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After a years long journey and thanks to Al Brooks teachings I can finally say that I'm consistently profitable! 9 winning months in a row. I don't trade the "I don't care" size anymore but I still don't trade big enough to quit my job, I'm somewhere in the middle. Keeping discipline I believe I can achieve that in one more year. Now I'm starting to plan about how to make the transition from employee to full time trader. I'm married, have 2 kids, have a secure and well payed (but stressful) job, so I wouldn't take a leap of faith. I would like to know about your experiences. How much did you save before quitting your job? How much (and how often) do you take for your living expenses? New unexpected challenges as full time trader? Any advise is greatly appreciated, I'm all ears.
Hi Armando,
Here are some ideas that come to mind:
- depending on where you are in the world, make sure you're trading with a regulated broker. For example, brokers based in the U.S. should have a valid NFA Membership: https://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet
- don't keep ALL your trading money in one account: only keep the bare minimum necessary to satisfy margin requirements and to place trades, withdraw profits regularly into your bank savings or some other accounts for daily living and passive growth
- find an accountant that understands trading and explore options for setting up an LLC for your trading business, this can greatly improve your taxes. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyGbxzgNB0g&list=WL&index=1 (I'm not affiliated or promoting).
- if you can afford it, explore options for purchasing a seat on the exchange, this may greatly reduce commissions and fees
- harden your trading setup: upgrade your computer and internet as necessary: you don't want any kind of lagging or crashes. Have duplicates: a duplicate laptop with the same setup for emergency, maybe even a 2nd internet line separate from the main one (in case a tree falls down on your main lines or who knows). Don't trade on wifi.
- Get a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) to give you time to close positions in case of issues.
- Depending on where you live you may need a power generator as well.
- Harden your security: dedicate your trading computer just for trading and don't install any other play software on it. Install plenty of firewalls. Schedule security updates to run automatically. Regularly backup important data, including trading strategies, historical data, and account information. Cloud storage services can offer automatic backups.
- Emergency contacts: have phone number of your broker's help desk available at all times in case of a crash or issue with accounts. Quality broker trading desks should have this service available to all clients where you can call to close your positions immediately. Test that it actually works and observe the response times.
- Test everything. Test all backups actually recovering back. Test withdrawing money from broker and the quality of the process. Test experience with a broker's support desk (come up with some fake issues to see how they respond). Test your backup laptop regularly (it also needs updates, you don't want it to start updating when you open it up in an emergency). Test trading through your backup internet line. Etc. etc.
- Consider your chair and desk ergonomics. You don't want spinal/carpal issues in your old age from trading all day.
- Come up with a routine to maintain mental health: traders sit alone at home a lot. Come up with a schedule for breaks, for exercise, and for interacting with people.
Welcome to the last best job you'll ever have,
CH
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Thanks Mr. Carpet! You mention many things I hadn't considered. Great advice!
I'm married, have 2 kids, have a secure and well payed (but stressful) job, so I wouldn't take a leap of faith. I would like to know about your experiences. How much did you save before quitting your job? How much (and how often) do you take for your living expenses? New unexpected challenges as full time trader? Any advise is greatly appreciated, I'm all ears.
Quitting your job and trading full-time for a living will have a very very significant impact on your psychology. Suddenly you will **need** to make money. Don't underestimate how much that changes things. You will begin to second-guess yourself because you are worried about losing. You will make stupid decisions and force trades because you're desperate to win. It will become very stressful.
The market has difficult periods. There have been many of them over the years. I remember in particular the summer of 2017 when the Emini grinded higher and higher at a snails crawl moving 10 points per day... Day after day after day. It went on for months. It was nearly impossible to make money as a beginner. That was the first of 3 times I thought I was ready to go full-time but failed and went back to work. I was single so no family to support. But the stress of needing to pay the rent and bills killed me.
You've only been doing BTC for 9 months. I don't think that is enough time, you've not experienced enough of the difficult times market can throw at you. For the sake of your young family and your marriage I would say unequivocally don't do it at this early stage.
