Trade for living-how much $ do I need??

J

jimclark

I know this is a subject topic based on many factors. But, I want to have an opinion of others.

How much capital would I need if I wanted to trade for living?? A few things to note: a) I have no debt (except my car) b) have a wife and a kid to support c) I don't own a house yet d) Currently I have about $20,000 to start out with.

Reducing everything to a minimum my monthly budget is about USD$ 2,000 (I live in Canada so..based on conversion) for annual expense i would look at $24,000 (provided no emergencies).

Of course, I could trade for one day and blow all of it away...but I am much conservative than that...I don't act on emotions..strickly setups.

Any suggestions or experiences on how much capital one needs to be trading full time??
May be you don't want to dislose your position but maybe you know of someone or some sort of "rule" to be full-time day trader.

Thanks all.
 
Try to think what kind of return you can make per month, then with your expenses figure how much capital you need, allow a portion (at least 30%) to be plowed back in the account. I would say shooting for more than 10% a month consistently every month is not realistic, more like 5-7% depending on your account. But let's hear about what others think.
 
Jim in all seriousness (fellow Canuck) you have a wife and kid to support ... do not be stupid !!!

Keep working and trade part time till you find what will work for you.

I had a heck of allot more than that 2 years ago when I decided to do this fulltime and I'm still not consistently profitable.

No wife, no kids, House paid off and car paid off.

Get real my friend, this is a serious business and it will eat you alive if you are not careful.

If you love your family wait until you have more experience and a profitable method that has been working for several years before you even consider such a crazy act.
 
This money that you plan on using for living expenses, do you plan on having it in your trading account? Any money in your account cannot be relied upon for paying bills. I started out with one year's worth of living expenses outside of my trading account and zero commitments to anybody as a new university graduate. I would definately say that the amount of stress you will be under having to support and answer to your family will be a great detriment to your learning curve.

If you can work part-time after market hours and make enough to support your family then you might be okay, although you will be sacrificing a huge amout of time with them. I have a few trader's that I'm mentoring and they work 15-20 hours per week at other jobs, which I've recommended them to do, to remove the "NEED" to make money. When you "NEED" the money your decision making will weaken and you may be afraid to pull the trigger. You need to be able to view your account as points, rather than real dollars to remove all emotion.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.
 
Quote from ArbProfit:

This money that you plan on using for living expenses, do you plan on having it in your trading account? Any money in your account cannot be relied upon for paying bills. I started out with one year's worth of living expenses outside of my trading account and zero commitments to anybody as a new university graduate. I would definately say that the amount of stress you will be under having to support and answer to your family will be a great detriment to your learning curve.

If you can work part-time after market hours and make enough to support your family then you might be okay, although you will be sacrificing a huge amout of time with them. I have a few trader's that I'm mentoring and they work 15-20 hours per week at other jobs, which I've recommended them to do, to remove the "NEED" to make money. When you "NEED" the money your decision making will weaken and you may be afraid to pull the trigger. You need to be able to view your account as points, rather than real dollars to remove all emotion.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.
More...

Arb if your a vendor you better come right out and say it or you will not last long in here !!!

This is the problem you will have getting a straight answer in here Jim .

You need to know which members you can trust and which ones may just want your money.!!!
 
I also see you started a post asking about Teach me to Trade (seminars).

If they are telling you that you can make a living from trading (and it will only cost you .......) my advise will be to run.

THIS IS NOT A GAME.
 
Hi Jim,

It depends on SO many things! Are you also working? How much experience do you have trading? do you have a trading method? What equities are you trading? Stocks, futures?

It's not too hard to make $2000 a month with $24000, if you know exactly what you're doing. If you don't, it's even easier to blow it all!

Best of luck,

Phil
 
How much $ needed, is relative to the traders ability. When I started, i had $25k seed money, plus living expenses covered for a year. I very quickly lost half of my trading account, and went in search of a mentor. I invested in some education, put in a ton of sweat equity, and today my account and lifestyle reflect my hardwork . Today, I know I can trade with an account as little as 15K and make a living, but it is much easier to trade with a larger cushion behind you.

I have to concur with arbprofit that finding a mentor is an absolute necessity. You will pay for your education one way or another. Finally, I think the only way to go is prop. The added leverage really makes a big difference on the bottom line.

In my mind, trading for a living is about consistency. It is about lots and lots of singles, and very few home runs. IT is about an intense focus on making money today, tomorrow, and every other day. That mindset is key to really making this business work for an undercapitalized trader such as yourself.

Best of luck,

Mike
 
Quote from Samson77:

Jim in all seriousness (fellow Canuck) you have a wife and kid to support ... do not be stupid !!!

Keep working and trade part time till you find what will work for you.

I had a heck of allot more than that 2 years ago when I decided to do this fulltime and I'm still not consistently profitable.

No wife, no kids, House paid off and car paid off.

Get real my friend, this is a serious business and it will eat you alive if you are not careful.

If you love your family wait until you have more experience and a profitable method that has been working for several years before you even consider such a crazy act.
More...

Thats funny because I could have sworn you told me here that you were a very succesful trader :confused:

http://elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26858&perpage=6&pagenumber=1
 
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