Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Staying in the Game

Last Friday I sold the last stock in my portfolio. It has felt awfully strange to be totally out of the market for a few days. I was itching to get back in, but also feeling relief that I was all in cash because of the intraday gyrations in the market. "Cash is a position" as they say. And right now it is not a bad position to be holding.

Andy has been trying out a new day trading strategy. The shorter timeframe allows him to get in and out without the fear of holding overnight. I just don't think I could day trade - it's too fast. You have to be very disciplined and quick on the trigger to enter and exit successfully. I like to mull things over before making my decisions. Plus, your winner can reverse on you just when you decide to leave your desk for a drink of water or a visit to the bathroom. That's too much pressure for me!

I prefer longer-term strategies. I did re-enter the market today with one option spread trade. My frustration is that I know I can't make money if I'm not in the game. And we're trading for our income. So I'm back in the game!

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