I lost £26'000 last week.
If you're here to gloat or say I told you so please keep it to yourself. This is my last ever post and so I shan't be replying. I'm posting because trading and this blog was a big part of my life for 20 months and I need closure to enable me to move on.
I gave this my all. I devoted so much time and energy in educating myself. I invested 20 months, thousands of hours and £55'000 into trading in an effort to open up a new horizon for myself.
It's not for me, I know that now. I'm too enthusiastic, I play too big for my account, my money management and attitude to risk is poor and I don't cut losing trades quickly enough.
The way I see it I only have one life. I reached 50 and although I run my own business and earn a decent living it doesn't afford me the luxury of doing things for my family the way I would like to, that's why I looked at trading. It's possible to make really good money on your own terms but I know with all my experience and every ounce of wisdom I have mustered that it's not going to work for me.
A man has to know his limits, I'm not a gambler, I never have been and I don't enjoy it. This was a bold stretch at a new career move, it didn't work and now I know it for sure.
This loss hurts and it will take me probably two years to get back on an even keel yet I'm glad I gave it a go. I have lost good money, a LOT of money but the upshot is it has helped me appreciate that what I do have is a GOOD small business that provides me with a living on my own terms and I'm so grateful for that.
I shall now apply myself to my business with the same passion and enthusiasm I have devoted to my trading.
Thanks for keeping me company on my journey, anyone who takes money out of the markets is a hero.
That's it.
Me!
Just read all posts from day one. You are a hero. OPEN positions was your only mistake. I'm so sorry to hear of your situation and do sincerely wish all the very best for the future. If you can stick to scalping, you wont make a fortune, but earn enough for some luxuries for the family. Paul, 53, Day trader on Ftse and Dow.
ReplyDeleteThank you Paul, your words have warmed my heart.
DeleteMate, sorry to hear this.
ReplyDeleteMany consecutive positive days and then this ....... I grimaced when I saw the words 'held overnight' and knowing what happened overnight.
You know what you did wrong, you summed it up beautifully. It's up to you what you do next, but you could start small, learn your lessons, and use that as a platform to build.
You have learnt the hard way, but I think once the pain begins to subside you will reconsider your options and lessons learnt.
Good luck,
Again, heartfelt thanks 'cave route' for your kind supportive words.
DeleteUnfortunate to read this post. Despite it not working out as you envisioned, believe me you have provided an element of inspiration in following your heart and giving it your all. Wish you all the best for the future. Don't give up totally though. You have fundamental skills that could achieve your goal. You know your strengths and weaknesses so why not continue albeit on a small sized demo account and trade for six months and assess your performance, re-tweaking as you go, or using signal provider platforms such as zulutrade, applying very little capital?
ReplyDeleteAll the best for the future.
All the best and I do believe you can crack it.
Thank you for believing in me. Your comment lifted my spirits, thank you.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteIm very sorry to hear what happened. I would love to speak to you on the phone about your experiences and think I can provide a way for you to recoup your losses.
Paulo.Nogueira(at)hotmail.co.uk
Regards
Thank you Paulo. I'm done with trading though I appreciate your kind offer.
DeleteI've been reading your blog with interest and I'm sorry to hear about what happened. I am also a short term trader but I don't hold positions overnight. You probably already know this but I would consider eliminating overnight positions or, if you are in a profitable position, move your stop loss to breakeven so that you reduce your risk.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I have noticed is that your trading day seems to be very long (on one post you stated that you began at 10am and finished at 9pm). As you have been trading for a while, I would recommend shortening this as long hours lead to burnout and reduced focus. If there are specific setups that you look out for then I would recommend using software to automate them so that it sends you an alert when they appear instead of screen watching. For time-sensitive trades such as trading market open, you'd only need to be at the screen for half an hour or an hour.
One other change which has helped me is to define rules when for each trading setup i.e. entry, exit and position management. This improves discipline and can help with justifying trades.
I'd like to wish you all the best with your business and thank you for posting your trading progress. I hope you recoup your losses if you decide to trade again as your target of 10 points a day is definitely achievable with some refinements.
- Sam
Hi Sam, I appreciate your comments.
DeleteMy trading in the end was condensed into a period of minutes although that matters not one jot now. I'm living a new life, this was a great adventure that took so much out of me in so many ways, not just financially.
The silver lining is my loss actually made me realise how lucky I am to have my business and I've fallen in love with what I do all over again.
It's not just a chapter that's over here for me, it's the whole book. I wish you successful trading.
Sorry I've just found your blog after I could have potentially helped turn it around. I hate to see people fail in and give up. Volatility is rife in these manipulated markets. Scalpings not for everyone but I have a very good strategy that I've created around the ftse. But you have done right in qualifying yourself out as this kind of loss can just be an opener to bigger failure before you master yourself and the market. Should you want to try again get yourself lined with people who know how to make it work for them. Regards ftse100coach.co.uk
ReplyDeleteI will never believe that a person who traded would want to stop. The loss hurts and I lost in the past a lot of money (in gambling), but trading brings me fun and enjoyment. It's like a little hobby. I used to gamble and that was worse, much worse. Trading put my gambling in control and I.... don't gamble ever, never did since I started trading.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, betting £50 is too risky for a beginner trader. Only after 3 years I tried betting £3. If I bet £50 when I started I would probably be writing the similar story: oh, I lost 28 thousand pounds. Instead I could say, oh I lost 500 pounds. That's a difference.
If you took this as a hobby but not business to start with and gave it a go with the small starting capital you could have enjoyed it more and could be more successful. GL in the future.