BACK TO THE FUTURE VS TRADINGI watched the Oscars recently and saw Michael J. Fox receive his humanitarian award. This brought me back to my childhood with the legendary Back to the Futures movie...
Also this year we saw The Back to the Future stars Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) reunited and shared the stage at the New York Comicon 2022.
This is where they reminisced over their iconic roles in the beloved film trilogy.
There were a bunch of mixed emotions but mostly the feeling of nostalgia and childhood memories…
And so, I watched the trilogy and I found it was super interesting to watch a movie when at the time, they were trying to predict the future by making a number of predictions about 2015…
They certainly got a few spot ons such as:
• Smart watches
• Hover boards
• Virtual reality headsets (which we use Quest, PlayStation and even HTC)
• Talking from TV to TV (Instead we use tablets and smart phones, but close enough)
• Donald Trump like figure as president
They also made a few wrong predictions like:
• People wearing their pockets inside out
• Dogs having drones walk them (but we do have drones though)
• Mechanical car fuel attendants
• Pizza hydrators
But overall, there is a very big lesson we can learn from this…
If scientists, businessmen, producers, directors and actors can’t accurately predict the future, nobody can.
And trading the financial markets are similar to “Back to the Future” movies.
It’s unpredictable and normally plays out differently to what we think…
Thing about the future is… When you know what is going to happen and you act according, the future changes…
Let’s say you know what’s going to happen at a certain point in the future. If you act according to what will happen in the future, then your action will change the future.
So, if the future is so unpredictable, how can anyone ever make money from trading?
Simple.
You don’t need to know the future when you trade
When you take a trade, you should never try to predict where the market will go.
Instead, we should base the future predictions and decisions on one word.
Probability.
If the market is moving up, there is a higher chance it will continue to move up. (It’s going up for a reason).
If the market consolidates in a sideways formation and then the price breaks down, there is a higher chance the price will continue to move down.
We say, go with the trend rather than against it… Our job is not to predict every turn and bank a profit from every point move.
Our job is to anticipate a change in the market, wait for confirmation and then act accordingly to follow the MORE likely scenario… You might not get it right 30% to 40% of the time, but you can get it right 50% - 70% of the time during certain market environments…
That’s all I do when I do trades and analyses… I base probabilities on where a market is more likely to go at a certain time…
If I’m wrong, I adjust – rather than deny…
This was a short reminder of why you don’t need to predict the markets to make it as a trader.
Did you enjoy this short piece? Let me know in the comments. It's a passion to help share the knowledge I've gained over the last 20 years as a trader.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
SA40 trade ideas
Is Trading Like Playing Poker? Is trading a form of gambling?
With hesitance, I would say yes.
However, I would rather call trading a form of strategic gambling as both require elements of risk, reward, strategy and decision making.
In the next two weeks or so, I’m planning to publish a new online FREE book called “Poker Vs Trading”.
Who knows, by the end of it all you may take up professional poker playing as well as trading…
Let’s start with the similarities.
SIMILARITY #1:
We can choose when to play (Strategy)
Traders and poker players don’t play every hand that is dealt to them.
With poker, when a hand is dealt, we can choose to either play the hand, based on how strong it is, or we can choose to fold and wait for the next hand…
With trading, we wait for a trading setup based on the criteria of our strategy i.e. MATI Trader System.
You’ll then have the exact criteria and money management rules to follow in order to take a trade or wait for the next trade.
SIMILARITY #2:
Amateur poker players and traders tend to go the ‘tilt’ (Emotional roller-coaster)
Emotions are a main driver which leads to traders losing their cash in their account or poker players losing their chips very quickly.
With poker, you get players who let their emotions take over where they start betting high with an irrational frame of mind.
These emotions lead them to losing their chips very quickly.
This is when they enter the state of what is called ‘going the tilt’.
With trading, amateur traders also tend to act on impulse and play on gut, instinct, fear and greed after they’ve undergone a losing streak or a winning streak.
This often leads them to:
~ Taking a series of losses.
~ Losing huge portions of their portfolio.
~ Holding onto losing trades longer than they should.
~ Entering a mindset of revenge trading.
SIMILARITY #3:
We know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em (Cut losses quick)
We have the choice to reduce our losses when it comes to betting a hand or taking a trade.
With poker, if the players start upping the stakes and you believe you have a weaker hand in the round, you can choose to ‘fold’ and lose only the cost of playing the ‘ante’.
