Traders, you have to stay positive!

If you are thinking of entering into the “day trading business”, make sure to check any negative attitude you may have at the door.

Day trading is tough enough even for the most optimistic people, but, I for the life of me, don’t know what some people are thinking of when they enter into trading (or any “trade” for that matter) with negative thinking.

I see it all the time. We offer a free two-week trial membership, and so many people come into the room with a predetermined mind set that is so negative that I don’t know how they can function in life itself, let alone in investing in or trading the stock markets. The ones with negative mind sets rarely last very long.

Trading is no different than anything else you do; you have to have the proper attitude and stay positive. There are thousands of books on the power of positive thinking, so I’ll not go there. But when it comes to trading specifically, there are a few things to think about.

The first thing to get ingrained in your mind is to forget about the indices! It really does not matter if the Dow Jones Averages or the NASDAQ index is up 200 or down 200. Oh sure, you have to pay some attention to the index just so you know what you may expect as far as what the overall “tone” of the market. But there is no such thing as an up day or a down day based on the Dow or the NASDAQ as far as a Day Trader is concerned. There is only profit and loss.

No matter whether the markets are going up, down or sideways, there are always stocks to trade both directions! That’s important to remember. A lot of stocks you will be trading are going to be driven by news specific to the individual stocks. That news is going to play a more important role in where the stock is going than the over all market itself.

The Dow can be off 200 points but if news breaks that XYZ stock just discovered a new and exciting treatment of cancer, that stock is more than likely going to move up regardless of what the Dow is doing, even if it is a Dow component.

Trading down markets can actually be quite lucrative. The obvious way to play down markets is to “go with the flow” as they say, and look for stocks to short. Shorting stocks, contrary to some beliefs, is not a negative or anti-American thing. Those that think so need to readjust their thinking. Shorters have been around since before the meeting under that Buttonwood tree that gave birth to the New York Stock Exchange. (See: “What Does A Buttonwood Tree Have To Do With the New York Stock Exchange” at this source).

On the other hand, most traders and investors do not short stocks. They are looking for stocks to trade to the upside. If and when good news hits an individual stock in a down market, it is likely to attract a lot more interest. Depending on what stock it is and how good the news is, it may even give a boost to the entire market.

Too many traders let bad news put them into negative frame of mind. I know it is difficult to do, but you have to be able to shake off the negative and focus on the positive.

I see it all the time where there is bad news for specific stocks or stocks overall, and it sets off an avalanche of negative thinking.

For instance, way back when Enron, WorldCom and others came unwound, New York Attorney General Spitzer was out trying to dig up dirt on every company on Wall Street. So many traders fell into the mode of “well, they are all crooks” or “every stock is a scam” or “every analyst is a liar”. They were coming up with conspiracy theories one after another and wallowing around in all sorts of crazy stuff, all of it extremely negative in general. When a stock moved against them, they would simply apply one of the above excuses and whine about it

No one is going to be successful trading with this mind set.

Another thing I see traders doing it listening to CNBC, Bloomberg or some market guru. All of sudden there is any number of critics making negative remarks about the commentator or reporter or the guru! Whining about what was said and who said what serves no positive purpose whatsoever. Talk about hanging the messenger!

Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks ) said in the movie, A League Of Their Own, “Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There’s no crying…there’s no crying in baseball.”

And…there is no whining in day trading!

You have to stay focused, and you have to stay positive. I don’t care how negative the news is. If the market hasn’t taught us anything, it has shown us time and again that it has an uncanny ability to sooner or later shake off bad news and go on.

As a day trader or an investor you have to be able to do the same thing, and stay positive!

Happy trading!

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. Questions and comments can be sent to floyd@TraderAide.com.

Floyd Snyder has been trading and investing in the stock market for three decades. He was on the forefront of the day trading craze that swept the nation back in the late 1990’s, both as a trader and as the moderator of one of the Internet’s largest real time trading rooms, http://Daytraders.com. He is the owner of http://www.TraderAide.com and Strictly Business Magazine at http://www.sbmag.org

Gasoline sits near record highs, economic growth slows, real estate prices drop, interest rates are rising and cutting money supply and inflation is on the rise.

Yet, many investors simply think stocks will stay high and this is forgetting the problems in Iraq and the huge crisis coming with Iran!

You don’t think stocks are going to fall? Read on.

Simply put Iran does not like the US and vice versa are they going to gave in to UN demands? They are a huge oil producer what if they use this weapon? Prices will soar consumer confidence will drop and stocks could crash!

