Jan 2, 2008

Trading goals for 2008

Meant to post this up sometime last week but it didn't happen. I really hate doing things half-ass... but it's better than nothing. Anyway, here's what I'm shooting for in 2008 (no particular order):

-increase risk size (hopefully leading to increased reward)
-make 290R
-understand, papertrade and eventually trade Futures
-enter more swing positions

That's it. I mean, I could probably fill the page with shit, but really, if I achieve the above stated goals... I will be the happiest dude on the planet. Well, maybe not happier than the guy married to Kate Beckinsale... but happy nonetheless.

5 comments:

Anthony said...

Happy New Year!

How did you come to '290'?

OONR7 said...

anthony: Happy New Year to you too. 6.3R per week x 46 weeks per year (amount of weeks I want to work) = 290R per year. Of course, remember this is really just an average. I'm hoping I will do better some weeks and expecting not to do so well on others. Although, I'd prefer to get a good chunk in the first 2 quarters of the year.

Tom T. said...

This question is for oonr7:- I think when you first started you expressed some other competing interests - are you now concentrating on daytrading as your career, at least for the short term? I was curious how your assessment of your progress in 2007 influenced any of your career goals. These questions are for anyone: I am curious about making the jump myself to full time trading. How much money does one need sitting in the account day in and day out to generate income - I am not ready for full time given that I cannot answer this question yet for myself - if I was more consistent with profitable trades maybe I would know what I needed.

OONR7 said...

tom t: that's a really great question on your part of me. You know, I can't really say that 'trading' is my career right now as I haven't had a full year of successful/profitable trading under my belt. I think 2008 will answer whether trading is in my future as a full-time gig or rather just a 'hobby' to earn additional income. However, under my current circumstances (being in Paris without a work permit), I really want to take advantage of this time to give trading a shot. I want to go back to the US (mid-2009) knowing that I will be trading full-time. With that being said... I also realize that to be a successful trader, I need to diversify my trading knowledge. I don't think strictly trading gappers (with the setups I look for) will bring the financial reward I'm looking for. That's why I'm interested in trading futures as well.
As for switching over to daytrading full-time... I think you need to find a high-probability trading style that can be utilized throughout the year in many different conditions. As for starting capital, I think on the low-end you'd need about $35k to start and on the high-end $50k (both on margin). Although you could also go with a prop firm and lower your initial investment overall. That's also something I'm thinking about once I get back to the US.

Unknown said...

Tom T
Daytrading minimum is 25K and if you want to trade for living, you need to make about 1.38 times of your current income,to cover insurance/401k etc..