With trading, if you’ve taken a trade and it turns against you, you have a stop loss which will get you out at the amount of money you were willing to risk of your portfolio…
SIMILARITY #4:
We know the rake (Costs involved)
There are always costs associated with each trade we take or each hand we play, which eats into our winnings.
With poker, it’s the portion of the pot that is taken by the house i.e. the blinds and the antes. With trading, it’s the fees charged by your broker or market maker, in order to take your trade. These fees can be either the tax, spread and/or the brokerage.
SIMILARITY #5:
Aggressive trading and betting before the flop (High volatility)
There will always be a time of strong market moves and high betting.
With poker, you get times where players like to bet aggressively and blindly before the flop is revealed. It’s these times that lead to the amateur poker players losing their chips very quickly.
With trading, you get economic data i.e. Non-Farm-Payrolls, black swan events and Interest Rate decisions when big investors and traders like to drive the market up or down before the news even comes out.
NOTE: I ignore both forms of hype as it is can lead to a catastrophic situation.
SIMILARITY #6:
We bet and trade based on the unknown
Every bet and trade we take and play is based on incomplete information of the future.
With poker, we are dealt hands then bet on decisions based on not knowing what cards our opponents have and/or what is shown on the river.
We then have the options to call, bet, raise or fold during the process.With trading, we take trades based on probability predictions without knowing where the price will end up at.
This is due to new information which comes into the market including (demand, supply, news, economic indicators, micro and macro aspects).
SIMILARITY #7:
We lose A LOT! (Losses are inevitable)
Taking small losses are part of the game with both poker and trading.
With poker, it is important to wait patiently until you have a hand with a high probability of success.
Some of the best poker players in the world, fold 90% of the starting hands, they receive. Some professional poker players can go through weeks and months without a win.
With trading, we can lose over 40% to 50% of the time.
In general, I expect around two losing quarters a year. I know that when there are better market conditions, it will make up for the small losses.
SIMILARITY #8:
You must learn to earn (Education is vital)
You need to understand and gain as much knowledge as you can about poker and trading before you commit any money.
With poker, you need to understand:
• The rules of the game.
• The risk per move.
• The amount of money you should play per hand.
Once you know these points, you’ll be able to develop some kind of game plan with each hand you play.
With trading, you need to understand:
• The MARKET (What, why, where are how?)NB*
• The METHOD (What system to follow before taking a trade).
• The MONEY (Risk management rules to follow with each trade)
• The MIND (The frame of mind you must develop to succeed)
SIMILARITY #9:
Perseverance is the key ingredient to success
You need to take the time and have the determination to become a successful trader and poker player.
With poker, you’ll need to keep at it and apply strict money management rules with each hand played. With trading, you’ll need to know your trading personality, know which trading method best works you and understand your risk profile…
I’ll leave you with a quote from Vince Lombardi (American football player, coach, and executive):
“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect”
Do you think trading is like poker?
If you enjoyed this daily lesson follow fore more!
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
Q. How do you work out CFD Interest Swaps with an example?Q. How do you work out CFD Interest Swaps with an example?
Answer: CFDs is an instrument where you pay a small amount of money to be exposed to the full value of the share.
With CFDs, there are daily charges when you buy and daily income interest that you receive when you sell (go short).
The charge is known as a ‘daily swap’ or ‘daily interest charge’.
You can ask your broker what the annual interest swap rate is or you’ll most likely be able to find it on your platform…
With my broker for example, the long swap (for when you buy) is -9.47% per year.
And the short swap (for when you sell) is 2.71%.
With your Shoprite trade, because you’re buying CFDs (which is a geared instrument), you’re essentially borrowing the money from the bank.
This means, you have to pay interest on the borrowed funds (in order to be exposed to the full value).
Those are the ‘swaps’ we’re talking about.
Let’s say the Shoprite share is trading at R223.19 and the margin (initial deposit) to buy 1 CFD is 9.7% (R21.70).
This means, when you buy 1 CFD for R21.70, you’ll be exposed to the full R223.19 worth of the share.
If you buy 100 CFDs and pay R2,170 (100 CFDs X R21.70) you’ll be exposed to the full R22,319 worth of shares (100 shares X 223.19).
And if you sold the 100 CFDs at R236.00, you would have been exposed to R23,600.
On that R22,319 exposure, you’ll pay 9.47% (R2,113.60) interest (swap) per year.
But luckily as traders, you don’t need to worry about paying the full amount, as we like to hold only for a short period of time.
This means, each day you hold the CFD with exposure of R22,319 – you’ll only pay R5.49.