An unlikely scenario?

Lets see what happens, but if confrontation does come and no one is looking to back down stocks could go into a downward spiral and with other problems in the world economy stocks could go down and stay down.

So how do you protect yourself?

The answer is take action and diversify but into what and how much in terms of capital gains can you expect?

Let’s look at an alternative.

The alternative is one of the secrets of most of the words richest investors.

Howard Hughes made huge profits, Donald Trump still does and even Bob Hope made millions,. as do most of the worlds richest investors, from this investment.

The investment is land and if you have never considered it then you should:

It’s cheap, simple and easy to invest in and has a better risk reward historically than stocks!

The best way to invest in land at present is to look overseas.

There is a place just 3 hours from the US, where increasing numbers of Americans and Europeans are making 50 – 100% annual gains with low risk and the place is Costa Rica.

Now consider these advantages:

- Land is cheap in Costa Rica at up to 70% less than in the US.

- Land has fantastic risk reward low downside and plenty of upside with savvy investors making 50 – 100% + per annum.

- It’s easy to invest Costa Rica, this country wants outside investment and they make it easy. For example, you get the same rights as residents and its very tax efficient.

- The country is stable both economically and politically and has strong ties with the US.

So won’t this market crash?

Consider this:

More and more Americans and Europeans are moving and retiring here to cut costs and live a better life.

The worse it gets in these countries, the more Costa Rica could benefit.

For Americans it’s only 3 hours away and the savings of 70% on property and living costs, mean they can get a better standard of living in a paradise, that’s affordable.

More and more baby boomers are facing up to reality and that is:

Stay in the US and live a life with less comforts than their used to. They don’t want to do this and more and more are looking abroad.

Costa Rica is just a 3 hour flight away with huge expat community and they can not only maintain their standard of living they can improve it.

The worse it gets at home, the more people will move, this trend is already in an upward curve.

So why land? Well property is built on it!

Prime property is in short supply and buying land in the right location does and will continue to yield extraordinary gains as new developments spring up all over the country.

If you have never considered land as an investment you should. It’s cheap and easy to do and people have been making large profits with low risk and maybe you could to.

FREE report on how to invest in land for big profit potnential with low risk and all the benefits of Costa rica visit our website for all the facts to make up your own mind http://www.net-planet.org/costarica.php

Investing for the future is important if you ever plan to retire. One form of investment is buying stocks in corporations. Stocks represent a portion of a company, so when you buy stocks, you are essentially buying into the company. You can benefit from any profits it makes, but you can also lose money if the company’s performance, or the market as a whole, goes down.

When you look at investing in stocks, you may want to consult a financial advisor who works with stocks and mutual funds for a living. He or she will have knowledge of which stocks you should buy and which ones you should avoid. If you wish to choose the companies you will invest in, look for companies that are growing and offer some stability. Also, if sales in, say, electronics are very high, you may want to invest in a company that manufactures electronics. Take some time to research the stock market before you make your investment decisions.

Once you have decided on some stocks you would like to purchase, you’ll need to pay attention to what the market is doing. In order to benefit the most from your investments, you’ll need to time when you buy, and when you sell, your stocks. If you choose some stable companies and buy stocks in them while prices are low, because of the market or because of a period of time where the company is not bringing in large profits, it is most likely that your stocks will increase in value.

When you are looking to sell your stocks, it is good to set a price for yourself and decide that when your stocks reach that price, you will sell them. Often, people hang on to their stocks, wanting to get the most out of them that they can, and then the market drops and they lose money.

You can see that there is frequent decision making in the process of buying and selling stocks. If you are willing to put some time and effort into your investments, you will be pleased to see how much you will profit from your stocks.

Learn more about the stock market and trading at http://www.theexecutivetrainer.com/stockmarket/.

The concept of ‘average true range’, commonly referred to as ATR, is a measure of a security’s volatility. The true range of a security for any given day is the greatest of the following three distances:

* The distance from yesterday’s close to today’s high
* The distance from yesterday’s close to today’s low
* The distance from today’s high to today’s low

The average true range is a moving average of the true ranges. In order to use ATR effectively, you need to ensure that a sufficient sample is taken. For example, obtaining a two day ATR or ATR (2) is not sufficient to provide you with a reasonable indication of that security’s normal daily movement. Whereas using at least 10 days in the average calculation, or an ATR (10) would provide you an indication of that security’s daily movement over the last 10 trading days (2 weeks). The ATR is usually expressed as ATR (X) where X is the number of days used in the calculation of the moving average. The number of periods you select to obtain the average would depend on your application.

