What does it take to be a stock trader? It takes a total mental commitment to the task. It becomes a complete way of life. You cannot be a part timer. You cannot work at a regular job and trade stocks successfully. When you decide to make your living this way you must be willing to work 365 days a year, 7 days each week, 24 hours every day with no time off. I know.
How do I know? As an exchange member for 17 years and a floor trader I can personally tell you there is no time off. Never. Almost every waking moment is given to thinking about your current positions. Where should I sell? Should I move my stop up a little more? There are 3 more trades I'd like to make, but I need to save some extra cash in case I need it for a margin call. It is hard to pass up a trade that looks as good as XYZ, but I have to maintain my trading discipline. And so much more.
These are just a few of the thoughts that run through your head.
You are constantly being torn by the natural enemies of fear and greed, yet you must hold your equilibrium to try to make dispassionate decisions. The first law of trading is to protect your capital so that any single trade will not have you going home broke.
If you are working a regular job or you own a business you cannot be a trader. One or the other or both of these pursuits will suffer. When I owned my brokerage company I did not make one single trade for 8 years because I understood the commitment necessary to be a successful trader.
Why am I telling you all this? Because I don't want you to lose your money in the market as so many people do and I especially don't want you to think you can be a day trader. You can still make money in the market and beat 90% of the Wall Street experts. Here's how.
First you must learn that you CAN time the market even though your broker and all those "experts" will tell you that you can't. There are several good timing advisory services that you may subscribe to or you can develop you own method.
Second, don't believe all that horsewash about research. That is Wall Street smoke and mirrors. Don't try to pick individual stocks. Stick to no-load mutual funds with a discount broker and buy only the best performing funds during the past 6 and 12 months. When they quit being in the top 1% sell them and find new ones that are going up.
There isn't enough space here to give you the details, but I want you to realize that you can safely make plenty of money in the market without devoting 365/7/24.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
Copyright 2005
Ford Excursion rentals Bolingbrook ..Question: How does it get better when it gets worse?Last... Read More
If you were to find that you had some severe... Read More
Before you buy another car you walk around the lot,... Read More
The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) is not operating successfully. True,... Read More
Most stock traders know that momentum trading can be a... Read More
For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual... Read More
Two weeks ago I wrote about what the Securities and... Read More
You have heard about a particular mutual fund from a... Read More
Checked your 401K lately? Going back to about a year... Read More
The stock market often closes a week in the middle... Read More
As the man said, "I've got some good news and... Read More
One Saturday morning, while he was sitting at his computer... Read More
A PEG ratio cannot be used alone but is a... Read More
Last time we looked at the real performance of the... Read More
Just 30 years ago the stock market was a shadow... Read More
Any online investor / trader seeks an excellent off or... Read More
If you are fed up with early redemption charges and... Read More
If you are going to be a winner in the... Read More
Stocks breakout from properly formed bases everyday but many investors... Read More
Dollar cost averaging is one of the most popular ideas... Read More
Every publicly traded company is required by the SEC(Securities and... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
A common problem I often see when working with living... Read More
Mutual funds were created with the idea that one person... Read More
Sometime around 1980, can't remember exactly, there was a flight... Read More
Bluffs Ford Excursion rentals ..Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando,... Read More
A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders Stop losses are... Read More
You remember (they show it on TV every year) the... Read More
I was recently interviewed for a press release through a... Read More
Are you one of those many people who dread reading... Read More
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More
Have you ever thought of investing? Do you have a... Read More
The debate rages all over Eastern and Central Europe, in... Read More
This is the continuing story of our two imaginary traders,... Read More
I love roller coasters. The steeper the better. High and... Read More
From the book 'The Stockopoly Plan' by the author Charles... Read More
Whenever I see mutual fund comparisons in the trade publications... Read More
I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
One of the basic laws of physics states that a... Read More
'Sector funds are too risky.' 'I doubled my money with... Read More
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This... Read More
The stock market has been going up for more than... Read More
"If you don't know where you are going, any road... Read More
Sidney felt sick as she looked at her latest OptionsXpress... Read More
When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More
Checked your 401K lately? Going back to about a year... Read More
I am sure that if you have a brokerage account... Read More
How many times has this happened to you? You're at... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |