I find this post quite humorous as everyone seems to be shuffling around trying to patch up the holes in their answer and thinking here and there.
I think there is a fundamental difference of opinion here: Those of us looking at pursuing trading as a full time job and income, and those that must leave it as a part-time endeavor due to current job/life constraints. I must say that I feel a bit privileged as I am able to have the time to grow an account into something worthwhile and quite livable. Other people don't, and it obviously seems to frustrate.
I full agree that even if you're about to try and make the jump to trading for income that you should cut your teeth on a real account, even if only $500 as losing real money hurts, no matter the amount. It definitely wakes you up to the reality that it's your money on the line and it's up to you to do right by it. Sure you might come at me saying that "losing $50 isn't that bad when you have a $30k account!" Trust me, if I had a $30k account, I wouldn't be losing $50, that'd be closer to $500-2,000 (god forbid).
Another thing driving the divide between those needing large amounts to live comfortably and those of us that don't is the time factor. I have more time to devote to trading and learning to trade and thus am able to work more actively towards my goal of growing my account where as someone working 40+ hours a week with kids has a lot more difficulty putting time into it. It's kinda like going to college in a way; you can either slug it out from the beginning and be on the other end of a diploma in three to four years, or if you're tied up in other things (like life itself) and you're only able to do a few night classes at a time, it's gonna take longer. Of course, some decide that they don't want to do that and cut a clear path out and shelve whatever it is that's keeping them in night classes and just duke it out working overtime in class so they're most likely coming out after two years with vengeance.
Be wary of the trader hustling for those 200-1000+ pips a week as they're the ones with the drive and desire to slug it out to the top. Yes it is entirely possible to net over 1000 pips in a week safely and without craziness applied liberally. No I am not talking out of my butt or selling snake oil. I've seen it done before, and I've done it on more than one occasion myself. It's all in how much you're willing to put into it and how you're willing to deal with the current situation you're in, good or bad.
To put things in perspective, no you don't have to live in someplace like Indonesia to live on a lower income. I can live quite comfortably here in Dallas, TX on $1,000 a month, or $250 a week. Do I live in a mansion with a trophy wife? Of course not, but I have a decent place to live, eat reasonably well, and have money to go out with on the weekends. So let's say that for every $250 of profit I take out, I leave another $250 in the account? Well, that starts to stack up before too long, and then $250 turns into $300, into $350, growing quicker and quicker between each period. This is all quite doable on a $10,000 account, and I'm talking about one at a proper broker on an ECN like ODL or HotSpotFXi. It's all about perspective and context. Hell, I'd make just about as much money doing that than I do working full time where I do!
Another thing that bothers me:
YOU DO NOT HAVE THE FULL ACCOUNT BALANCE TO WIELD AROUND AS POSSIBLE DRAWDOWN EQUITY ONCE YOU HAVE ENTERED A POSITION. YOU HAVE WHATEVER IS LEFT AFTER YOUR MARGIN REQUIREMENTS.
ALSO, PLEASE START THINKING WITH AN OPEN MIND AND LISTENING WITH AN OPEN EAR. YOU DO NOT GET AHEAD OR LEARN ANYTHING BY DENIGRATING OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES OR IDEAS AND DISMISSING THEM. YOU GET AHEAD BY THINKING ABOUT THEM YOURSELF AND ANALYZING WHAT YOU TAKE IN.
I think there is a fundamental difference of opinion here: Those of us looking at pursuing trading as a full time job and income, and those that must leave it as a part-time endeavor due to current job/life constraints. I must say that I feel a bit privileged as I am able to have the time to grow an account into something worthwhile and quite livable. Other people don't, and it obviously seems to frustrate.
I full agree that even if you're about to try and make the jump to trading for income that you should cut your teeth on a real account, even if only $500 as losing real money hurts, no matter the amount. It definitely wakes you up to the reality that it's your money on the line and it's up to you to do right by it. Sure you might come at me saying that "losing $50 isn't that bad when you have a $30k account!" Trust me, if I had a $30k account, I wouldn't be losing $50, that'd be closer to $500-2,000 (god forbid).
Another thing driving the divide between those needing large amounts to live comfortably and those of us that don't is the time factor. I have more time to devote to trading and learning to trade and thus am able to work more actively towards my goal of growing my account where as someone working 40+ hours a week with kids has a lot more difficulty putting time into it. It's kinda like going to college in a way; you can either slug it out from the beginning and be on the other end of a diploma in three to four years, or if you're tied up in other things (like life itself) and you're only able to do a few night classes at a time, it's gonna take longer. Of course, some decide that they don't want to do that and cut a clear path out and shelve whatever it is that's keeping them in night classes and just duke it out working overtime in class so they're most likely coming out after two years with vengeance.
Be wary of the trader hustling for those 200-1000+ pips a week as they're the ones with the drive and desire to slug it out to the top. Yes it is entirely possible to net over 1000 pips in a week safely and without craziness applied liberally. No I am not talking out of my butt or selling snake oil. I've seen it done before, and I've done it on more than one occasion myself. It's all in how much you're willing to put into it and how you're willing to deal with the current situation you're in, good or bad.
To put things in perspective, no you don't have to live in someplace like Indonesia to live on a lower income. I can live quite comfortably here in Dallas, TX on $1,000 a month, or $250 a week. Do I live in a mansion with a trophy wife? Of course not, but I have a decent place to live, eat reasonably well, and have money to go out with on the weekends. So let's say that for every $250 of profit I take out, I leave another $250 in the account? Well, that starts to stack up before too long, and then $250 turns into $300, into $350, growing quicker and quicker between each period. This is all quite doable on a $10,000 account, and I'm talking about one at a proper broker on an ECN like ODL or HotSpotFXi. It's all about perspective and context. Hell, I'd make just about as much money doing that than I do working full time where I do!
Another thing that bothers me:
YOU DO NOT HAVE THE FULL ACCOUNT BALANCE TO WIELD AROUND AS POSSIBLE DRAWDOWN EQUITY ONCE YOU HAVE ENTERED A POSITION. YOU HAVE WHATEVER IS LEFT AFTER YOUR MARGIN REQUIREMENTS.
ALSO, PLEASE START THINKING WITH AN OPEN MIND AND LISTENING WITH AN OPEN EAR. YOU DO NOT GET AHEAD OR LEARN ANYTHING BY DENIGRATING OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES OR IDEAS AND DISMISSING THEM. YOU GET AHEAD BY THINKING ABOUT THEM YOURSELF AND ANALYZING WHAT YOU TAKE IN.
Never underestimate the powers of the Force.