One application of ATR is that they can be used quite effectively for setting exits, or stops. Using ATR for exits allows you to tailor your stop to the security you are trading. For example, if you used a standard 10% stop, this would be a tighter stop (i.e. closer) for some securities than for others. If a security moves 5% a day on average, then a 10% stop would be tighter than for a security that only moves 1 ½% a day on average. Using ATR can alleviate this situation.

To use ATR for exits, you would normally use a multiple of the ATR to ensure a sufficient gap between your exit and the security’s normal price movement. Therefore, using the ATR without any modification would have your stop too close to the price and would not allow the security you are trading sufficient room to move and behave naturally. Depending on your trading style, you would normally consider using something in the order of 2 - 3.5 multiplied by the ATR as a suitable trailing exit. If you used a ‘2.5 ATR stop’, then your trailing stop will always be 2.5 times the ATR below the highest price the security has reached since you entered the trade.

Another application of ATR is to loosely categorise securities as blue chips, mid-capitalisation (mid-caps) or speculative companies. This concept is called Volatility Percentage. The calculation that is used is to take the ATR over the last 20 days and divide that by the closing price of the share and then multiply by 100 to determine a volatility percentage. The result will be an indication of what percentage the share moves on average on a daily basis. As a guide, you will discover that most mid-cap and blue chip companies have a volatility percentage of under 4% and anything above 5% is normally speculative. A value of under 1.5% indicates that it may be a property trust or a security that offers little potential for short to medium term gains.

Stuart McPhee is recognized as a leading trading coach and expert when it comes to developing solid and profitable trading plans.

Discover what most traders never realise which leads to their downfall. Learn about the importance of having the right trading mindset, sound money management and a solid method - The 3 Ms! Click Here ==> http://www.trading-plan.com

Receive Stuart’s free trading tips by signing up for his ezine at: ==> http://www.trading-plan.com/ezine_registration.html

Coming off its 52 week high and its recently reported earnings (August 7, 2006), Cytrogen Corporation may be one of the best buys you can find out there. The company recently posted excellent fundamentals with a 0.32 EPS when the market was expecting -0.30, and increased both its revenue and profit relative to one year ago.

For the most part, a lot of the extra income had come from Cytrogen’s joint venture with PSMA Corporations, but such an activity does not mean that CYTO is not a perfect buying opportunity. While a few investors may argue that the stock was recently near two dollars which exceeded its previous 52 week low, CYTO is continuously growing and still presents itself as a chance for a profitable mid to long term investment.

As a biopharmaceutical company, such a sector usually does well during periods of slow economic growth. As interest rates are at near its maximum, economic growth will become a bit of concern but should ironically help CYTO’s price. Typically, during slow growth inelastic goods and services produced by companies such as in healthcare tend to do well because the decrease in income help consumers allocate more of their assets into these inelastic companies. Such distribution aids in future earnings and revenue growth, and CYTO is no exception to such a trend.

With excellent fundamentals, and optimistic outlook, and price just coming out of its 52 week low, I would look for CYTO to be a real bargain around the 2.30-2.50 mark. Having a 52 week high of near 5.30, a 17.00 one year target, and positive, but relatively not to high P/E ratio this quarter, I would absolutely recommend Cytrogen as a strong buy.

Dennis Biray presents advice on all kinds of topics ranging from finance and investing to fitness to sports. For more information email him at dbiray@gmail.com, or to view other articles written by him visit http://www.biraynetworks.co.nr/.

Before you buy a mutual fund, you’ll want to do some research. What is the fund’s investment philosophy? Who manages it? How diversified are its holdings? Then, after you’ve done your homework, you’ll have to use it for the right class. Specifically, you may need to choose which type - or "class" - of mutual fund shares you want to buy.

The most common classes are "A," "B" and "C." Which is right for you? Let’s take a look at all three:

· Class A shares - When you buy Class A shares, you will pay an upfront sales charge, taken out of your initial investment. These sales charges (or "loads") usually range from 3 percent to 6 percent. So, for example, if you pay $10,000 for a mutual fund that has a 5 percent load, $500 of your money will go for the sales charge, with $9,500 used to buy shares. Class A shares may also impose a "12b-1 fee" to cover marketing and distribution expenses. These 12b-1 fees are fairly low– about 0.25 percent annually. Class A shares traditionally have the lowest ongoing expenses of any class.