I am finally doing it full time but still have difficult times I'm still single and don't have a family to support (thanks in part to the all-consumimg nightmare that becoming a professional trader has been over the years). But I would say having a family will make it significantly more challenging than what I experienced.
In balance, things are a lot easier for beginners now. There are micro contracts now so new traders are not paralyzed by the fear of trading 1 mini during volatile periods like I was.... and funded accounts are a big thing. Neither of these were available when I started. So I do think it's a bit easier now.
But I still think 9 months is too soon and too risky when you've got a family to support. I very deeply regret taking the plunge to full-time trading too soon. It was nothing short of absolute hell.
Quitting your job and trading full-time for a living will have a very very significant impact on your psychology. Suddenly you will **need** to make money. Don't underestimate how much that changes things.
Thanks Kevvy for sharing your experience. One of the reasons I'm now consistently profitable is that I don't 'need' to make money every day so I have become very picky and trade just one or two setups per day. There are times that I don't trade for 3 days in a row until I find a setup that I like. With a family to support, it would be psychologically hard not to make money every day.
A question: Did you have to change your way of trading when you went full-time? For example: try more setups, trade after-hours, trade other stocks, more scalping, etc.
Hi Armando,
Good to hear someone being consistently profitable. I have a few questions and would like to hear from someone who has a full time job like me.
1. How many hours you put in a day to finish the course?
2. How long did it take for you to finish the course?
3. How many losing months (If any) before you are consistently profitable for 9 months in a row?
4. How did you prepare yourself for the course? Did you take notes of each and every session? If not what was your process?
5. Like Al said in most of his videos, were you able to find the Walmart strategy in the first one or two hours for the most trading days?
Regards
Pradeep
Armando,
Congratulations on the 9 months. Do you mind sharing on average how many losing days a week and how man losing weeks a month you had during this 9 months. Doesn't have to be exact. I am just looking for an idea of what to shoot for or what I should expect. Thanks! James
Hi Pradeep,
I will be happy to answer your questions:
1. How many hours you put in a day to finish the course?
Not the same amount of time everyday. In weekdays usually 1 hour at home. Sometimes I have some leisure time at work and can study 1 video if it lasts less that 30 minutes. On weekends 2 hours at night instead of watching a movie. And I took advantage of a special situation: I let my wife take a 3 week vacation with the kids to visit her parents (I don't like my mother-in-law anyway) and I took a week of staycations at the same time so I had lots of free time. I did about 30% of the course those days. On a 1 week business trip I stayed the afternoons in my room studying the videos.
2. How long did it take for you to finish the course?
About 4 and a half months. Without the special situations I mentioned, it would have taken me 6 months.
3. How many losing months (If any) before you are consistently profitable for 9 months in a row?
Before my winning streak, I lost in 7 of 12 months. In those 7 losing months I lost 3 in a row.
4. How did you prepare yourself for the course? Did you take notes of each and every session? If not what was your process?
Before taking the video course, I read Al's books twice and took notes. I spent about one year with the books so I didn't take so many new notes during the videos.
5. Like Al said in most of his videos, were you able to find the Walmart strategy in the first one or two hours for the most trading days?
I seldom take trades in the first hour, due to my work I struggle to consistently wake up early, have breakfast, do premarket analysis and be in top shape when the market opens. I feel more comfortable trading mid-session. I have a better record trading mid-session reversals and mid-session BOs. I also have a bad record with Walmart trades, although my last few Walmart trades have been sucessful. All my good Walmart trades have been BOs with follow-through and none of them in the opening hours.
Best Regards
Hi James,
On average (my last 9 months), I have 4 losing days a month. But that's an average and average eliminate the extremes.
I'm still inconsistent. Last November I won every day and last February I had losing days every week and by the 3rd week I thought I would lose in that month. In October I traded only 7 days and won on 6.
December and February were winning but lackluster months.
I place trades about 13 - 15 days per month and in about 3 or 4 days per month I just watch the charts and don't pull the trigger. So take that in consideration.
Regards
