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Traders - How long until you turned a regular profit?

How long it took to be profitable

  • Less than 1yr

    Votes: 9 13.2%

  • 1 - 2 yrs

    Votes: 6 8.8%

  • 2 - 3yrs

    Votes: 3 4.4%

  • 3 - 4yrs

    Votes: 8 11.8%

  • 5+ yrs

    Votes: 9 13.2%

  • I'm not profitable yet

    Votes: 33 48.5%
  • Total voters
    68
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prawn_86

Mod: Call me Dendrobranchiata
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Ok so this poll is for those who consider themselves traders and use it (trading) as their main income source. Instrument traded doesnt matter.

How long did it take until you were making a consistent profit/hitting your targets?

Preferably those who have been trading for over a year obviously.

Feel free to add comments...
 
Re: Traders - How long did it take until you turned a regular profit?

Prawn for me it took over 4 years but I still kept working for more than a year part time. It wasn't until I looked back I realized I had made enough to not worry about outside income.

The hard part is you put to much weight to the good months and forget or hope the bad ones are behind you. Like Nick said in a previous thread you really need to take 3 times you wage to be sure. I would say being in business you probably need more than that when you way up the risk and lack of security.
 
1- 2 years who voted for that? How would you know after a year?
 
It will be interesting to see how many people vote, I wouldn't have thought many ASF members trade for a living, maybe wrong.

Hopefully we will get some comments from the pros as well.
 
Re: Traders - How long did it take until you turned a regular profit?


well said ^^

Nick--
 
I only really trade Index futures and it took over 5 years.

Until i consistently made money i traded 1 contract only, got to the verge of giving up several times, made just about every mistake you could but through it all learnt from my mistakes and am still learning.

By trading 1 contract and not being greedy i never blew up, each year i had made a net loss but the losses got smaller then i turned a small profit, then i made more from my my futures account then my day job, on one occasion in a week.

Think if i had been a success in a year or less then i wouldn't appreciate the negative side of trading and the emotions that come with that and at some stage i would have blown up and the emotional stress that would have caused would have seen me quit.

I'm forever learning and will forever see myself as a beginner in many respects, the market is a beast that can not be tamed IMO and the day you think you are better or have it sussed is the day it will rip your boll@cks offs.
 
This is great

Its good to see how much time and dedication is actually needed if one wants to 'make it' as a full time trader.

I think a lot of people come in with unrealistic expectations, and hopefully this will help set a rough time line for development (myself included)
 

Would be extremelly rough time guide. Depends on so many factors.

This is only my second year of consistent "trading" and was profitable since my first few weeks (perhaps luck at first) and have been ever since. Though, there is definately room for MUCH improvement and increased consistency!

I also mirror the rest of Pagers sentiments.
 
I guess the question is at what level can you say its truly your main/only source of income.

Sure you can turn a profit right from the start with a bit of luck and proper education. But if you made $25,000 the first year is that it? Have you made it. At what level long term is profitable. I would put it well over $100,000.

If you come from a wage earning back ground your target is probably to match that. But I would say thats wrong. It would be quite easy to match your wage for a year or two then come into a tough patch and make nothing for months. Add the cost of running a 'real business' into that and you are all of a sudden way behind.

Not to mention the added cost of being self employed. Try getting a house loan as a trader with $80,000 tax year profit(which before cost was probably over $100,000 profit). Or rent a house.

I use to help people start business. The biggest mistake they ALL made was the "I'm earning XX now if I can find something to replace that I will be happy" line. I would always say you need to find something that will give you a profit 4 times that or nothing. Thats would be my view for two reasons.

1. Most people don't get to half of there dreams. If you dream is to replace your wage by working for yourself what will happen if you only make it halfway there??
2. And you are taking on a big risk working for yourself. If that was a single trade you need a bigger risk to reward payout to justify the stress/lack of holidays/Problems etc.
 
I'm one of those who dont dream of trading for a living.
Couldnt think of anything worse. Id be bored out of my brain in the first week.

While I have my own Company the point made by TH refering to cashflow and banks is very important. In an overall investment plan you'll involve lenders and at times heavily---cashflow and capital base/equity will be of paramount importance.
I also agree that if you wish to trade for a living you'll need a gross of 3-4x your old working wage.
To me trading/longer investing is part of my overall financial strategy.

Regular profit in relation to thethread means just that a consistent regular profit.
Of course timeframe may see you regular for 1 mth and not over 6 mths.

If you can turn a regular profit---you'll know you can---consistently.
 

Tend to agree with this.

Being in front of a screen 6-12 hours a day isn't ideal for the sort of lifestyle Im looking for.

Thats why I trade weekly and am further looking to develop forex systems that can be traded in an automated fashion.
 
As the first post stated this is for those who DO trade full time, so those who are looking at making a majority of their income from trading have a rough idea of how long it can/does take.
 
Trembling Hand said:
Not to mention the added cost of being self employed. Try getting a house loan as a trader with $80,000 tax year profit(which before cost was probably over $100,000 profit). Or rent a house.
Click to expand...

TH how do you actually deal with this? Does trading income carry more weight if the trader has business status ?
 
No. Sit across the desk of a loans manager and watch their face turn to horror when they realize the company profit that they have just said looks good came from daytrading. :aufreg:

Not saying you well not get one but its going to cost ya. Every thing will cost you.
 
prawn_86 said:
As the first post stated this is for those who DO trade full time, so those who are looking at making a majority of their income from trading have a rough idea of how long it can/does take.
Click to expand...

There are a few here and a few I know not here who through their trading could comfortably live off it,but have other business interests and have no intention of throwing everything else in and just trading.
There seems also to be plenty here who may be considering doing the same.

Why is it that such emphasis is placed on trading for a living being a benchmark for success.
Those in the position described above are generally in more of a position to return consistent gains capable of supporting a lifestyle (Through Trading) than those who have one income source---trading.
 
tech/a said:
Why is it that such emphasis is placed on trading for a living being a benchmark for success.
Click to expand...

Because that is the question for this poll, nothing about if the person is a "success" or not

tech/a said:
Those in the position described above are generally in more of a position to return consistent gains capable of supporting a lifestyle (Through Trading) than those who have one income source---trading.
Click to expand...

Hence why it is a question for those who derive their main income from trading.
 

Like almost everyone else, I was trading for years part time before even considering going full time- I didn't really have any profit targets as such- was mainly concerned with how I had managed a trade after it was completed rather than how much I had made or lost.

Looking back at things now, I wouldn't have used the word regular to describe my profits until 2005, almost 4 years after I first started punting. And here I am 3 years later still trying to improve


HA! I didn't even bother trying. Mrs Frink found out how much the bank would lend her on her own, and I just made up the difference from the trading account to avoid just that very problem
 
I would love to hear from some of the people who have said it took less than a year for their trading to become their MAIN source of income. I find that amazing. That after such a short time in the market you can draw income from a trading account.

Have the 6 that voted less than 1 year found it that easy to pull grocery money and rent (etc) on a weekly/monthly basis out of the market or have they misunderstood the poll?
 

Me also TH. And i would also like to know how long they have been trading for now. IE - how long they have been consistently profitable...
 
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