· Class B shares - If you purchase Class B shares, you don’t pay a sales charge right away. Instead, you’ll pay a "back-end load" when you sell your shares. Typically, this back-end load decreases over time; for most Class B shares, the load disappears after about six or seven years. Class B shares often charge a higher 12b-1 fee - as much as 1 percent per year. However, Class B shares often convert to Class A shares over time, so you would then start paying the lower 12b-1 fee.

· Class C shares - Generally, Class C shares do not charge either front-end or back-end loads if held for more than one year. But if you buy Class C shares, you may pay a 1 percent 12b-1 fee for as long as you own the fund. Class C shares may not convert to Class A shares, so these continually high 12b-1 fees can make Class C shares quite expensive, if you plan on holding them for many years.

Which of these share classes is right for you? The answer depends somewhat on your individual situation. If you plan to hold a mutual fund for many years, then you might be best served by purchasing Class A shares.

How about Class B shares? After all, the vanishing sales load can be an attractive feature - if you are absolutely sure that you will hold your fund long enough to benefit from it. If you sell your shares early, you will have to deal with the back-end charge. Plus, not all Class B shares convert to Class A, so you could be stuck with high 12b-1 fees, as well.

As for Class C shares, we’ve already mentioned a potential drawback - the inability to convert to Class A shares with lower 12b-1 fees. Still, if you think you may only invest in a particular mutual fund for a few years, you might benefit from Class C’s lack of front-end or back-end sales charges. Be careful, though - some Class C shares do carry these charges.

Clearly, you need to be sure of what your share class options are before you invest in a mutual fund. If you are investing in stock mutual funds, they are subject to market risks, including the potential loss of principal invested. Ask your investment representative which mutual funds are right for you and carefully read the prospectus, which should provide complete information, including fees, about any fund. But you also must focus on how a fund can fit into a diversified portfolio, based on your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon. If a fund isn’t right for you, then it’s not a bargain - no matter what it costs.

Kent is an Investment Representative focusing on individuals wanting to reach their financial goals. He believes in using conservative investment philosphies along with buy and hold strategies to develop quality diversified portfolios that will stand the test of time. His practice is limited to a finite number of clients that are ready, willing and able to implement a longterm plan to acheive financial security and provide for their estates. It is limited so that each client gets the full 110% of his attention and the service that they deserve. If you believe you are one of the few contact him here to schedule a free no-obligation interview and start down the road to financial peace.

With earnings reports on the horizon and a tremendous amount of uncertainties surrounding corporate officials, you must think that I am crazy to think that Brocade Communication Systems Inc. is a strong buy. However, if you look closely at both the fundamental and technical aspects, you will see there is a great opportunity for profit in this company.

As an equity competent in dealings with data storage and networking, you might also want to argue that as a technology stock there is not much potential for high growth in terms of price advance. While such a trend may hold some relevance, in the case for Brocade (BRCD), the company is already at a low price relative to what it should be at. Near the 52 week low relative to its high, BRCD stumbled a few days ago after purchasing McData Corporations for near $4.61 a share. As such a venture usually contributes to higher costs by such an action, the stock plummeted nearly 20% following the news. Already having some volatility because of stock option controversy, the stock has been hit quite a bit. However, debate aside it seems that BRCD has hit its support level.

Speaking on technical terms, with such news it was clear that BRCD was going to break its previous support level which stayed around 5.50 for nearly seven months. However, with the new acquisition, the stock fell to near 5.00 most of the day, and even with such a purchase did not seem to fall any further. As a smart investor, you would have noticed such a trend and take advantage of such signals, but if you did miss it there is still a chance to get into the action.

With both a one year estimate and 52 week high around 7.10, there is a high possibility that this company will provide high capital gains by the end of the year. While the fundamentals for the recent quarter are near and should not be all that favorable, the recent acquisition with McData should help future guidance for BRCD, utilizing the process of synergy to achieve both cost cutting and profit making advances. While such an amalgamation may take some time, I can potentially see BRCD going as high as 15.00 by December of next year. Such an acquisition will only lead to new growth, and with a resistance level firmly in support, I would recommend BRCD as a mid to long term buy at a price of 5.00-5.30.

Dennis Biray presents advice on all kinds of topics ranging from finance and investing to fitness to sports. For more information email him at dbiray@gmail.com, or to view other articles written by him visit http://www.biraynetworks.co.nr/.

