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As a precursor I do not know the slightest about the physcial acts of "daytrading" so please excuse any ignorant comments on my end.
Like most on here, looking to supplement my income, and have always had a interest in investing practices. Willing to put in the time and effort to learn , However, is it realistic to attempt this as a secondary income?
It is very possible as a supplemental income. You must study and read all you can. If not, you are throwing your money at a chance. Know what you are buying and don't just listen to "experts" stock picks. No one can predict the market, but you can make money.
Ignore Bill.... You cannot do this. I know many people who have tried it and they all come up short.
There are MANY people all trying to do the same thing but have gone through significant training and have access to capital/technology that we can only dream about. We are talking about trading mostly done by computer programs buying and selling in fractions of a second.
Read the book Flash Boys to see what you are up against.
FYI.... I work in finance and have an MBA. I still don't day trade or swing trade.
As a precursor I do not know the slightest about the physcial acts of "daytrading" so please excuse any ignorant comments on my end.
Like most on here, looking to supplement my income, and have always had a interest in investing practices. Willing to put in the time and effort to learn , However, is it realistic to attempt this as a secondary income?
I have a cousin who does this... been doing it for 15 years now. And trust me, no matter how much "science" and "tradition" you pour on it, it is still gambling. Just because the market did "x" 100% of the time for the last 2000 years, means it WILL do "XY" when you decide to bet heavily on the "x".
And that is all you are looking for... indicators and other things, I'll admit, I don't understand. I'm a long-term guy.
Listen to someone who really understands this is like listening to a math wizard. Or a great Bullsh**ter.
He has been to years of conferences, learning techniques, etc. Maybe secretly he is worth a billion dollars, I don't know.
All I can tell you is get ready to not invest any real money for a couple of years. Study, study, study.... and then only invest money you can put in a fire and burn.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It really depends on your skills and luck. A co-worker (accountant) made enough to pay off their home early, and pay cash for a second which they moved into and rented out the first (smaller) one. A relative retired early at 60 and took his pension as a lump some, and has done very well day trading part of it, currently he and his family are in Europe on a long vacation.
a part time day trader? its like the afternoon football coach thinking he can play with nfl players
doing it successfully would mean it is the primary job, and even then people lose money
not saying day trading isnt possible, more that you have the idea wrong.
trade for side income sure, i did it in college, saw a down company and bought then sold it when it went up. i made a few hundred a month. now i buy index funds mostly. the difference is the returns over a year were about the same for me, but less work with indexes. reasons why i dont regret trading? it meant i had money in the pocket when i needed it. sure they evened out in the long run, but when you need cash each month you cant wait until markets go up. reasons why i didnt "beat" the index? because i missed opportunities when i tied money up in a company. why i was even with the market at year end? because i didnt buy poor performers in the short term that are in the indexes dragging it down. why i lost to index? fees and taxes and more work for no more gain.
overall, i was lucky, the markets were raising and nearly every pick went up in the short term... i understood it and got out before i ran out of luck
so would i want to go back to trading? too much hair pulling and "research", i was just more impulsive trading than sitting back and being lazy with index. now i dont care if market is up or down because whatever happens, i know i own some of the good performers. i accept i have some poor performers that drag it down, i consider them my "lazy fee", they cost me money but i pay for it so i get to be lazy.
My neighbor was day trading years ago. He was making a killing and then one day, he lost all his money, all his sister's life savings, and all his parents' life savings. Now, he's a stay at home dad.
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