something interesting happened to me this last week. background info, I am 55 and have been actively trading for 8 years, I have had jobs for a long time where I work out of my house and can work and trade at same time.
This last week... First off I got COVID, that is the bad news. The good news is that I am covered for 2 weeks of missed work. That allowed me to trade and not have to do my sales job. And guess what? I had the best week of trading all year! I should not be surprised. Trading with no distractions is great.
so I believe that my job is not helping,,, it is actually hurting my trading.
My long term goal has always been to trade for my full time living. Right now my sales job gives me a guaranteed salary and then commissions, so it is hard to walk away. BUT, now I am asking if I would just make it up with trading and be SO MUCH happier. I enjoy trading, I do not enjoy sales (who does).
I have 6 months worth of expenses in the bank, want to have 12 months to pull the plug.
So, as crazy as it sounds, like I said I think my sales job is holding back my trading.
Seriously, first, you said you had Covid but then soon stated you had the
best week of trading for the entire year
without any distractions from your sales job.
Having Covid even if it's a
mild illness is not listed as a distraction even if it a mild illness is odd. Really, I'm sure you must have quarantine for several days from your family or friends while having a Covid illness is a distraction including any future side effects after you've recovered from the illness.
Next, you have this
illusion that 12 months of living expenses plus covering health insurance is adequate protection after quitting your job... it is not...especially if you're supporting a family.
- Do you even notice the problems going on outside of your home ? Inflation, high energy costs, rising cost of living, higher interest rates, rising consumer debt...just to name a few ???
Simply, you have a decent job accordingly to what you've said. Use it to get you through difficult times that will be coming around the corner. In fact, you did say the following...
...I have had jobs for a long time where I work out of my house and can work and trade at same time.
Thus, keep your job (it's your guaranteed protection from the
risk of ruin) until you've become more consistently profitable (treating your trading as a business instead of a hobby) considering you
intentionally give no job income numbers, no expense numbers, and no numbers about your trading profitability, no numbers about your capital for trading, what you've been trading and you say nothing about your family situation...obviously because it's a public forum.
Reminder, shit happens and will happen...most of it you will
not be able to control because it will deal with the economy, changing life/health situations, changes in your family if you have one, and the government.
Recommendation: Keep your job and after a few more years of consistent profitability with more savings...sit down with your financial advisor, and medical insurance rep to discuss your options/protection of quitting your job.
If you have a family, sit down with them to discuss the same.
Just in case you're curious, almost every trader (except for a few) before you that was in a similar situation as you here at ET...failed miserably within a year
after quitting their job to do what you're suggesting (want to do).
It was the same talk
after 1 - 2 weeks of the best trading of the year
or their life. Yet, if you do quit your job and continue being successful at trading...please let us know in a few years that it was worth quitting your job and that you're still a profitable trader that's
trading for a living.
wrbtrader