So You Want To Buy Or Trade Shares?

The first thing you need to do if you are online, is check out online brokers such as TD Waterhouse or E-Trade. Opening an account is normally free, and once it is opened you can deposit money into your account so that you can trade.

What Type Of Broker?

The cheapest is an execution only broker. What this basically means is that you aren’t given any advice on when to buy or sell the shares/trade. Their job is to provide a quote and fill the order.

What Is An Order?

All participants in the market want to do one of three things. They either want to buy, sell or hold. You only need a broker when you want to buy or sell. Holding the shares takes care of itself ( and is the least expensive while your stocks are going up in price ).

Online Trading Platforms

By having an account online, it allows you to buy or sell shares automatically ( i.e. without human intervention in the most part ). Once you place an order to buy or sell, you normally have a limited amount of time to accept or turn down the price offered.

How Are Prices Made Up?

Prices consist of a bid and offer, with the Mid price being the actual price of the share. Most stocks have one or more marketmakers that set the price for the stock so they can make money on the spread in return for making a market in that stock. For instance, you may have a stock priced at 136p with a 134p bid and 138p offer. This means the marketmaker will buy the stock off you for 134p and sell it to you for 138p.

Okay I Want To Place The Trade.

So in the example above you agree to buy at 138p and the deal goes through. Congratulations you now own shares in Company ‘X’. If you pay the full offer price, it is also known as the ‘touch’ price. One thing to check is the normal market size for the shares you wish to buy. If the amount you require is above NMS, then the marketmakers can choose a different price to the ’screen price’

Article by Jason Davies of Forex System Trading ( A comprehensive resource dedicated to trading )

Married Put and Stock is a tax strategy designed to avoid the unintended tax consequence of a put purchase derived from the general rules governing short sales.

We all know that tax laws are very complex and full of tax "traps" for the unwary but, I think you’ll agree, the married put and stock tax trap is a beaut!

If you are a short-term trader, none of this will matter much to you. However, if you are an investor whose objective is long-term capital gain treatment: Pay strict attention!

Situation 1:

Suppose you are in the fortunate position of holding stock that qualifies for long-term capital gain treatment. You did your research well, you took the risk, you sweated out the holding period, and now you think that it may be a good time to cash in.

Let’s further suppose that it’s near year end. If you cash in now, you will owe tax for this year. Since it’s near the end of the year, you could push the tax into next year by postponing the sale until after year end. Smart move, tax-wise.

The only problem is: What if the stock falls while you’re waiting for the calendar to go by?

Suddenly it hits you! What if you bought a put option that doesn’t expire until after this year is over??? Terrific!

That way, if the stock drops, you just locked in todays’ price and, if the stock continues to climb, you get to make an even bigger gain next year!

Either way, the tax is pushed into next years’ business all at the same time! Brilliant!

All this, mind you, with the blessing of those very nice people over at the IRS.

Absolutely brilliant! You are sooooooo smart! You’re tax accountant would be so proud!

Situation 2:

Same as above, except the stock has not yet been held long enough to qualify for long-term treatment.

Now what happens if you buy a protective put option as before? Does it change anything? You better believe it does!

Can you still postpone the tax into the next year? Yes, you can.

Can the stock be held long enough to mature into a long term capital gain? No, it can’t.

Why is long-term treatment allowed in the 1st instance but not the 2nd?

Excellent question. I’m glad you asked.

And the answer is (drum-roll, please): In the 1st instance, the stock held was already a long-term hold. Nothing you do can ever change that.

In the 2nd instance, however, the stock held was only short-term when the protective put option was purchased.

BANG! That sound you just heard was the married put and stock "tax trap" slamming shut on you! You walked right into it.

Wham! The moment you bought that protective put option, you just wiped out the holding period on your stock. Just flat out "erased" it. All that sweating out the holding period hoping for a long-term capital gain all for naught.

And, as if that weren’t bad enough, for as long as you own that put option, not only does the holding period go back to zero, it stays stuck on zero! The clock won’t start running again until you get rid of it - either through sale, exercise, or expiration.

Didn’t I tell you that this married put and stock "tax trap" was a beaut? Nice going, genius.

Why are they doing this? Obviously, too many traders, in the past, were converting short term gain into long term with no risk. It’s not supposed to be that easy.

Fortunately, there is an exception (isn’t there always?). It’s called the Married Put and Stock rule.

