| krniethamer |
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Gold User, Member, TeleChart
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| Registered User |
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| Unsure |
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| Tuesday, November 30, 2004 |
| Sunday, May 7, 2006 3:39:45 PM |
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I've been away for the last two weeks and am just now catching up on the posts since then. I didn't know until now that my original post had been deleted by mistake. I will try to reconstruct it for future readers.
I am married w/ 3 kids. I sell pharmaceuticals and have done so for the last 15 years. I have traded on and off for the last 10 years and during that time have tried to learn everything I can about trading w/ my goal being to trade for a living. I currently have $32k available to trade. I tried trading seriously 3 years ago and have broken even since then. I have not placed a trade in the last year due to my lack of confidence in my trading skills, more specifically a system I have confidence in. My strategy to date has been day/momentum trading. In 10 years of study I have never met or talked w/ anyone who "successfully trades for a living".
I am looking for successful traders to share "specifics" about what they've accomplished as traders. What do I mean by "specifics"?
1. For my discussion a successful trader is someone who relies on their trading income solely for support.
2. How much capital do you trade w/?, $25k, $50k, $100k, $500k, $1m etc.
3. Here is the BIG ONE. ONLY if you're COMFORTABLE sharing this type of info, HOW MUCH HAVE YOU MADE, ie declared on your tax return, each year since you started trading?
4. What basic trading style do you use, (day, swing, momentum, technical or fundamental analysis, other, etc). No offense but I'm not asking for details on specific trading systems, just basic styles.
5. With no disrespect, I am not looking for advice on how to trade for a living unless you have done it. If you do trade for a living please share your story first.
Why am I asking successful traders to share this type of personal info? I am skeptical that it can be done. If over a 10 year period I have yet to meet a "successful trader" I don't want to waste time trying to accomplish something that is impossible or only a select few, ie the expceptions to the rule, can do.
Don't get me wrong. TC2000 is a wonderful tool and I think I can utilize it to help me trade successfully. I am grateful they offer this platform to have this discussion. I just need the confidence to know it's possible and the only way I believe I can gain that confidence is by knowing it can be done.
Thanks everyone who has contributed to date. Each of you have confirmed many of my expectations about trading. Thanks to Neil040, Bucket_Shop, willimike and bludog for sharing your thoughts. Special thanks to craigschilling for coming the closest to what I was asking.
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Bucket Shop, Thanks for your reply. I currently have $32k available to trade. I have broken even over the last 3 years. I have not placed a trade in the last year due to my lack of confidence my trading skills, more specifically a system I have confidence in. I have no problem pulling the trigger when I see an opportunity I feel good about, but that has typically been a chart I run across that looks good from an IBD CANSLIM philosophy. With that said do you trade for wealth building or for income. Please share more specifics if you feel comfortable, ie trader vs investor, position size, success rate, holding time, technical analysis vs fundamentals or combination, other software like Metastock, Tradestation etc to develop systems.
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Niel040, Thanks for your reply. Your story sounds exactly like mine. Early success, struggles, supportive wife etc. I too have been focusing on swing trading lately but have not been able to come up w/ a system that I feel confident trading. My concern now is that the combination of how hard it is to consistently make money trading, working full time, and having a family, I don't know if I will be able to spend the time necessary to learn to trade successfully. Like you I have not given up and will not give up unless I never meet someone who does what I want to do, be a successful trader.
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-Edit. Post deleted by mistake while attempting to sticky the post.
Kuf
In krniethamer's original post, he said that he would like to hear from others out there who are genuinely trading for a living...making between $60K and $120K per year. There were some other details in his post but this is what got the topic started.
krniethamer, we apologize for the deletion. Result of a quirk in the forum code which we'll try to remedy.
StockGuy
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