I took $2000 of some money I got back from my school and felt the timing was ripe to trade some stock options. During this time I was deep into renovation a rental home and in full force finishing my MLitt in Film Studies dissertation project and essay. This was hardly the time to be trading volatile stock options on large cap stocks that move violently day to day. My main goal was to just earn enough to pay back, well everything, my total debt is around $130,000. I’m not afraid to say it. Most people hide it, but I hide nothing. I’m not proud of it but sometimes you make bad mistake after bad mistake or in my case I just consider myself likely somewhat handicapped in the entrepreneurial department. I would go as far as thinking I am mentally and business retarded at times making irrational decisions to achieve my American Dream – which now I know is definitely not greed for money but greed for personal freedom/desires (Which still cost money).
So here I am with $2000 to basically lose even though I need it for repair costs, credit card bills, yada yada. I see a great trade on Priceline Inc (PCLN) when I see it got crushed after a report on possible lower revenues. This stock has a solid cash balance sheet and great EPS/PE. I bought it around $559. I have been trading CALLS on it ever since and have done pretty well. Every time I get in it my main goal is to be out of it within 24 hours or less. For the most part I have achieved this. The other trade is with Apple Inc. (AAPL). I’ve traded some PUTS and CALLS on it. They have been mostly quicker trades the PCLN. For the most part if I wanted to I could be in and out of AAPL within 2-4 hours earning on average $500-1000. My last trade earned me around $3000. I’ve only done I believe 5 trades in the past 30 days. This is inline with Gary Williams trading rules to only trade 5-10 times per month maximum. I’m taking a break now so I can let my run cool and re-focus on my next trades. I am not as eager to trade as when I was 23-29 years old and I think that is because I am wiser at trading more now at 31 then when I began at a young 18.
I almost took my $7000 profit to buy a sweet badass 1965 mustang, but instead I settled for an ever cooler 1990 Bronco with a failing engine for $900 which I didn’t have to pull any money out of my trading account. Hahaha. Come on, just laugh! The back top comes off and it turns into a muscle jeep. My mom owns my loved diesel Jetta and I hope to get it back or just buy myself one once I have a more stable income. Currently I’m finishing my MBA, working on starting a mini aquaponics fish farm, trading options again, and among all this trying to now edit my first non-fiction book with a friend to publish and sell on all digital readers. So, I don’t know what my future of trading holds for me, but I do know I’m on a good run and I don’t want to give it up so easily.
Oh, if you are wondering about the Toke n’ Toss business ventures, well, it’s completely over. Now I understand why they say choose your partners wisely – marriage or business. Let’s just say this was another $5000 business lesson, but this lesson was one on one truck/stand vending for concert goers. Learned a lot, but learned the most that people that aren’t willing to budget and chip in on expenses should be left on the side of the highway as soon as they start complaining that a twelve pack of beer IS a business expense and YOU are going to pay for it because the partner doesn’t have any money.
See below trades:
September 17, 2012 | Categories: aapl, AAPL Analyst, aapl calls, aapl options, aapl reversal chart, pcln call option trades, put options, trading stock options | Tags: aapl, amateur trader, calls and puts, gary williams rules, pcln, profitable august and september trades, trading stock options | Leave a comment
Well I just finished watching Hannibal the movie. It really makes me wonder what brain as food actually tastes like. Is it more on the fatty chicken taste or tofu tasting?? I think if offered some I’d be a weirdo and eat someones brain. maybe I would gain some insight into their life..probably not. At least in the movie and brain in general looks too fatty and squishy looking for my tastes. Now thinking…. Since it is very tender it might actually taste similar to a very tender steak. Anyone offering their brain for a taste test? 😉
I’ve been thinking a lot, trading, and not recording anything down. bad bad bad. I need to get back to working on a stock trading system. An individualized customized system for myself and only myself. I need to get back to writing in my stock market diary and jotting down the “why’s” I’m missing really great data right now going on in the markets.
I’ve come to the conclusion that a smart thing for me to do to help me from not trading stocks I can’t really predict is to start putting my stocks into different categorizations like: stocks definitely moving down, stocks definitey moving up, stocks definitely moving sideways, and unpredictable stocks that commonly trade and make me confused.
For instance AAPL commonly trades right back up after a 2-3 days hit falling down in the $150’s (now back at $164!). NTRI is a very unpredictable stock. Trust me. I traded it to go down but it has moved back up 3 pts since I bought my Puts even though it should be falling or at least I “thought” it should be. I was very wrong even after it fell 5% today. Now I did real the company was buying back stock. Even at that point I was like, “duh, sell the puts now with this company action” but I remained in them. Maybe I’m right long-term but I only have like maybe 6 more days until my options EXPIRE! So I’m going to sell out today for a big loss around a 60-70% loss of my money. yes yes yes, how do I expect to hit $10,000 when I can’t even get back $1000! hee hee. =D leave that up to me. My AMAT calls are working out. Currently up 100% but still not at my goal to sell. Charts are looking sweet for the stock and the market seems like it is slowly turning to the upside even with recent bad news plus AMAT is going into earnings August 12th. I plan to sell my options for whatever they are at on the 11th. I’m starting to learn it doesn’t matter really if you are doing a $10,000 trade or $200 trade if you can’t stop your loss when the market has proven YOU (me) WRONG then you are a really skinny loser more then anyone else. After so many losses, big losses, I’m starting to learn if I want to win long-term in this game like my teacher taught me I need to cut losses asap!….. now why is it so hard for me to? I think my life has been around losing for so long and I’m so use to it I guess I accept it.
Did I tell you I just got dumped by my girlfriend? Yeah, losing there again too in the relationship field. I’m curious really, I wouldn’t even want to date such a loser….so I suppose she had good reason to dump my ass. If I ever expect glory and the high life somehow I’m going to need to start learning winning techniques, attitudes, and most of all how to work on completing winning trades.
Meanwhile I think I met a new friend. I met him at a group costume party and we have similar interests. I found out he lives in the condo next to mine! I mean how cool is that.
Anyway he is one of those really smart uniquely gifted types I completely envy…. Things somehow just fall perfectly into his lap because, well, he is just damn good at what he does naturally after years of work… He is currently working on an iPhone application called xhunt. xhunt is basically a treasure hunt application in which the iPhone user sees a picture and has to find the location and take a picture of themselves with it. The new 3G iPhone has exact GPS so once the user finds the location in the xHunt clue they win or can say they were at that spot in which another user created the treasure hunt. It is a great idea and I plan on being in on many. I’d love to be apart of his team somehow but lets face it i’m just not very great at anything. i’m a jack of all trades, but great at none. so where does that leave me?
well check out his new killer iPhone application here at his sight Logic High.
August 8, 2008 | Categories: trading stock options | Tags: amat, attracting losses instead of wins, being a big loser, calls and puts, diary, eating brain for food, friends, getting dumped by my girlfriend, logic high, new iphone application, NTRI, options, stock market trading system, x hunt, xhunt | 3 Comments
Paul Meyer 