Stay at home mum - could I be a day trader?

superhanzzz77

DavidHayton wrote: »

The balance is always between risk and reward. The greater the risk, the greater the potential for rewards. Personally I aim for 15% growth p.a. but I don't always make it. There are others who look down their noses at the likes of me and claim they are doubling their money every year. Good luck to them, I say, but I do wonder why they are not filling up the rich lists. If you double your money every year, you will turn £1k into £1million within 10 years, and into £1billion within a futher 10 years.

I nearly doubled my money last year - and i've only been doing this for 3

However as my portfolio increases in size the risk seems to rise (in my head) and I seem to have become more cautious in my investment style

that is the beauty of it though - every possible level of risk is out there from Chinese e-commerce start ups at one end to plain old cash at the other.

Don't forget that cash is a position and if your stocks aren't behaving get back into cash while you wait for the next entry point.

Ifts

Carlos_Fandango wrote: »

If all the bankers on massive salaries could not turn a profit what makes you think you can?

Your attitude to risk is different when its your own money.

The bankers on massive salaries get paid regardless of what profit they make, and quite often get a bonus even when they don't turn a profit.

ed123_2

....I would,nt do it ....I and others I know have lost money day trading...costs of trading/stamp duty eat into profits as well as the tendency of holding losers and selling winners....I also found one was shut out of the market when a chance of making a profit occurred..... I think the statistic for people losing re spread betting is 80%

[Deleted User]

op, I was a stah day trader and I was successful and eventually gave it up. It is best if you do a huge amount of research and trading education before you burn your bridges. Learn TA so that your trading instincts become automatic, get yourself a very good top of the range realtime trading programme and a very good, extremely fast computer with at least 2 big clear screens. Get yourself onto courses, usually based in London. Learn to be detached from your trading decisions and get yourself a good pot of money that you can afford to lose

The adreniline rush is fantastic and your decisions have to be very quick, so you are on a high all the time and you stay glued to your computer as you see your profits or losses mount up. 9-3, forget it, the best trades are placed at the beginning and end of the trading day when there is a decent bit of movement in the indices

I had been dabbling for years before I took the plunge, so I had the knowledge and I had read the books and been on the courses

To jump in at the deep end, like you want to do is a pipe dream and my advice is to be content to keep it a pipe dream. You wouldn`t believe the numbers of people who lose their homes, redundancy and huge amounts of money. The long term winners are few and far between

[Deleted User]

CLAPTON wrote: »

making 15k pa with a starting capital of 10-20k is a fantastic return and if it were easy then the entire population would be doing it... a lot better than working for a living.

why not try out a 'dummy' or fantasy portfolio for a few months and see how you get on.

It is very easy to trade positively with a fantasy portfolio or paper trading as there is no emotion involved. It is no substitute for the real thing and your own money

mike88

Your starting point is based on a belief that you will make money. You can also lose and lose heavily. I've tried day trading and believe me its difficult and requires 100% of your time. To think you can day trade in between looking after the kids as a kind of sideline while everyone is out of the house is - and I don't mean to be cruel but can think of no better words - utterly utterly ridiculous. And its even more ridiculous to think you can go from a state of knowing absolutely nothing about shares to be a day trader in a short period of time. If it was as easy as picking up a few books and learning then everyone would be at it.

You could always buy a few shares occasionally and hang on to them until they rise (or fall by operating a stop/loss system) is feasible but that approach is unlikely to make you a living unless you are prepared to GAMBLE a substantial sum and you will need to go into it knowing that you are as likely as lose money as gain. As you are gambling with family money what does your husband think?

Sorry to put a damper on your ambitions but it is a daft idea even though your aim of being home with the kids is entirely laudable.

C_Mababejive

I would agree with others. Sign up for one of the trading sites and work a fantasy portfolio. After a few months of that,you will realise that it is very easy to loose your shirt....or camisole

gordonc888

Online poker! At least the software is free.

superhanzzz77

Wow a lot of cautious minds on here... which is no bad thing

However to compare trading stocks to horses or bingo is utterly, utterly ridiculous

The stock market has gone up 10 - 15% per year historically - this surely can't be compared directly to gambling

You are investing in companies where you can look at the accounts, read investor research, look at web stats, read industry magazines, study the charts and yes follow your own hunches about which businesses may have room for more growth - only a Moron would not have realised Apple was going to sell trillions of ipods or Google was going to become one of the largest companies in the world - spot the next one and you could make a lot of money (putting those stops in place in case things go wrong of course!!)

Of course Day / Swing Trading is another kettle of fish as it's more technical (based on studying charts, looking for those entry points based on technicals) - but I still believe if you only invest in the leaders and respect your stops you can make good money

Life is risky - if you can afford the potential loss - go for it!

elwy

Wow I didn't expect such a huge response. Thanks all for your criticisms, encouragement and even ridicule It's all appreciated if it saves me from disappointment later!

mike88 said: As you are gambling with family money what does your husband think?

Actually he suggested it! Because I manage our investments he thinks I am a finance goddess or something. LOL But actually the money is mine.

Kittie said: 9-3, forget it, the best trades are placed at the beginning and end of the trading day when there is a decent bit of movement in the indices

That was one of my fears and you've confirmed it. I think this alone kills any optimism I had of being a serious day-trader.

I'd still like to buy shares, but I guess I need to think about a longer term strategy and forget day trading.

Thanks all!