Why do we trade?... no really, why?

To make money and achieve personal freedom.

Im 45 years old, I have no assets or superannuation. Retitrement was looking bleak to say the least. I decided trading was a good way of being able to provide for myself when I can no longer earn a living from work. It has taken much longer and cost alot of money to get it sorted but I believe I will retire early from work based on my trading ability. If so, its one less pension the next generation has to pay for, that's my contribution

You and me both! Except I'm 65 and retired so my future is bleak.

All I'm looking to do is supplement my pitiful pension so, for now, the rest can support me a little bit longer.

Personally, I think the "providing liquidity... helping determine price", while true, is clutching at straws a little. A bit like saying when I buy a plasma tv I'm helping the economy. No, it's for personal gain and the indirect result is kind of irrelevant, and certainly not what the purchaser had in mind.

I'm with LasVahGoose on this. The trading itself means little. We're all doing more good posting here than we'll ever do buying and selling. But it is what you make of yourself when you come out the other side (assuming you do). I know as I've become more comfortable/successful with my trading, I've become more relaxed and happier as a person. And while not at a point where I can donate vast sums of money, the freedom has given me time to donate in other ways like spending time with family, coaching my son's basketball team, and so on.

Put simply, I see trading as a means to an end.

Same thing happened to me. My timezone means I trade evenings and dinner and wine don't make for an alert trader!

Keep in mind though that being slightly tanked will keep you in the game longer...

Hmm, I'm not sure. Do you think we even need the same species?

Wow. What a top idea. I am going to ask my broker to offer that little option for my account.

And do mind those Sunday gaps, they can be quite painful.

may be trading wont bring any positive impact to world from retail brokers,but if we can lots of money from trading and use it for good cause it might bring some thing good to the world.

Ever been to Tijuana?

Now c'mon folks. Opie is telling the truth here....

Show me a broker who won't try to F**K you every chance he gets ?

Plenty of sex, if you look at it that way.....

Trading has made me a better person, and hopefully it will bring financial freedom and give time for a better and more fulfilling life.

A successful trader contributes far more to the local economy, and in taxes, paying more than their fair share for infrastructure and services.

not so sure if very succesful traders contribute a lot to charity.
those traders didn`t get there on hand-outs, but through long long working hours, determination, discipline.
why would they give to people who are holding up their hands and do nothing personally to improve their lot?

I would only help people who help themselves; teach them to fish so to speak.

I can state with unequivocal certainty that ALL successful people here in the States, no matter what their profession, give to charity for one or both of two major reasons.

1. Simple human love and kindness.
2. Tax deductions.

Teaching someone to fish takes time and resources, but I guess that is a handout as well by your definition...

opie must know ALL successful people in the US intimitely then.....spending your time at the IRS or doing some hacking???

las: obviously you haven`t read "your definition" properly

EVERY American taxpayer (successful or not, regardless of profession) who gives to charity does so for one or both of two major reasons.

1. Simple human love and kindness. This should be self evident even to the most jaded and cynical among us.

2. Tax deductions. The more financially successful a tax payer becomes in this country (higher tax bracket) the more incentive he/she has to give to charity. It's called capital preservation. The wealthy are highly adept at playing The Game.

There's not a single tax paying American who can honestly or knowingly refute this.

Dis-believing non-Americans are invited to begin their own research here.

Well, sortof... there's a few more, too.

3. Fanatical dedication to a cause
4. Desperate need for love and affection

I worked as a fundraiser for a time, I've seen people give thousands to a political cause that was not tax deductible. Stuff like Brady's handgun control work or Common Cause or Ron Paul's work all get a lot of donations because of dedication to a cause.

Other times people just want to be loved in return. People that give to wildlife or animal charities typically fall under this category. There's millions of women in this country that just want to care for someone and be loved for it yet have no outlet for that need.

Tax write-offs need to be done creatively tho. A charitable remainder trust is a perfect example. A person is willed control of a trust and gets to use that property for the rest of their life, afterwards it's all willed to charity. In return, they pay no taxes.

A common use for that is an income pool. You want to pass a living income on to your family after you die? Start a CRT, put a lot of money in it and instruct it to pay it's returns out (split by ownership %). They'll get the money and pay very little taxes on it. After everyone dies, the source money goes to charity.

I stumbled into trading. But then it grabbed me by the neck and didn't let go.

Everything I have had to learn to be a better trader has helped me be a better human being. Trading will shine an ugly bright light on every corner of your personality where you are lying to yourself, every bad habit, every flaw. It's an environment of unlimited possibilities which attracts people but it also means that all your personality defects and flaws run riot. Believe me when I say if you identify the things that hold you back in trading, you will somewhere along the line find a loved one who has given it to you straight that those are areas that hold you back in life too.

I am unashamed to say that the financial reward is important to me. It drives me to succeed. But the more important thing is that trading became a passion for me. I didn't pick my passions, my passions picked me. Look back over the things that made you most passionate in life and tell me you decided "you know what? I am going to spend the rest of my life sailing". You didn't. You tried it out one day, felt kinda nice, then boom a year or so later it's the thing you love doing.

I think following our passions keeps us alive, gets us out of bed in the morning. We need castles to build. As long as the passions don't blind us to our loved ones and our life then it's all good. But in truth, I think everyone who succeeded in this business spent a little time blotting out the sun and burying themselves in charts and study. Obsession and a little OCD along with a pig headed refusal to give in just seem to be necessary to trade. Ask James16, RyanMCD, mbqb11, raczekfx....man they all spent a long time in the wilderness. And at some stage I am sure a switch flicked in their head and they thought "RIGHT. I am going to do this NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES"

I don't think it's a business that supports idle dabbling. You just won't make money but you might have fun. I think excellence in any field requires huge determination and effort and an enjoyment of the journey. The world's best athletes could not survive if the only thing they enjoyed was the money, or standing on the winner's podium. They have to enjoy every single aspect of it. Including stepping out onto the practice field on a rainy winter morning.

Sport is a great analogy when you think about it. It's utterly meaningless. No one cares if you kick a ball this far or run this fast. It's not curing cancer. And yet the passion and discipline of those who excel at it is inspiring. The devote themselves to making it work. And in that process they find out about themselves and push themselves to become better people.

I trade to make money. Of course I do. Anyone who denies that is a liar if only because money is a way of keeping score in this game. But the rewards of trading have been like the rewards of becoming a professional athlete. I know that it's meaningless in the grand scheme of things but I find that in pursuing this road with passion and commitment, every day I learn something about myself and better myself.

That is why I trade.