Down to about $90k, where would you park it if your trading skills were trash?

[johnarb]

This brings up (ot) an idea I have been spouting off about now for at least 3 years and apparently some company is acting on and making money.

Smart phones in classrooms. It's stupid

You're an idea man, Vanz!

There was an old movie I watched a while back, Michael Keaton, the idea man, drives a hearse... Good movie

I kid you not, I also had an idea, a long time ago, I used to travel economy, but every now and then would have enough points to access the lounge at the airport

I was thinking why don't they have "lounges" everywhere, so let's say you're on vacation, you can walk into one of these lounges for a fee, take a nap on the couch, make coffee, print some documents, xerox some papers

You're out and about sight seeing, you don't have to go back to your hotel to use the business center or to just relax before continuing

In the US we have those FedEx stores (spent some time in there while submitting paperwork before moving to Asia), but they don't have lounges and might have had a homeless folk or two, nothing against them but I had one of my kids with me the first time...

Longstoryshort, WeWork became the buzz a year or 2 later, bastids must have been listening to one of my convos through Google or other app data mining ,but then again the idea flopped so there's that

Yea so I don't have an edge and just lose money constantly. Execution is solid, psychology decent, edge is poop.

Looking to just put some cash in longer term spots

Short term trading is very difficult, in my humble opinion. Good luck

 

[vanzandt]

There was an old movie I watched a while back, Michael Keaton, the idea man, drives a hearse... Good movie

One of my favorite quotes of all time. I still use it.
From 2016 here at ET:

Did you ever see the movie "Nightshift" with Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton?

"I'm an idea man... feed the tuna mayonnaise".

 

[zghorner]

Short term trading is very difficult, in my humble opinion. Good luck.

i abandoned intraday stuff. I can't beat it...or dont want to bad enough, either way im out. Never liked the idea of day trading to be honest but did so because i nuked my account so hard with options gambling...i felt low margin intraday futures was my best shot at a come back. It wasn't haha.

found a killer deal on another house and bought it instead...spending my time remodeling it while playing around swing trading futures in a paper account. I don't think I will ever go back to day trading, I'm not suited for it.

 

[vanzandt]

found a killer deal on another house and bought it instead...spending my time remodeling it while playing around swing trading futures in a paper account. I don't think I will ever go back to day trading, I'm not suited for it.

Don't buy stuff at HD or Lowes. Find a large generic auction-house in your town that purchases closeouts from AMZN, HD, LOW, and others.

Stuff like vanity's, flooring, plumbing and electrical fixtures, etc, can be had new at $0.30 on the dollar after fees. You'll save a ton.

 

[zghorner]

Don't buy stuff at HD or Lowes. Find a large generic auction-house in your town that purchases closeouts from AMZN, HD, LOW, and others.

Stuff like vanity's, flooring, fixtures, etc, can be had new at $0.30 on the dollar after fees. You'll save a ton.

My man I'm the most frugal of the frugals...my grandpa says I'm so tight with money when I blink it skins my peter back. I'm not paying full price for anything lol.

I already got a load of base trim for free on Facebook marketplace...doing all the sheetrock work myself and only widening one entryway so not going to have any major expenses. Its an older house that has nice old wood flooring so just going to rent a drum sander and refinish.

I think it was a smart move. going to increase cash flow by around $25k/year when it's all said and done, not a game changer but every little bit helps.

 

[vanzandt]

My man I'm the most frugal of the frugals...my grandpa says I'm so tight with money when I blink it skins my peter back. I'm not paying full price for anything lol.

I already got a load of base trim for free on Facebook marketplace...doing all the sheetrock work myself and only widening one entryway so not going to have any major expenses. Its an older house that has nice old wood flooring so just going to rent a drum sander and refinish.

I think it was a smart move. going to increase cash flow by around $25k/year when it's all said and done, not a game changer but every little bit helps.

Sounds good. What year was it built? It can't be that old or it would have (nightmare) plaster walls. So those floors, were they covered? Odds are they're oak right?

Better you than me, but for real... wear a covid grade mask for real when you're sanding the floors or walls. The 3M model you buy at Sherwin Williams that sold out instantly during covid. There are plenty now, but use those when sanding anything. There are no mundane particulates.~ jmho

 

[zghorner]

Sounds good. What year was it built? It can't be that old or it would have (nightmare) plaster walls. So those floors, were they covered? Odds are they're oak right?

Better you than me, but for real... wear a covid grade mask for real when you're sanding the floors or walls. The 3M model you buy at Sherwin Williams that sold out instantly during covid. There are plenty now, but use those when sanding anything. There are no mundane particulates.~ jmho

It was built in the late 60s...thank God the walls aren't plaster I've heard about those with wire mesh? and they sound like a nightmare.

I wish they were oak but they are pine...still good grain though being so old. I have a respirator I'll wear when sanding.

The kitchen and dining room were covered in laminate tile glued down with black mastic glue (yes it tested positive for asbestos). Had to scrape it all up with a heat gun and putty knife...then had to liquify the remaining glue with diesel to scrape it up (none of the non toxic floor adhesive removers would touch it). Probably the most horrendous job I've ever done honestly. If I ever run into it again ill just cover with tile or something else.

This is what I get for trading like shit haha.

 

[vanzandt]

It was built in the late 60s...thank God the walls aren't plaster I've heard about those with wire mesh? and they sound like a nightmare.

I wish they were oak but they are pine...still good grain though being so old. I have a respirator I'll wear when sanding.

The kitchen and dining room were covered in laminate tile glued down with black mastic glue (yes it tested positive for asbestos). Had to scrape it all up with a heat gun and putty knife...then had to liquify the remaining glue with diesel to scrape it up (none of the non toxic floor adhesive removers would touch it). Probably the most horrendous job I've ever done honestly. If I ever run into it again ill just cover with tile or something else.

This is what I get for trading like shit haha.

Yeah on the respirator, I was gonna say "especially for the floors."

If it were me, I'd scrape it as best I can, and then throw down some peel and stick flooring, especially if it's gonna be a flip or a rental. Remember while you're working---> I am not going to live here.

180% effort to make things perfect never yields 180% return.... EVER... even if you did live there, aside from the quality aesthetic point of view. What's more important, is keeping the cash flow as dynamic and fast moving as possible. With stuff like this at least.

 

[vanzandt]

What's more important, is keeping the cash flow as dynamic and fast moving as possible. With stuff like this at least.

"Sleeping cash... is wealth foregone ."
~vz

 

[ironchef]

i abandoned intraday stuff. I can't beat it...or dont want to bad enough, either way im out. Never liked the idea of day trading to be honest but did so because i nuked my account so hard with options gambling...i felt low margin intraday futures was my best shot at a come back. It wasn't haha.

This is the best advice and analysis I have seen. Follow it (and read Bennett, Hull) if you ever want to get back to trading:

With futures you have to overcome the spread and comms. Starting small with MES with a 9% annualized vol-figure is difficult. Costs: $1.00 for comms and $2.50 in edge loss as a price-taker (all-in). You're going to have to average roughly a point on each round trip to reach break-even. FWIW, I know a guy who keys off of a aggregate VWAP figure (in stocks) in ES and has a four tick target on 10-20 trades a day. I could never do it, but he makes 7-8 figures each year with 100-200 lot average size. You would need membership rates to make it work.

Higher frequency trades in futures are nearly impossible if you're short-banked.

I am a pessimist due to needing to overcome the spread. A price taker in equities has a chance as the costs are essentially nil. The issue there is the PDT rule.

Equity vol is exploitable, especially in single-name (stocks) but the learning curve is high.