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I am a 27 year old woman, and I have been interested in day trading, and becoming financially independent for years now. I haven't filled my head with the "get rich quick" articles or whatever, in fact I have mainly focused on the risk factors associated with day trading and the warnings against it. I consider myself a realist, and I am not looking to make a fortune, mainly I am hoping to maintain a comfortable living situation for my son and me, without having to rely on babysitters, and daycare centers. I am a quality manager for my day job, therefore I am anal and pay attention to detail. However, while my job is a very good one, the job market is rocky, and my company has been experiencing some losses lately.
What I am hoping for is some good advice. How much cash in hand is best for starting a day trading venture? I've already read the book suggestions, and those are great, so thank you for all those that replied to that thread. Is there any other advice folks are willing to give? It would be swell if I could meet someone on here that is open and friendly, and willing to act as a mentor.
This sounds terrible, but I am hoping to use my inheritance (whenever I should happen to get it) as my stepping off point into the world of day trading. I plan to use this time to learn everything I can about day trading, and then once I get my comfy little cushion of cash, to take the plunge - which in all honesty is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
So yeah, that's all I am really hoping for. Friendly advice. Like I said, I've already read the don'ts and the warnings, and all about how difficult it is and yadda yadda yadda. I am willing to put in the work, I am willing to take the risk. What I need is real time day traders sharing their experiences and what they've learned over the years. All of you were in my shoes at some point, so I'd like to hear from you.
Thanks!
Shannon
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
I meet a lot of new and wanna-be traders through my Meetup and here is the advice I lay out, with a little math
Let's say you have a lifestyle of $100K per year. The best traders on average have annualized returns of 10-20% a year. That's annualized. That means some years they may be up 50+%, other years down 40+%, but on average, over time, they make 10-20% a year. Let's be optimistic and say you can actually annualize 20% a year. That would mean you would need 5x capital, or $500K of trading capital to start with assuming you use good risk management.
This also assumes that when you have down years that you don't spend any of your trading capital, you just don't get a paycheck from your trading, so you'll need some other savings to pay for your drawdown periods. I'd guess that would mean you need another 1-2yrs of savings on hand. So now we're up to 600-700K. The reason this is important is that you must not spend your trading capital in drawdowns, because it will make it harder to recover from your drawdowns with a smaller and smaller account size.
With all of that said, this all assumes you actually have the skills and discipline to make 20% annualized. If it's only 10% then you need 2x that capital. While your attention-to-detail skills will be very helpful, it's only one tool you will need to master. Deciding to becoming a full-time trader is like deciding to become a doctor, a lawyer, or play professional sports. You can't just jump in and expect to be successful just because you are smart, work hard and are determined. It takes a lot of work and practice achieved over time. You will probably blow out 2-3+ trading accounts on your way because you have not yet mastered the skills needed, so you'll need some "tuition" money to lose on the way. It will probably take you at least a few years to get where you need to get to.
Enjoy the journey and try to minimize your tuition losses on the way.
Thank you shodson . Your contribution really valid, there are many who speak of large numbers, profits, millions and easy money, it's good to see people who posts things consistent, thank you very much.
Hello, I'm in a similar situation to Perionan, I have a little more experience, very little in futures, with a few months in a live chat room with not so good experience .... (I know, do not tell me anything ....)
You have a lot of experience can you recommend some place to start studying seriously to have more potential in the future to be a profitable trader?...