I don't think I would ever take trading as a full time job and my only source of income. Trading takes a lot of discipline and great strategy. I see myself constantly making changes in my trading strategies and little tweaks here and there. I would say money management is a huge part of trading as well. Learning how to take a profit or take a loss and not be greedy is huge.
Trading full time definitely gives a trader the ability to set his or her own schedule and that in itself could be life changing. I would say trading for me is great part time but I don't find too much of a steady income when I trade. It's great to set your own schedule but it's even greater for me to have a full time job where I receive a steady paycheck.
I haven't had a J.O.B in over 15 years. If I wasn't trading for a living I was running my own business which can sometimes feel like a job but it's a completely different thing. Some people are cut out to work for a steady pay check and other's aren't. If I had to choose one reason for trading, other than my love of it, it would be to never have to work for anyone else ever again. As for lifestyle, I lead a very modest existence. When you don't have a regular income you get good at saving for a rainy day, and it's a difficult habit to break. I made the mistake, early in my trading career, of over leveraging myself on my personal finances. It's the worst mistake a trader can make. Instead of approaching trading with a free mind there is tremendous pressure to perform. Traders should really live modestly until they are sitting on a mountain of cash and then, keep living modestly.
The following 14 users say Thank You to WolfieWolf for this post:
Please tell me your avatar is a picture of you. Please tell me you are a Russian fighter jock who still uses Windows95 and plays guitar. Please tell me this is all true.
How do I live my life as a trader?
One day-trade at a time.
Learn The Rules Well So You Can Break Them Effectively
in the country i live,the USD dollar to local currency ratio is 3000 .so even if i can make 500 $ a month,it's sufficient for me.trading changed my life extensively..
i thought it can give me freedom,but i lost my relationships,my youth and i sacrified everything for finding the proper system.now i am slave of the trading screen...
Agreed. I spent the last 6 years without a social life and the best years of my life are gone. All I have to show for is a few systems that make 15-50% a year. Hardly the returns I was expecting. Now trying to get a day job o I can trade the system on autopilot.
The following user says Thank You to megaman123 for this post:
I mean you no disrespect, and I know how hard it can be for someone to leave their home, but... have you ever thought of leaving? There must be some way you can get someplace that is less restrictive to you. If it causes you so much suffering, why is that not an option?
Again, I am not in your position, I cannot judge what you should do.... this is just a simple question, no more.
When one door closes, another opens.
-- Cervantes, Don Quixote
The following user says Thank You to bobwest for this post:
Thanks @bobwest
we are under sanctions & Iran's passport is among 3RD worst in whole world.and usually visa is not issued for us for traveling to other countries.
i spent 15K USD for 3 months residency visa of an asian country.only one bank (out of 12 )accepted opening an account for me as a holder of a valid residency visa and after a while they blocked that account too.
these financial sanctions caused early death for thousands of kid who suffer cancer .we can not import medicine ....
and Iran currency dropped 300% in a year against foreign currencies..
The following user says Thank You to Commodity for this post:
That's terrible. I cannot believe it is all fault of your government. It only makes sense if the country was sabotaged from the inside. Sh!t I better not know....
The following user says Thank You to Yuri57 for this post:
I was just thinking about this very thing. Very well put.
It's something I wish I would've done a bette job of up to this point in terms of preparing for raining days. That "free mind" is so important and outside financial pressure takes away from that. Trading is at it's core supposed to be a black and white approach to probabilities …. set the target and stop. Let it play out. Everything else is noise.
The following 2 users say Thank You to Rock Sexton for this post:
@Yuri57 well, speaking is so easy ,but see this link to see how our people are killed in a silent protest in streets.then you would better know it's people fault or government.Obama said this video was heartbreaking...
@Big Mike ,i don't wanna risk my futures.io (formerly BMT) account,so i hope this link will not violate forum rules.
@GFIs1 it's very compact,the actual sanctions are much much more than this,for example one of my relative is a medicine doctor and he said because of sanctions they can not import proper anesthetic drug and in the meantime of operation,the patients feel the pain of operation knife in his body but can not scream...he compared himself with Josef Mengele and said there is no other solution...it's only ne examle out of thousands problem in our daily living.
@conorcoen Tehran stock exchange is too little ,but the problem is :the Stop Loss system is not provided in that ! and it's index is bullish in local currency but when you convert the index to USD $, it's bearish ! economists call this situation a Ponzi Scheme,it means even you make a profit in local currency , you are still in a loss in your equity value in USD $.so making profits from this economy is impossible.
The following user says Thank You to Commodity for this post:
You are right,it's all about probabilities,but don't forget to include break even strategy in your
Stop loss and target too.usually a quarter of each system signals can lead to break even.it means %25 less losses.your point of view into trade management is a digital procedure (black and white) while markets are rather in fuzzy logic Fuzzy logic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following user says Thank You to Commodity for this post:
Are you referring to B/E once you're up in the position? Then yes I agree. I didn't mean to oversimplify it. Moreso I was trying to illustrate what is supposed to be a "systemic" non-emotional approach. In order to satisfy the "noise" we have to get to the root of what is causing it. In my case my trading has been sabotaged by insufficient reserves causing me angst. This will persist unless I do something to "lessen" the influence.
There might be people out there who can block that kind've thing out. I am unable to. 3 years has taught me that I cannot.
The following user says Thank You to Rock Sexton for this post: