Stupidist decision I ever made.
- Thread starter spect8or
- Start date
LOL
First of all, don't speak about you do not know. 2k for a piece of shit in NYC? I pay 1k a month for my studio which is in a great neighborhood (1st ave and 62nd) and is a very decent place. Only morons with delusions expect to get ripped off, just like you.
I only look at place through hook ups. It's like looking for a good deal when investing. For 2k a month, I can get myself a tight ass 1 bedroom. I could have grabbed myself a luxury 1 bedroom this past summer in a luxury building on Ave B and 3rd Street. Go check out the building and then try to say that it is a piece of shit.
The rest of your mumbo jumbo I do not even care to elaborate on. I will absolutely agree that there are 2 types of ppl in NYC, ones that are in debt and ones that live below their means. Well guess what, that is all of USA. NJ yuppies are all in debt and they dont live in NYC. They just happen to waste their money left and right with nothing to show for it. I know these ppl, some of them are my friends and I am amazed at how they have ZERO money management.
TF, you are a fucking joke. You consider your Ameritrade experience as real trading? You have a 30k account. A prop firm newbie trading 100 lots starts off with more BP. Yeah I put it my 1000 bucks about 7 years ago into a Suretrade account. Maybe I should claim I have 7 years trading experience and then try to talk shit.
I can't believe you even try to debate with waggie.
BTW, the Pizza Hut vs small pizza shop example was in reply to your statement that day traders are so disadvantaged vs big players. Pizza hut has 100 times more control over their costs than a small pizza shop. Yet small pizza places open up everyday.
This is enough for me and this idiotic gloomy thread. I'll just say this. Most people do not make it, some make a good living and some hit it big. You can start from the gutter, make it to the top of the world and then drop right back into the gutter. Welcome to real life in a capitalist society.
Funny.. if u would of read my post I was referring to raising a family in NYC. Since you have poor reading comprehension its a moot point.
A studio is a great place to raise a family.. excellent quality of life when u ask your 2 oldest sons to sleep on the cold wooden floor or maybe in a sleeping bag. You u really make it big when u can upgrade to a luxury studio... wow.. Now maybe you can actually eat in your 5 foot kitchen instead of eating in your one room dining/hallway/closet/entertainment/family/bedroom. LOL
Also.. for the record.. no where did i ever post on ET how much money I make or how big my trading account is. No one in the right mind would do that.. for obvious reasons. From where u and Waggie get this $30k amount.. is pure fiction.
--MIKE
I know this may be tough for you guys, arguing over new york cost of living and all, but it would be cute if we could get back on topic. Why do you guys think people are drawn to day trading as the sole way to make a living trading? Why do you think few consider swing/position trading size? Lots of people make a very comfortable living holding those ES longs for weeks to pull 50 points rather than for 15 minutes to pull 2, with much less effort
dave,
yeah, it costs Big $$$$ to live in a good areas in most major metropolitan areas. some posts here, however, imply that the opportunity cost of daytrading is $1M/year, so if you make $240,000; you just blew $760,000 in opp cost. its like gee, if this guy wasnt making a measily $1k a day, he could walk into XYC Corp and get hired for $1M to start. there are few people making $1M in any pursuit in life, so to suggest that $1M is the success threshold is plain hogwash. its detrimental to promote a mindset that $1M is necesary for success - the $1K/day comes before the $1M and perhaps a trader's risk threshold is such that $1M isnt possible. if i tried to make $1M a year in my biz i'd probably blow up, but if i set out to expand while mainting quality service and product, the $ amount would be a by-product of the gaol, not THE GOAL.
anyway, best of luck to all.
yeah, it costs Big $$$$ to live in a good areas in most major metropolitan areas. some posts here, however, imply that the opportunity cost of daytrading is $1M/year, so if you make $240,000; you just blew $760,000 in opp cost. its like gee, if this guy wasnt making a measily $1k a day, he could walk into XYC Corp and get hired for $1M to start. there are few people making $1M in any pursuit in life, so to suggest that $1M is the success threshold is plain hogwash. its detrimental to promote a mindset that $1M is necesary for success - the $1K/day comes before the $1M and perhaps a trader's risk threshold is such that $1M isnt possible. if i tried to make $1M a year in my biz i'd probably blow up, but if i set out to expand while mainting quality service and product, the $ amount would be a by-product of the gaol, not THE GOAL.
anyway, best of luck to all.
Quote from marketsurfer:
mike,
i don;t live in the city, but i tend to agree with you. wife lived in the city untill i talked her into moving to the 'burbs. yes, you can live in NYC for far less than you state, BUT to live well, one needs to make the coin you mention.
surfer
I left full-time trading behind about a year ago. My situation is probably a bit different from most here. For starters, I'm probably older (41) than a lot of ET posters -- and capital was never an issue for me.
At my peak, I was trading 10,000 to 20,000 shares of the Q's on a frenetic daytrade basis. I used a part discretionary/part system approach. The basic idea was similar to Elder's triple screen approach (certainly not rocket science). While my income definitely declined during the last 2-3 years of my trading -- I was still making a decent living.
