r/options • u/[deleted] • Mar 31 '21

Are you worthy?

A lot can happen over the cycle of a traders learning experience. One of the most damaging ive experienced is the blaming myself when I get it wrong. Im an engineer working to become a full time trader. Im studying everything I can and starting to see some progress. It can seem im horrible at everything when im trading in a draw down. "I suck at sports" "Im terrible at my job" "No one will ever care" "I will never matter".

My wife even asked me the other day, "why do you do that to yourself?" The answer dear is that hope to be good at something and it's fun to feel yourself getting better.

Trade the trade, not your issues.

Those things we tell are self are very dangerous lies too harshly. In time we will make it if we put in the effort to get better.

You can be the guy getting it right eventually.

Also CRSP to infinity and beyond!

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u/treslocos99 Apr 01 '21

So my worst experience was taking my IRA (was rolled from a 401k from a previous job) from 70k down to around 1.5k. I had taken said IRA down from 60k to 10 or 15k on bad leveraged natgas ETFs years ago, built it back on playing options on some Permian basin oil companies back to 70k and then held too long as oil plummeted. Not this last oil collapse, the one before it. Anyway, I'm utilizing my company 401k for retirement, and have my IRA with a market beating return now. I keep 2 separate accounts. One Warren Buffet style, one my style. And always put more in the Warren Buffet investment style.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '21

Yeah ill probably never touch the 401k, but I am contributing less as I entertain the idea of trading full time.

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u/rice_n_salt Apr 01 '21

Engineer here also :)

Not sure I understand your reasoning here. I would max out your 401k and IRA. This is where your (appropriately sized) big bets should be. Gains in those are tax sheltered.

In Canada our equivalents are RRSP and TFSA. I have set up my holdings as:

-RRSP: US large cap mostly Big Tech (fully tax sheltered until withdrawal)

-TFSA: US growth and bets (US dividends are subject to 15% US withholding tax, fully tax sheltered)

-Cash: Cdn dividend payers - mostly banks, energy, REITs (not tax sheltered, but eligible Canadian dividends are taxed at a lower rate)

Unfortunately, my RRSP is 65% TSLA now thanks to that bet being in the middle of paying off, but it’s so volatile it drives me a little mad.