(Exposure of your trade X 9.47%) ÷ 365 days.
If the exposure never changed and you held onto your trade at the same share price you would pay R54.90 (after 10 days).
However, we know that share prices move up and down each day.
The higher the market goes up, the higher your exposure where you’ll pay slightly more.
If the market price drops, you will pay slightly less.
However, as traders we don’t tend to hold for more than a couple of days or weeks to curb the daily interest charges.
If you have any other questions please ask in the comments :)
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
When you should feel THRILL as a traderThrill is a dangerous emotion to have as a trader.
Especially, when you bank a winning trade, when you lock in profits during a favourable environment and when you count your profits at the end of the week.
You are only as good as your last trade. Which means, you need to forget about the past and focus on the future.
However, this doesn't mean you can't enjoy the journey during the trading day.
I've been in the markets since 2003 and yes I do get thrill and enjoyment but NOT when I bank a winning trade.
Here are 6 elements I get thrill from...
1. When analysing the markets and seeing what opportunities lie up.
2. When optimising strategies and seeing how to improve by finding new markets, removing old markets that don't work and possibly tweaking the system according to the current market environment.
3. Searching for trades always feels like somewhat a treasure hunt. When X marks the spot, we know to take action.
4. Monitoring results. This isn't monitoring daily or weekly results but rather looking at your journal over an extended period of time. Look at your drawdowns, look at where you are in terms of having your portfolio at ATH and seeing what market environment your system is in.
5 Adapting new markets and instruments...There are always new high liquid and low volatile markets that will suit your system. It's our jobs to look, analyse and adapt into the new.
6. Reading new developments. Are there better trading platforms, new indicators to help with your current system and maybe even new calculations to manage your drawdowns better? What about the instruments. I've gone from trading shares, warrants, ETFs, Futures, Spread Trading to CFDs. You never know when the next instrument will come...
I hope this helps give some enlightenment on when you should feel thrill as a trader. Cut the ego, cut the instant gratification of today's performance and focus on the marathon.
Follow for more daily trading lessons :)
Trade well, live free...
Timon
REVEALED: 14 Ways to Spot a Trading ScamIf you’re new to trading, listen up.
There are serpent companies and individuals out there, with only one goal.
To make profits and money for themselves and NO one else.
They do this by exploiting the newbie trader’s optimism, greed and fear by tricking them into what I call “Easy-Money-Traps”.
As a savvy trader, you need to know how to spot and avoid these scams, before you fall victim to one of them.
I’m going to kick you off with 15 of the most common trading scams you may find nowadays.
SCAM #1:
Flaunting money and posing in flashy cars
WARNING: When you see an advert with a fake ‘guru’ posing in a Lamborghini holding stacks of cash, this manipulates people into thinking they’re rich.
REALITY: Most times the cash notes are fake and worthless, which is prop money that is usually used in movies. It’s also been proven that 90% of these companies or individuals usually rent the car, borrow it from their rich friend or they take selfies in front of a stranger’s car.
WHAT TO DO: Don’t believe everything you see online.
Scam #2:
They chase after your contact number
WARNING: When a fake “guru” begs for your contact number and persuades you to buy a trading course or ticket to their seminar.
The more aggressive they are trying to get your money, means that their primary income is mostly likely from what they’re trying to sell rather than the money they make when trading.
REALITY: A true trader with a product or service to offer, will not pester you, sound desperate and bully you with tons of marketing and promises. Their main goals are to offer you value, help and develop a relationship over time.
WHAT TO DO: Never share your contact number just to “Learn More”, “Book A Free Consultation” or “Check Out” information on what the product is about. You will have marketers call you on a weekly basis trying to suck you into buying their products.
Scam #3:
There is NO background information
WARNING: When a scam artist has little to no background or legal information.
Whether it’s a trader, broker, money manager or an educator – Never work with anyone who doesn’t have the following:
• A website
• A proven track record (at least 5 years)
• Valuable content
• An “About Us” page (To learn more about them)
• Contact information
• Customer reviews and testimonials (Ask people!)
• A company registration number
• Tax registration details• Financial regulation
• A website that isn’t secured (When it starts with HTTP and not HTTPS)
REALITY: Most times these non-regulated individuals will try their luck to get you to deposit money into their account and then will disappear.
WHAT TO DO: Always do a full check-up on the person or company through Google, Facebook, websites and reviews and take notes with the bullet points above to see if the person or company is licensed, legit and regulated by independent organisations.
