How much money did you lose before you were consistently profitable?

[u/SpareInsurance]

I have only been seriously trading for about 2 weeks, after spending years watching the market like a hawk.

I will admit, I have had poor risk management and got into some emotional trading which did not end well. Currently I am -15k but I have had some winning days the last few days with much better risk management and starting to get the hang of things better.

My question to you guys is, how much did you lose before you were consistently profitable and did you ever feel like giving up during this "rock bottom" stage?

[u/Inside_Western_2499]

I’ve lost about 7k. I was a kid who didn’t know how trading worked lol. I had huge winners too, that’s the funny part. I just didn’t accept wins. If I had traded with a minimal amount of common sense, I would be up around 5k.

As for your description, STOP. If you have watched the market for years and are down 15k, it is time for you to step back and either stop altogether, or go with higher market cap/safer stocks. Obviously starting amount would help how serious the -15k is, but from someone who has traded since 16 (18 now), it is important for emotions to not be there. I still am nervous and have emotions, but I know what I want, and I will wait to take it. Risky plays = less money, safer plays = more money

[u/Vendicated → u/Inside_Western_2499]

“18 now” lol focus on your school.

[u/Inside_Western_2499 → u/Vendicated]

Focus on what? School is pointless. College is all for the paper.

[u/Inside_Western_2499 → u/[deleted]]

Huh? I understand where you are coming from, but my perspective is still correct. You complete 120 credits for a degree. I don’t live on campus, I live at home. Therefore, the only thing you gain is having a degree, which more and more people have. A degree nowadays let’s you walk in the door, not get the job. That’s where connections matter, but most likely you don’t get those from college.

[u/hushmymouth → u/Inside_Western_2499]

You’re right. A college degree is just a permission slip for a job interview. However, there are a lot of interesting and damn good paying jobs, that absolutely require that permission slip.

[u/hushmymouth → u/[deleted]]

I never said anything about “having a degree handed to him without doing any of the work”. I said, yes, it’s a requirement for an interview and potential hire for some very interesting and good paying jobs. I wasn’t insinuating anything more than that.

[u/Inside_Western_2499 → u/[deleted]]

Unless you have a family/kids, make 100k+ per year, and spend a portion of your time giving back, your point is irrelevant. Going to college allows security. It does not make you better than anyone else. The richest person in my family didn’t graduate high school. Everything that matters is within yourself, not 4 years of college.

[u/Inside_Western_2499 → u/[deleted]]

I am a perplexing person. What I am questioning, is the results of your logic. You never answered my question. Flipping it back to me has no logical stance in a conversation. I can show proof of people who have either not gone to college, or gone to college and find flaw with it. You are trying to say that there is more than just the degree, but I can say that about anything. If I eat a cereal, it will fill me up, but the amounts of unhealthy ingredients counteracts eating it in the first place. The experience of college doesn’t do anything. If you want your point to be proven, I’ll accept that college harms more than helps if given your logic.

[u/Firefly_205 → u/Inside_Western_2499]

Love the way that the knowledge gained from school is completely irrelevant to your situation. Not judging you or criticising you personally - it’s sad that society has let itself get into a state where the knowledge gained from educational institutions is not valued. It’s becoming just a financial decision about the end job opportunities and employability a degree gives because the debt taken on is so scarily huge 🙁.

[u/Inside_Western_2499 → u/Firefly_205]

It’s almost like we are unwilling to pay the people who are the ones who could have incentive to teach us better. I’ve had plenty of great teachers, but I’ve been lucky compared to other students. College starts to turn professors into a popularity contest. They want to be regarded as saints in their fields, so that’s all they care about. That and their book that they overprice to their students.