hang around negative people!

 

[The Philosopher]

I just tell people I trade on the financial markets. Most seem interested and ask a few questions and then I get bored so I ask loads of questions about them instead.

The only ones that really get up my nose are tradespeople coming to my home, and it always seems to be plumbers.

Lately it's:

"So what do you do for a living?"

"I trade on the financial markets."

"Ah so you're one of those that makes money from everyones misery."

"The boiler's in there!!"

 

[Arbu]

How is AtlantaAnna getting on? I have to admit i winced a bit reading about her hating taking losses and the insane leverage she must have been doing. I'm hoping it was more than a lucky first month...

Given that she was adamant that she would never take a loss, wasn't taking out stop losses, and has stopped posting, I can only imagine that the worst has happened. She was trading forex. If this was GBP/USD, it would have been understandable in July to take the view that it was trading in a range between 1.95 and 2.05. See the graph BBC NEWS | Business | Market Data | Currencies | Sterling v US Dollar. It had been in this range from before this graph starts. So she was buying when the price was low and refusing to sell until it was higher, and vice versa. At some point she would inevitably have bought when it was low and started to wait for it to go up. But the rate has broken right out of the band it was trading in, as we all know. So she's still waiting for it to go up again and has lost a stack of money.

I guess there is an argument for trading like this at the moment where there is a lot of volatility and little trend, but you've got to be willing to take a loss as soon as it looks like the range is being broken out of.

I'd love to see a post from her with some better news...

 

[chesterlady]

Hello Ive enjoyed reading your chat on what to tell people,
My story was when I told people I was trading they thought I had a pitch at the market or selling on ebay I just smiled
I now tell people I work from home and they seem happy

 

[dilesh23]

nothing........ or i would not be getting my job seekers allowance would I

 

[UKtradergirl]

can you be bothered to go to sign on every 2 weeks!?? Also don't you have too much capital? I tried applying for benefits but got told i had too much savings . I suppose this doesn't apply if you are trading a very small account. In any case, if you are spreadbetting you are just a plain old gambler anyway, right?

 

[dilesh23]

too much capital :-0 i wish, i got refused a spread betting account by etx yes, how did u guess my last job was in a bookies, and so far my luck in the casino has been better then spread betting, the two weeks signing thing is annoying but gives me a chance to deposit some money into a spread betting account which i did for the first time last week, started monday on £200 quid friday it was £800, next friday probably will be £0 and you'll find me back in Hard Rock watching the wheel spinning :cheesy:

 

[dilesh23]

ohh yeah, well ever cloud has a silver lining.... i can still afford to drink Dom Perignon champagne..... as long as someone else is paying for it

 

[AtlanaAnna]

Hello all, Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've loved reading everyone's thoughts! Right now, I'm on Learning Markets everyday like it's my sustinance.

I still don't use stops and I wish someone would write a book on how to trade without stops. Some of the support people from the dealer I use have been chastizing me terribly for my unconventional way of trading and really want to change me. I don't think I've done as well trying to do things their way. I am a risk taker. If I'm in a jam, I calculate the level of risk I need to take to get myself out of that jam. I take well-calculated risk and I don't look back. I am busy reading books because I think I need to know the 'by-the-book' way of trading but I'm not afraid to think out of the box. Right now, I'm in a terrible trade with a long USD/CHF and this is one that isn't turning around right now. I'm still thinking about this one. Next week in the market is sure to be interesting with the auto bail-out pending or not. That will put a lot of suspense into the market. If it passes the USD is dropping further.

 

[JRP2891]

Hello all, Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've loved reading everyone's thoughts! Right now, I'm on Learning Markets everyday like it's my sustinance.

