Today is my first day of day trading stocks with real money.
About a year ago today, my business partner & friend told me I should look into day trading as a means of extra income. He invited me to a free introduction course that taught the attendants on how to do basic technical analysis using MACD, EMA and RSI indicators. Within minutes of understanding the basics, I fell in love with the whole idea of trading equities as a side “job”.
To further my knowledge on day trading, I took a one day course taught by a professional trader by the name of Charles Langford (who also happened to give the intro course before). He is quite possibly one of the most knowledgeable individuals when it comes to trading: Langford has written books, taught many courses and is a teacher at Université de Québec à Montréal, among other things. His course was sold out within days of being announced as seats were limited.
Before I dove into the world of trading, I practiced my technical analysis skills with a TD Active Trader account with fake money. Making plenty of mistakes, I got the hang of making a small amount of profit each trade by sticking to the rules and indicators I learned by attending the paid course.
The day came two weeks where I felt that I was ready to trade with real money. I had my line of credit increased last week so I can use it to purchase equities and leverage my trades. As a means to help me screen preferred stocks, I have subscribed to Langford’s “Langford Report” newsletter, where daily emails are sent out on various portfolios. Everyday, Langford mentions which stocks to buy, sell and stay according to his professional opinion. Looking back at his analysis records, following his portfolios would have netted you some serious cash.
The whole thing is exciting to me, yet I still feel a bit nervous. While the risks I am taking are very minimal, you can’t help but think that the chance of losing it all is still there… that is, if you invest in sketchy companies with no real products *cough* Nortel *cough*.
My rules for day trading are as follows:
- Trade Monday to Thursdays. Take Fridays off.
- Never follow the news, as it is irrelevant to trend following.
- Never get emotional with a stock.
- Don’t make your million dollar profit in one day.
- Don’t be greedy.
*gulp* here’s to the future.