Quote from TradingGal:
If you are paying taxes, that means you made money. Here's hoping I will be paying huge amounts of taxes this year!!!!!
Actually, I look forward to paying my estimated taxes on my trading earnings.....I always like to see that the check I am writing to the IRS is bigger than the check I wrote the previous quarter. I have all sorts of measures for performance, but the one that never lies is the amount on that check I am cutting to Uncle Sam. If that amount is not bigger than last quarter, and preferably in proportion to the amount I've added to the account that quarter, then I'm not doing so hot.
As far as why I trade -- I have had lots of jobs. Private sector, public sector, academic, freelance....I've been paid at the minimum wage and in the high six figures, and a whole range of numbers in between. But you know, answering to bosses...clients...coworkers...and dealing with the institutional constraints of any workplace....it all s%cks. Right now, I make about $400-$800 per week trading. It's nothing extraordinary, but I am extremely proud of it because these are the only dollars in my life that I earned without having to answer to a boss, a client or coworkers. To know that I can at least pay the rent by generating income in this way is incredibly liberating. And in this economy, that is a comfort that not too many people have.
I second that motion! I will never ever work again for a "boss" in my lifetime. Maybe its my A type personality that drives me to lead and not follow. Maybe its the fact that I can work whatever days and hours are comfortable/beneficial to me. Maybe its the fact that I can work at my own pace without wondering if my employer(in the past) will hand me a pink slip the next day. For those of us that have managed to achieve trading success thru hard work and perseverence, it doesn't get any better than this.
Im a college dropout(class of 91..NOT!), which was a big let down for me. I was always falling behind in school( Im a slow learner) always getting Cs Ds and a few Fs from elemenatry thru highschool, and college bcuz I just couldnt keep up the pace with the other students. hence my dream of getting a degree in Finance went up in smoke.
In my late twenties, i got into real estate after moving down from Wash D.C. to Miami. Thats was when i got my first taste of being my own "boss"/ indep contractor as a realtor. Did well but always hated the sales aspect of real estate..alot of bullshitting goes on between realtor and client(s), im sure you all know. In 2004 I got out of real estate and noticed the growing industry of daytrading although Im sure you all realize how far it has gotten in terms of technology and resources in the last 5-6 yrs.
As we all can attest..daytrading is mother&% &^%*ing HARD when you are first starting out and have so much to learn. Hell, its still difficult for me now, mainly bcuz of managing stress/anxiety levels( I take a half a Xanax every morning). But I worked my ass off, kept a daily journal of what the market did everyday and why it acted the way it did. Studied price action, volume, patterns, etc. And after the first few months of losses(over 15k) bcuz of stupid rookie mistakes(like having a position open during FOMC meeting

, and not using or forgetting to place stops ), I learned from my mistakes and gradually started to profit on a consistent basis.
For those who are still trying to get achieve consistent, positive results,.....dont give up!, be patient!( Roman empire wasn't built in one day you know!, study, practice, study, practice!
If a slow learning, school struggling person like me can make it with a "Lil Train That Could" attitude, then I think anyone can. Just believe in yourself !!
I trade ES and NQ minis mainly, and agricultural minis on occasion.