Scam #4:
You can’t withdraw your money
WARNING: Your broker or money maker, doesn’t allow you or limits your ability to withdraw funds or profits.
Whenever there are delays to withdraw your money, chances are you’re dealing with illegitimate trading companies. It should never take more than a few days for your money to be returned…
WHAT TO DO: Don’t invest a single cent more into the company, until you have received your funds. Use your rights and speak to a lawyer about your options, in order to find a way to get your money back.
NOTE: This does not apply to fixed-term securities such as, hedge funds, bonds, retirement funds with periodic redemption rights and other constraints.
Scam #5:
Failure to prove their BOGUS trading results
WARNING: When you see someone bragging about their winning trades or money they made for the day and how they can help you – but not willing to prove their results.
Watch out with Facebook and Instagram posts on traders posting fake trading results on Telegram, MyFxBook, WhatsApp and other groups.
REALITY: If they are not willing to prove their results, chances are they have been Photoshopped and are only trading with a demo account. Also you’ll see them posting their gains and winnings only and never their losses. This is a big red-flag for me which screams out – SCAM!
WHAT TO DO: Avoid any person who is not willing to share their broker statements or trading results which have been verified by a reputable and licensed firm.
Scam #6:
When they urge you to buy immediately
WARNING: When someone tries one of their high-pressure sales techniques to get you to invest or buy a product or service on the spot.
If ever you get one of those sleazy salesperson’s try to intimidate you, make you feel stupid for not making a decision – warnings bells should ring.
Many con artists, will pressure you with limited time offers or tell you to buy on the phone or you’ll lose the deal.
REALITY: A legit and ethical company will never create such urgency. They will in fact, want you to do your own research, consider your options and take your time to see if their product or service offered will benefit you or not.
They will NEVER force you to buy anything on the spot.
WHAT TO DO: Do your own research before you make a decision, and make sure you leave those high-pressure salesmen charlatans.
Scam #7:
You hear bad investment advice or too-good-to-be-true deals
WARNING: When you hear bogus advice or too-good-to-be-true statements from an individual or company that is contrary to anything you’ve ever been told.
As soon as you hear any of these messages, they are most likely scams:
• “You can put your life savings into our brokerage firm.”
• “Follow our +80% win rate trading system.”
• “Do you want GUARANTEED returns?”
• “Take out a loan and invest with us.”
• “You’ll bank over 10% a month.”
• “We don’t use stop losses.”
• “100% accurate signals.”
• “Get rich quickly.”
• “Easy money.”
WHAT TO DO: Don’t run away just yet. Do the full check up on the company and with their track record and then decide for yourself.
Most times it’s just the marketing agency, rather than the actual trader, who’s trying to hype up the copy through their copywriting, Click Funnels, Value Ladders etc…
Scam #8:
They ask for your personal information
WARNING: When someone asks you for unnecessary personal information to make a transaction.
There are salesperson’s out there that will ask you for a bunch of unnecessary personal information including:
• Bank card details
• Facebook account details
• Phone number
• Income per month
• Trading account password
• Home address
REALITY: If you’re looking to invest in a trading product or service or open an account with an institution, then no trusted and legit company will ever ask for the above details.
WHAT TO DO: Never give any details to an individual or company that you don’t trust. You can also ask for their Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy statements, to read each detail of their security and privacy matters.
Scam #9:
You get a call from a stranger
WARNING: You may get an unexpected and unsolicited local or international phone call “cold call”, email, letter or personal visit from a stranger offering you a deal.
REALITY: These are most times marketers or customer services trying to sell you something, in order to make a sale.
WHAT TO DO: Kindly tell them to remove your number off their data-base and that you will do your own research and will call them back if you are interested in what they have to offer.
Scam #9:
Watch out for bad wording
WARNING: When the company or individual is packed with bad wording.
Bad wording includes:
• Misspellings
• Incorrect dates (Look at the footer of a website where it says ©)
• Badly written content
• Unprofessional content i.e. emoticons, !!!, ??? and swearing
• Typos everywhere
• URL website has spelling mistakes e.g. (Foerxtrading.com)
WHAT TO DO: This should be your judgement…
NOTE: I personally am sceptical whenever I see any of the above, even though I may make a typo or grammar mistake with my own content every now and then.
Scam #10:
The never-ending Facebook scams
WARNING: When you see posts that offer you free signals, tools, get rich quick messages or advertising ploys that direct you to deposit money.
