Should I day-trade full-time???
- Thread starter Dtrader2223
- Start date
Quote from Dtrader2223:
I appreciate the replies.
I figure in 6 months I will be debt free with a good cushion should things change. I have been doing this for the past 15 months experiencing pretty consistent success (never had a down week and only about 1 in 20 down days) so I am getting more and more confident that it should not change too much.
I honestly feel that the low-stress of quitting my job would be a big benefit. It would allow me to pursue hobbies as well as to enjoy the time off work much more as I would not have to think about work or anything else. I just wonder about the isolation factor.
As for any job openings...I'll keep you posted. There might be one soon...
Brian
Brian, you need to provide some details. What did you start with? What is your strategy (nothing specific, just general)?
Do you use an advisory service? Do you short? Etc.
There has been a bull market for Cdn stocks for the last 5 years. TSX Venture stocks have done phenomenally well. Are you trading or speculating?
The current period is very reminiscent of the 1999/2000 period. There were lots of "market geniuses" during that period of time. It's a lot easier when everything goes up. However, many of these people had their asses handed to them when the market shook out.
As for quitting your job. Yes, certainly do this. It sounds like a good move.
The most important thing you must consider before actually quitting your dayjob to do this full time whether the manner in which you've made your profits will continue to be viable in the future. No doubt that this is a hazard that every trader faces no matter how long he has been trading, but since you've only been doing it for a year or so you need to be extra careful.
Were the majority of your profits on the long side, given the bull market this year, or did you have a good split between long and short? Were they concentrated in a certain sector that has been trending -- energy, metals etc? Or were your trades spread out over a variety of non-correlated sectors? Do you suffer relatively large losses on a small number of losing trades, while having a high win % overall? Do you already employ strict money management rules, or are you "flexible" with open losses?
Just a bunch of questions off the top of my head, as the real question isn't about absolute or percentage return but quality of the numbers.
Were the majority of your profits on the long side, given the bull market this year, or did you have a good split between long and short? Were they concentrated in a certain sector that has been trending -- energy, metals etc? Or were your trades spread out over a variety of non-correlated sectors? Do you suffer relatively large losses on a small number of losing trades, while having a high win % overall? Do you already employ strict money management rules, or are you "flexible" with open losses?
Just a bunch of questions off the top of my head, as the real question isn't about absolute or percentage return but quality of the numbers.
My trading is very short-term and all on the long side (since shorting is generally not possible on penny stocks). I started with about $2000 18 months ago and I now generate between 20k and 40k per month (the last few months have been very good).
I tend to trade only penny stocks (under $2-$3) based on how the chart looks as well as the spread and Bid\Ask depth I will buy it and then sell it quickly at a small profit. I will hold a stock for as short a period as necessary as I put my sells in as soon as I make a buy. I have even sold some within minutes of buying. I do not stick to any sector and I don't even know or care what the company is when I buy it. I do look at any news releases out that day and will tend to avoid any stock with a news release.
I don't see the success as being totally a factor of the recent bull market as I will tend to see the volatility become more extreme during a selloff. There have been some significant selloffs in the past year and I was able to still make money during that time.
I do agree that 15 months is not long enough to confirm that the strategy is working long-term but I am currently making way more than I need as well and even if my income dropped by 50% I would still be fine.
Brian
I tend to trade only penny stocks (under $2-$3) based on how the chart looks as well as the spread and Bid\Ask depth I will buy it and then sell it quickly at a small profit. I will hold a stock for as short a period as necessary as I put my sells in as soon as I make a buy. I have even sold some within minutes of buying. I do not stick to any sector and I don't even know or care what the company is when I buy it. I do look at any news releases out that day and will tend to avoid any stock with a news release.
I don't see the success as being totally a factor of the recent bull market as I will tend to see the volatility become more extreme during a selloff. There have been some significant selloffs in the past year and I was able to still make money during that time.
I do agree that 15 months is not long enough to confirm that the strategy is working long-term but I am currently making way more than I need as well and even if my income dropped by 50% I would still be fine.
Brian
Yahoo Finance called, they want you to stop plagiarizing their flash advertisers.
Seriously, $2k to $250k in 15 months is nearly unheard of. If you did it, then congrats to you, but my suggestion would be to NOT quit your day job.
Are there any other day-traders doing it from home that can share their experience? Have any done it and gone back not for financial reasons but because they were not happy?
It sounds to me like it would be great but I don't want to be blind-sided and stuck in a bad situation.
Brian
It sounds to me like it would be great but I don't want to be blind-sided and stuck in a bad situation.
Brian
1999-2000 deja vue.....EXACTLY....If you cannot SEE the BUBBLE, certainly, you can SMELL it !Quote from Trader KGB:
Yahoo Finance called, they want you to stop plagiarizing their flash advertisers.
Seriously, $2k to $250k in 15 months is nearly unheard of. If you did it, then congrats to you, but my suggestion would be to NOT quit your day job.
All bubbles end, and mostly badly.
Cash-out now while you can.
i trade from home alone, sometimes it does get boring, but most of the time during the afternoon lull i'll go workout/watch some dvd's/read some books...the best part is vacation time so far this yr i've done about 2.5 months of vacation(don't know too many companies that would allow that kind of vacation)....i would highly recommend it if you are financially able to