Snippet: My son, a U.S. lawyer (Grrrr!), messaged me today to wish me a Happy New Year.
He's venturing down that Rabbit Hole called "Day Trading".
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
For my returning online friends, it's always great to see you again!
"Be a young Spock" - My Son and Day Trading: A New Year's message...
My son messaged me today to wish me a Happy New Year.
He's venturing down that Rabbit Hole called "Day Trading".
Since he knew that I used to Day Trade in my younger days, he asked for some tips.
Here's my New Year's reply:
Son, you didn't mention what you'll be trading (stocks, bonds, derivatives, futures or their cryptocurrency counterparts), so my advice will be somewhat broad-stroke.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I can help since the TA, HFT and Day Trading spaces change so fast.
I couldn't spot the difference between a heart attack and a dead cat bounce these days.
And my era of losing time and being hypnotized by those red and green candles are over.
It's no fun biting your nails, going blind staring at multiple screens and suffering from too many sleepless nights. It can be very addictive - I KNOW.
I was lucky and did very well right before I retired from the military in 2004; building two houses in Asia and paying in cash.
Sadly or not, I gave them away to my Ex's.
One thing that hasn't changed is the importance of having a well defined personal trading philosophy.
In Day Trading or any other investment activity, you will always be your own worst enemy.
Here's what my simple trading philosophy was like:
Rule #1 - Honestly assess your risk tolerance, time-horizon and principal protection strategy.
It's senseless to jump into the financial arena without knowing your own strengths and weaknesses.
If you do, your trading account will suffer "Lingchi" - a death from a thousand cuts.
Rule #2 - Have a pre-planned entry and exit price point.
It will make you more resilient when a trade isn't going your way.
Likewise, it will keep you from stepping off the financial cliff with the inevitable horde of greedy lemmings.
Rule #3 - Vow never to chase a stock, derivative, commodity or currency.
Remember that Mr. Market is bipolar.
When he's manic, he'll pay top dollar for swamp land in Florida.
When he's depressed, he insults you with his "coffin-deep" bids (Graham and Dodd - loosely paraphrased).
Right now, be a young spock.
Tell yourself, "Emotions have no place in the cut throat arena of trading (and business in general)."
A few Parting Shots:
Money comes and goes.
If you know how to create value instead of competing, you can always make money and replace your fun toys.
Those are just things.
But you can never replace experiences, time and people.
In business and in life, I suggest that you seek out and align yourself with smart, kind individuals.
These are the rare ones who use money and love people - instead of the opposite (i.e., loving money and using people).
In the end, you'll be wealthy without guilt, anxiety or insomnia.
I'm spending most of my investment research time in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and "Disruptive and Collaborative Tech" (like MEMs, ML, AI, neural interface and semiconductor chip tech, etc.).
Hope some of this rambling helps.
Always proud of you, Son.
Pops
By JaiChai
"Really Appreciate You Stopping By. Truly hope to see you again!"
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About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his girlfriend, teenage daughter and two dogs.
"My mind was a terrible thing to waste..." - JaiChai
JaiChai 1-2-2021. Simultaneous multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.