Hey all,

I am curious if anyone here has had a moment in their trading career where all of a sudden they were making more money than they ever had before, and how they handled it? I've been successful for a bit with trading but recently scaled up quite a bit and am now making roughly 10x more than any job has gotten me in the past, and very consistently.

I really hadn't thought about how I'd handle this situation, but my plan for now is to sit and save while I figure out exactly how to deal with having some real money for the first time in my life. I'm 32 and single, but have always looked at trading as a way to fund the life and family that I'd love to have.

Which markets do you trade ?

I am not a successful trader but I am an engaged, learning one. While making my share of mistakes and false starts, I have been successful in business and in life. I am a happy great grandfather.

Your initial approach of saving while you contemplate your new life options is very sound. I would only add that you might be extra cautious about assessing your level of consistency. How many investment firms have flown high for five years or less before disappearing overnight? Many, maybe even most.

I bring this up not to rain on your parade or discourage you. On the contrary, go forward with your plans with energy and excitement. Family life can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life for those who want it. Just recognize the possibility that the world can change quickly and have at least a rudimentary Plan B formulated and be serious about it. Change is certain. The nature of the change is not. Plans will require modification, guaranteed.

Should your good fortune continue, and I hope it does, you may want to consider allocating a portion of your earnings to longer term investments under somebody else’s management or even an index fund. At your age, a portion for long term investments makes sense for retirement and having a professional involved represents another form of diversification for you, not just in terms of investment vehicles but also in terms of management. I would focus on risk levels and liquidity in case of emergencies. I have no specific recommendations, just a general direction.

So, you have arrived at enough financial success to ask “What now?”, which is a very good question. You have said you aspire to family life. While I cannot directly help in that search, I can offer you what I think I have learned and hope that it will increase your odds of success in this new area of life.

Family life starts of course, with finding/choosing a mate. I am not a psychologist or relationship expert but I do have considerable mileage on me and will share what I have learned on my journey.

I think the most important attribute for a mate is that you have many values in common. While you may not agree on which value is number one and which value is number five, you want to have as many overlaps in of your ideas of what is important in life as possible. Values are like guiderails. They keep two lives generally on the same track. Joint decisions are far easier with common values and while you may not always agree with the decisions your mate will make in any given circumstance, if you have similar values, their decisions will at least make some sort of sense to you and vice versa. Also, personal goals will make more sense and are more likely to be compatible. Key areas to explore are attitudes about money, education, child rearing and pass times. Religion and general philosophy are important for those who are inclined.

You may find someone who shares some key values but not others. This doesn’t necessarily put that person out of contention but do expect it to require more work and you must both be willing and able to work together.

Second, find a mate who is also a good friend. Hearts and flowers are wonderful but none of us have the emotional energy to be continuously under their influence. Those feelings ebb and flow over the years. Having a good friend goes a long, long way toward spanning the times when the world is tough and romance doesn’t come easily.

Third, find someone you genuinely respect and admire. Mutual respect and admiration will help preserve each of you as individual people. They help you to allow each other to grow within a relationship and to allow each to be a person within a relationship rather than a just role in a relationship.

Lastly, before making the big commitment, take a trip together. Go some place neither of you have been before, a place where neither of you knows anyone. Try to take at least a week and better two weeks. You will each be away from your support systems and will have to deal jointly with all of the issues that arise in travel, some pleasant and some not so much. I can 99% guarantee that you will know before this is over, whether or not you are suited to live a life together.

I’m sure I have given you more advice than you bargained for, but know that it comes with sincere wishes for your continued success in all areas.

I started trading in my 30s and have had some big successes with interspersed losses. I feel like for my whole trading career I am down about 2k, but I have income and 2k is cheaper than other pursuits that I have indulged. Only recently have I written a system that I can consistently make money with acceptable draw downs. I consider that a whole different subject than what to do with my new found money. What I do know about this topic is, you will almost certainly use your money the way you have always used your money unless you recognize the need for changes and make a sustained effort to do so. While there are definitely better trading strategies out there, I don't believe there is any room for debate about account management. You must make a management strategy and stick to it unless you are satisfied with the odds of getting rich by pure luck. No one can be over leveraged because losses will occur. When I feel like I need my trading account to make more than 5 percent this month I turn off my computer and go work an extra shift. We may not like it but I guarantee that we will eventually accept it.

This is a wise approach. Many "gurus" talk about compounding gains - "oh when you start winning, keep adding size until you can trade 100 contracts."

Taking profits off the table is many times the best move.

I am trading for 24 years and not even 1 month is the same. Try to quantify why the strategy is working. This will help you to save money when the strategy will die slowly

I am curious if anyone here has had a moment in their trading career where all of a sudden they were making more money than they ever had before, and how they handled it? I've been successful for a bit with trading but recently scaled up quite a bit and am now making roughly 10x more than any job has gotten me in the past, and very consistently.