Time and money for your first year or two.

Hey everyone. I love your forum here. Tons of great info and insights. I'm new to this so I'm going to say things that don't make sense. That's what new guys are for; It's our job and we're damn good at it. And pardon the long windedness. Currently I'm reading a bunch of books, talking on forums and I want to develop great skill at swing trading and day trading.An aspiring trader needs time and money. Time to study, to learn, and money to cover expenses. Like equipment, rookie loosing streaks, research costs, normal living costs, etc.So, how do you maximize both at the same time? I'm sure other traders have figured out this problem better than I have, but here are the solutions I see so far.

1) I doubt this one will work. Hypothetically, it would be great to work for some company that is involved in trading, or maybe in the ball park. Meet knowledgeable people, learn a lot, broaden horizons etc. However, I have no back ground in finance or investing. My resume doesn’t looks appealing; my only strength is learning fast and being extremely motivated to understand the job well;learn everything possible about this topic. If i am wrong about this, if there are in deed such options, such jobs, please tell me. Until someone suggests otherwise, I'm considering this option a no go.

2) I expect this next option won't work, either. Work 3rd shift at a job you can study. Like a security guard. Eventually, start trading during day time. But, how long before you save up a trading account of 20k? Probably a long damn time. Some say accounts of 5k and below are pointless. Perhaps that is not fully true, perhaps there is some "angle" to trading which can squeak you by, generate a modest profit out of a 5k account, continue to work a full time job. Continue educating yourself about trading, save up, eventually accumulate a large enough savings to trade full time. Again, I doubt this 5k account "angle" exists, and if it does I don't know what it is. Do you?

3) This may sound odd but it's doable. Semi trucks. 35k to 50k your first year. There is a lot of down time where you are not driving. While driving, truckers wait for traffic to clear up, then listen to audio recordings. Truckers get degrees for online colleges this way or learn foreign languages. Save save save, learn learn learn. Make trades during down time. Eventually, stop being a driver; trade full time.

4) Maybe some combination. Such as first #2, then #3. Figure out what the whole strategy should be while working nights, (although I'm sure the plan will change) after that, if I'm 10K or 15K short of start up capital, go drive a truck until I save the rest.

Again, I'm new, and am sure other traders have confronted this issue, have thought up better ways to handle the first two years than I have. Any suggestions? Anything important I don't know about, that would change everything I've said here?

Thanks a million

As is obvious to most, above, 'option' means a potential strategy. Below, 'option' means calls and puts. Which I don't know much about.

In terms of swing or position trading, I’m wondering if options can lower the barrier to entry. Suppose a trader is well educated, great judgment, has a nice track record. They don’t let their greed or fear cause them to do something stupid. But they have an account of 5k or less.

The fact that options grant you access to more shares than you have the money to buy, but, if it fails, you only loose the cost of the option, means smaller accounts could earn higher profits.

Am I understanding this correctly?

What about bartending or a night manager at a f&b establishment. Plenty of time in the day to learn and play the market while still being able to have a job to pay your bills.

This is how I started. Work til Midnight/2am, go home study for an hour, sleep for 5/6 hours, get up and watch/trade the market, then take a nap before going back to work. Bartending is a social job, you're friends will stop by from time to time and you'll meet lots of interesting people, maybe of which could network you into a finance firm one day. Plus, if you work a hip establishment you can make $200-$1000 a night depending on your city.

You can start with $2k to get into stocks and options. Starting small and losing $2k is much better than losing $25k during your learning curve. Start small, add to it as you get better trading and make more income. Eventually you'll make enough to choose what you want to do. Who knows, maybe you'll find the want to own that bar or trucking company instead. But have fun along the way, and use this forum as a tool.

Acstudio has become the options guru here, at least he'll point you in the right direction to start learning the basics for free. You may want to send him a private message. Good luck and keep us posted.

I think what your describing is stratagies for obtaning self-reliance and success. All the things you mettioned are great no matter what you go after.

Ye last year was my first full year of trading and with little more than 2500 I was able to make over 1000 trades. I also trade heavily in the paper trading account on Thinkorswim. Doing that and burying myself in information I've learned more in the last year than I thought was even possible.

At first I went through a lot of books, watched a lot of youtube vids. Watching John Kurisko got me hooked and gave me a good launch pad for learning charts, price action etc. But in the end I spent most of the last year watching or listening to Tastytrade every day and going through the archives over and over again. The strategies and understanding the numbers with probability based trading is just what appeals to me.

Option strategies will allow you to make a lot of trades while defining your risk as it suits you. With a small account it is hard to keep your head above water as defined risk trades have a lower probability than the undefined risk trades but you will learn a lot. And it does work just like it should if you pay attention to liquidity, volatility, etc. and stay mechanical.

I would highly recommend paper trading no matter what you do and you will be pulled toward what works for you.
It is possible to trade price action even with only a couple K. As long as you are above 2K you can have 50% margin. But even then I stick to low priced stocks that I can buy enough of and are moving enough to make it worthwhile after fees. But I usually end up swing trading most of those and you will be confined to 3 day trades per 5 day period.