The main reason I went back to the corporate life was that -- for all the things we love about trading full-time (freedom, no boss, total flexability, no geographical restrictions, etc) -- I actually missed the interaction with people and the "business aspect" of directing a sales force. On a personal level, my wife (and baby) are much happier now that I left career-trading behind -- and she also doesn't miss the perpetual 3-day-scruffy-beard and the fact that I lived in shorts and a tee-shirt 100% of the time.
One added bonus of my decision to go back to the corporate world is that I discovered that swing trading actually makes more sense in today's market -- and can be equally profitable.
Good luck to all.
dog
At my peak, I was trading 10,000 to 20,000 shares of the Q's on a frenetic daytrade basis. I used a part discretionary/part system approach. The basic idea was similar to Elder's triple screen approach (certainly not rocket science). While my income definitely declined during the last 2-3 years of my trading -- I was still making a decent living.
The main reason I went back to the corporate life was that -- for all the things we love about trading full-time (freedom, no boss, total flexability, no geographical restrictions, etc) -- I actually missed the interaction with people and the "business aspect" of directing a sales force. On a personal level, my wife (and baby) are much happier now that I left career-trading behind -- and she also doesn't miss the perpetual 3-day-scruffy-beard and the fact that I lived in shorts and a tee-shirt 100% of the time.
One added bonus of my decision to go back to the corporate world is that I discovered that swing trading actually makes more sense in today's market -- and can be equally profitable.
Good luck to all.
dog
I dont daytrade for a living.. I honestly tried it for a while and I wasnt making enough money worthy of taking the huge risks. If i have to put a huge amount of money on the line to make a few cents on a stock its not worth the real risk involved. Even during the day there are news pops, specialist rip offs... horrible fills that u have to deal with. Also its extremely physically demanding and u have to be on your toes from the open till the close. Very easy to burn yourself out after a few years. Bottom line in the long run its not worth it for me.
Since I hate taking big risk.. I never swing trade stocks.. preferably ETF's (except i play leader stocks in industries that have no ETF like NEM for Gold and TOL for homebuilders) . This eliminates all the bullshit upgrades, news releases, earnings that relates to company specific risk. Once in a while I fire off a intraday trade because I see a great risk to reward but I dont make a living off those profits.
I love playing sectors and specifically the IWM. I think the Russell is the smoothest index around and its liquidity is great. My bread and butter is fading extreme moves alongside the bias I have for that particular market. For example since this Jan. I have been fading every rally in the IWM and it has been working.. will continue doing it until my bias changes or it just stops working.
To answer your question I think there is a good reason why many people prefer daytrading as to holding for multi day/weeks. Most daytraders use 2 different methods... looking at charts/indicators and feeling the tape. If u think about it anyone can convince themselves that they can do this successfully. When it comes to longer term trading u have to understand fundemental trends and what catalysts are affecting a particular market. To me that is what draws the line.
Your avg. poster on ET does not care for fundementals nor do they know whats going on behind the numbers of the US and world economic engine. That involves a completely different type of analysis called fundemental ( catalyst) analysis... in most cases u need above average brains for this type of understanding.
Thats how longer term traders like Jim Rogers, Buffet, Soros make killings. They know whats going in that particluat market and are sure they are on the right side of the trend.. then their traders just play the pullbacks and breakouts but their difference is that they have a distinct edge over longer term trend analysis.
For that you need smart brains and a whole lesson in fundementals. You dont have to be a genious or have a high IQ.. but I believe u have to do as much research as possble. Its not taught in a seminars or trading books because the world economy always changes.. and u have to identify different cycles all the time.
To give u a real example. SAC combines traders with analysts for every single sector of the market. I believe that is the most strategic and profitable trading in the world. WHen u got guys that can read the tape well and are pretty good at moving size.. and u combine that will solid longer term fundemental analysis u are getting the best of the best. For example.. assuming u are a chip analyst right now and every piece of data u have is pointing to a huge rebound in the chip market.. if u work with a seasoned trader they usually know how to setup the trades with good timing and at great risk to reward levels... so although your fundemental timing might not be perfect.. when the big rebound does come.. u will be setup to milk the trend. Your average person does not have all those abilities and skills that are required. Very few people in the world can do this succesfully.. and the ones that can are the ones that make millions aka many of the Market Wizards like PTJ, Rogers, Kovner, many others etc.
You dont have to be as gifted or talented as some of them are.. but if u can combine fundementals and technicals with a decent degree of an edge.. u can make more $ than any daytrader can imagine. This requires a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication as is simply more than reading a chart or indicator.. experience is also essential. What it takes to really succeed in my opinion is everything u cant learn in a seminar, packaged CD rom manual, or read in a trading book.
--MIKE
you walk away with the ability to find an edge. the main difference i have seen between people who are struggling and people who i personally know are earning a living -- is just that: they have the skills (gained through experience) needed to find edges. that's all you need! i know this might sound overly simplistic, but it is.
:eek: and THAT is valuable stuff
