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Or when making money became harder. Amazing the number of people I personally know who took 1 year of day trading to be the “norm” and made big life decisions

by spaceman_2020 4y ago

Or when making money became harder. Amazing the number of people I personally know who took 1 year of day trading to be the “norm” and made big life decisions based on their results. From quitting good jobs to buying houses they can’t afford, all because they made big money in 2021 and thought they could keep repeating it every year.

georgeecollins 4y ago
This happened in 1998-1999 too. People got online trading accounts, did great and then decided to try to invest for a living. You should not take investment advice from people who have been doing it less than a decade. It takes time to sort out the lucky from the smart.
- mumblemumble 4y ago
  I would even argue that a decade isn't necessarily enough time. The decade in question might have been the 1990s.
  - t_mann 4y ago
    Or the 2010's.
- smsm42 4y ago
  Unless you're going to do it for living and really invest hard into educating yourself, I don't think you should also take the investment advice from people who have been doing it for more than a decade, unless the advice is "buy index funds and HODL" (I maybe exaggerate a bit, but boiled down to the essence that'd be it). For a common person that doesn't plan to make a career out of it and spend a lot of time honing one's skills, daytrading is rarely going to pay off, IMHO. You can do it for fun, there are more expensive hobbies probably, but as a means to support yourself in the old age... well, you might get lucky. Or not.
  - bagacrap 4y ago
    if you've been doing it for more than a decade, hopefully that is the advice you will share
- bombcar 4y ago
  Heh I made 30% trading! Of course had I just let it ride in an index fund I’d’ve made 50+%…
  - nightski 4y ago
    Nah a lot of the tech and meme plays were up hundreds to thousands percent returns. Of course they were hit the hardest in the down turn, but the money making potential was pretty insane.
pram 4y ago
Options trading in particular is really addicting, like gambling. I’ve had periods where I was completely sucked in, looking at charts and news all day. I will admit I’ve had thoughts in the past of “I should just quit my job and do this” without any practical consideration as to how sustainable it would be. Not because I thought I would be rich, just because I wanted to trade all day! It’s kind of like being addicted to an MMO lol
- moneywoes 4y ago
  What type did you do?
- spaceman_2020 4y ago
  I did that too and you’re spot on about how addictive it can be. But I looked at my wins and realized that I had no real thesis and was essentially gambling. Had to quit at that point.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  +1 I talked with a “professional” day trader who basically said “write down your strategy on a piece of paper pre-market and the. Paper trade that strategy. If it doesn’t match what you were doing then you weren’t acting like a professional, you were a gambler”.

georgeecollins 4y ago

This happened in 1998-1999 too. People got online trading accounts, did great and then decided to try to invest for a living. You should not take investment advice from people who have been doing it less than a decade. It takes time to sort out the lucky from the smart.

mumblemumble 4y ago
I would even argue that a decade isn't necessarily enough time. The decade in question might have been the 1990s.
- t_mann 4y ago
  Or the 2010's.
smsm42 4y ago
Unless you're going to do it for living and really invest hard into educating yourself, I don't think you should also take the investment advice from people who have been doing it for more than a decade, unless the advice is "buy index funds and HODL" (I maybe exaggerate a bit, but boiled down to the essence that'd be it). For a common person that doesn't plan to make a career out of it and spend a lot of time honing one's skills, daytrading is rarely going to pay off, IMHO. You can do it for fun, there are more expensive hobbies probably, but as a means to support yourself in the old age... well, you might get lucky. Or not.
- bagacrap 4y ago
  if you've been doing it for more than a decade, hopefully that is the advice you will share
bombcar 4y ago
Heh I made 30% trading! Of course had I just let it ride in an index fund I’d’ve made 50+%…
- nightski 4y ago
  Nah a lot of the tech and meme plays were up hundreds to thousands percent returns. Of course they were hit the hardest in the down turn, but the money making potential was pretty insane.

pram 4y ago

Options trading in particular is really addicting, like gambling. I’ve had periods where I was completely sucked in, looking at charts and news all day. I will admit I’ve had thoughts in the past of “I should just quit my job and do this” without any practical consideration as to how sustainable it would be. Not because I thought I would be rich, just because I wanted to trade all day! It’s kind of like being addicted to an MMO lol

moneywoes 4y ago
What type did you do?
spaceman_2020 4y ago
I did that too and you’re spot on about how addictive it can be. But I looked at my wins and realized that I had no real thesis and was essentially gambling. Had to quit at that point.
vineyardmike 4y ago
+1 I talked with a “professional” day trader who basically said “write down your strategy on a piece of paper pre-market and the. Paper trade that strategy. If it doesn’t match what you were doing then you weren’t acting like a professional, you were a gambler”.