I still don't use stops and I wish someone would write a book on how to trade without stops. Some of the support people from the dealer I use have been chastizing me terribly for my unconventional way of trading and really want to change me. I don't think I've done as well trying to do things their way. I am a risk taker. If I'm in a jam, I calculate the level of risk I need to take to get myself out of that jam. I take well-calculated risk and I don't look back. I am busy reading books because I think I need to know the 'by-the-book' way of trading but I'm not afraid to think out of the box. Right now, I'm in a terrible trade with a long USD/CHF and this is one that isn't turning around right now. I'm still thinking about this one. Next week in the market is sure to be interesting with the auto bail-out pending or not. That will put a lot of suspense into the market. If it passes the USD is dropping further.

Where did you get out of your usd/chf trade? It has come off a lot since you posted. I'm assuming you have, or hoping at least....

 

[AtlanaAnna]

Ha! Yes! I'm out of the usd/chf but had to take a loss. However, yesterday was a good day for trading against the USD and I picked up about 500 pips. It was a good day.

 

[JRP2891]

Ha! Yes! I'm out of the usd/chf but had to take a loss. However, yesterday was a good day for trading against the USD and I picked up about 500 pips. It was a good day.

Impressive stuff, i still think you need to re-classify in your head how you think about losses, but if you're making money fair play to you. At a bare minimum, make sure you have enough risk management in place to stop the one-off moves which happen as a result of terrorist attacks or such like. Without stops or taking losses in these cases you won't be coming back.

 

[Ponce]

Do yourself a huge favor,the good feeling you may get from stating you can consistently trade for profit is not worth the hassle.

1. "wow you must be broke with the market getting crushed?'
2."How did you learn to trade when a market drops?"
3."Can you show me? "
4."Can you trade for me ?"
5."Can I watch you trade ,so I an trade along and make money too?"

If you would enjoy responding to those questions,spread the word.

 

[JRP2891]

Do yourself a huge favor,the good feeling you may get from stating you can consistently trade for profit is not worth the hassle.

1. "wow you must be broke with the market getting crushed?'
2."How did you learn to trade when a market drops?"
3."Can you show me? "
4."Can you trade for me ?"
5."Can I watch you trade ,so I an trade along and make money too?"

If you would enjoy responding to those questions,spread the word.

I don't think anyone wants her to trade with their money or to learn her style, as the methods she uses is definitely only suited to her personality and in my opinion lacks proper money management. However if she makes money then i'm happy for her, it's just not how i choose to do things.

 

[AtlanaAnna]

Losing is a part of winning and of course, I lose on some trades. Since I began trading back in June, I have earned a lot, learned a lot, and lost a lot but with my losses, I've taken away a lesson I could apply to my trading. Key to my success is following good market analyst. My favorite addition to my dealer's research is LearningMarkets.com. But I would say diversify in the analyst you follow because even the best are wrong sometimes. I'm still very inexperienced and naive, (e.g.) I'm just now getting my head wrapped around Risk Management. I don't use Stops and I don't like Stops but that trading strategy isn't right for everyone. I'm also able to check my Forex account all through the day since I'm currently taking care of my mom who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. I'm starting to keep a public trading journel on LearningMarkets.com and I highly recommend this sight for learning how to read charts and trade Forex. Good Luck!

 

[Ponce]

I don't think anyone wants her to trade with their money or to learn her style, as the methods she uses is definitely only suited to her personality and in my opinion lacks proper money management. However if she makes money then i'm happy for her, it's just not how i choose to do things.

Sorry for the lack of clarity,
From my experience,when stating that I trade for a living,those are the common responses I hear from most,and in that order.Skeptical,curious,excited,envious,then the final,"will you do for me ,what Im not willing to do?"

I now am "looking for work",suddenly leeches are not around,and girls from the gym look elsewhere for free dinners .lol.

 

[Ponce]

Anna,

If your analyst-guru-teacher has not made knowing your math expectancy the #1 priority,I can say without hesitation,do not donate to the market,or the site you trade on.Anyone claiming to teach trading and not starting with w/l,and probability likely knows enough to market ideas,but cant trade a lick.No offense intended towards you,remember without predefining your risk,you are by default risking 100%.