If the put and the stock it is intended to protect are bought on the same day and indicated on the trade confirmation to be a hedge, the put and the stock are considered to be "married" and the normal tax rules for stock holding periods apply. The combined cost of the put and stock constitute the tax basis.

When this rule was originally created, the holding period for long-term treatment was over six months (that is to say, six months-plus-a-day). A "six month" option was always written as six months-plus-ten-days in order to qualify for long-term treatment, if desired.

This allowed an investor to buy stock, protect it, and still have a chance of realizing a long-term gain. This was possible with options with more than six months of life remaining.

If, instead, the stock declined, the put option could be exercised while the holding period was still less than six months resulting in short-term loss treatment of the position. See the tax advantages of the married put and stock strategy? Heads long-term gain, tails short-term loss.

At this writing, however, long-term is over one year. The only options that last that long are called LEAPS.

In the married put and stock strategy, can the put utilized be of shorter duration? Yes, it can.

Can you write-off the put cost after it expires like a normal put purchase? No, you can’t. It’s "married", remember? It’s part of the combined tax basis.

Can you replace the expired put with a new put? Only if you’re willing to wipe out the holding period of the stock. That’s the married put and stock "tax trap", remember? You can only "marry" a put to a stock once.

Is there a situation where you might be willing to wipe out the holding period on purpose? Yes, there is.

You might be willing to "re-start" the holding period "clock" on a stock in order to prevent a short-term unrealized loss from going long-term.

If that would improve your situation, make the married put and stock "tax trap" work to your advantage. How? Simply buy a put and immediately resell it. Presto! You just avoided long-term loss. And you thought tax law was dull. Are you kidding? It’s practically pornographic!

It reminds me of a scene in the motion picture, The Godfather, where Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) is telling his son, Michael (Al Pacino), "Always remember, one lawyer with a briefcase can steal more money than an army of thugs with all their guns!"

As you can see, the married put and stock tax strategy can be extremely useful as long as you avoid the unintended tax consequences.

As always, consult with your tax professional for an opinion, before entering into any complex transaction.

Because No One Cares More About Your Money Than You

http://dynamic-stock-market-strategies.com

Good trading, Don Heggen

In his book, ‘Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom’, the renowned American psychologist Dr Van Tharp discusses in several parts how important your psychology or mindset is to your trading success. He graphically depicts the significance of your psychology using a pie chart and explaining that it is the most essential ingredient to trading.

To many who have traded for an extended period of time, they would agree with the fact that traders can experience a wide range of emotions and often one straight after another. Traders can experience the exultation of a winning trade that went very well to the despair of the string of losses where ‘giving up trading’ is a prominent thought in one’s mind.

Books like ‘Market Wizards’ by Jack Schwager and other similar texts illustrate how successful traders have found a trading methodology that they are very comfortable with. None of them have found any magic solution to trading but they all clearly possess an inner confidence in their own ability to follow rules and their own trading plan.

Undoubtedly however, trading can be a taxing experience on your mental health. You are constantly faced with decisions that need to be made and can easily go through the swing of emotions described earlier. For some people, in all honesty you may also lack confidence in your own ability to trade well or lack courage of your own conviction and therefore experience another array of emotions when trading.

Sometimes trading can be quite stressful and other times it may appear as if you can do no wrong. These emotional swings and emotional stresses do impact on your mental state and can ultimately affect your trading decisions.

It may be prudent sometimes to schedule a break from trading. Therefore, close all positions before your break, or a few weeks out from the break commencing, open no new positions and allow your open positions to take their course in the time leading up to your break. The time you schedule your break may coincide with the school holidays or your Christmas break from work. This may end up being the best trading decision you make as you are able to separate yourself from some of the emotions you have experienced, and recharge the mental batteries. The requirement for a break will obviously significantly vary from trader to trader and will depend largely on your trading frequency.

One of the things stopping people thinking about taking a break is that they may miss out on some good trading opportunities. Rest assured that the market you trade is a vital part of the corporate world and will always be open for trading. This means that when you finish your two week break for example, the market will be open as if you didn’t even have your break.

Next time you open your diary, consider scheduling a break from trading.

Stuart McPhee is recognized as a leading trading coach and expert when it comes to developing solid and profitable trading plans.

Discover what most traders never realise which leads to their downfall. Learn about the importance of having the right trading mindset, sound money management and a solid method - The 3 Ms! Click Here ==> http://www.trading-plan.com

Receive Stuart’s free trading tips by signing up for his ezine at: ==> http://www.trading-plan.com/ezine_registration.html