You’ll see countless scams on a daily basis in Facebook groups and pages that will direct you away from them by sending messages such as:
• “Inbox me”
• “Ask how”
• “Join our Telegram”
• “100% accurate signals”
• “Reply add”
• “Do you know you can make XXX amount of money”
• “Click this link”
• “Ask for more info”
• “Daily free signals”
• “Daily 200 – 500 pips”
• “Guaranteed results”
• “No scam”
WHAT TO DO: Do your thorough research and follow the above #3 step before making your decision.
EXTRA TRADING SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
#11: Trading software, robot or EA that guarantees a +70% win rate system.
#12: Fake Facebook profile name, picture with dodgy friends.
#13: Any product or service that promises “Zero-Risk”.
#14: Any notion that promises you riches quickly and tells you to trust them or take their word for it.
If you enjoyed this trading lesson of the day let me know in the comments and follow me for more daily tips.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
1 Rule to STOP a portfolio CRASH I guess my number one rule to prevent a portfolio going bust is my 20% Rule…
The rule is simple.
If my portfolio ever drops below 20%, due to a losing streak, I halt trading…
Notice the word halt instead of STOP.
When a portfolio is down 20%, this is where you’ll halt your trading but you’ll
KEEP following your trading strategy.
So, you’ll simply demo trade your system and continue journaling your entries and exits…
And only once the equity curve (your portfolio) goes back to all-time highs (on paper of course) then you can resume trading live…
Do you have a trading question? Ask in the comments and I'll fully answer it in one of these posts on TradingView...
Trade well, live free
Timon
MATI Trader
27 Ways to Save money to TradeSaving money to trade, or in general, can be a pain.
Either it drops your quality of life, or you find that you just can’t save a cent at the end of the month.
No matter what you’re earning, I’m going to show you exactly how to save money the easy way.
Here are my 27 favourite money savings tips with a couple of personal notes…
SAVINGS TIP #1: Stick to your shopping list
Write your shopping list down on a piece of paper or on your phone, and stick to it to avoid overspending.
When you are prepared for what you have to buy when it comes to your grocery shopping, this will more likely stop you from buying extra items you don’t need.
SAVINGS TIP #2: Pay with hard cash
Pay using real money instead of swiping your debit or credit cards.
When you pay with a card, instead of cash, you’ll find that you’ll spend more money on unnecessary items than you should or with money you don’t even have.
Personal note:
While I’ve been living and trading in Greece, I find this is the best savings tip I’ve used so far.
SAVINGS TIP #3: Pay yourself firstay yourself first
As soon as you’re paid your salary, wage or income for the month – deposit a portion of that money straight into your trading or savings account.
I like to use the 10% rule, but this all depends on what you can afford to deposit. This means, if you earn R60,000 per month deposit R6,000 into your trading account or savings account each month.
SAVINGS TIP #4: Don’t shop when ‘hangry’ or emotional
Avoid shopping when you’re feeling hungry, thirsty, angry or upset.
You’ll find you’ll spend more money than you should. In a recent study: Hungry mall shoppers who were hungry spent on average 64% MORE than non-hungry shoppers.
Make sure you have a nice meal and drink lots of water, before you go on your next shopping trip.
SAVINGS TIP #5: The ‘cookie-jar’ approach
When you empty your pockets, at the end of the day, drop them into a yearly cookie jar for your savings.
You’ll be surprised how many thousands of rands you’ll be able to save, collect and be able to deposit into your trading account for the next year.
SAVINGS TIP #6: Use the 24-Hour-Rule
Before paying money for non-essential and expensive items on clothes, cosmetics, appliances or even tools, just wait 24 hours before buying it.
You may find that you’ll lose that desire to buy them after 24 hours, which will save you tens of thousands of rands a year. Maybe when your parents said “sleep on it”, there was method behind their madness.
SAVINGS TIP #7: Go generic
Save a ton of money by buying the generic prescription medicines instead of paying a fortune for the name branded drugs.
Ask your local pharmacist or physician if you can have the generic prescription drugs instead of the brand-name drugs.
You’ll find that the generic products cost far less than the brand names, and will work equally well.
SAVINGS TIP #8: A quick breakfast that lasts a week
Breakfasts are not only the most important meal of the day, but can also be the quickest, easiest and most inexpensive meal for the day.
When you eat a full and healthy breakfast, you’ll find it will keep you from going out to eat an expensive lunch…
Personal note:
For the last two years, I have had the same breakfast which I make once and it lasts an entire week.
This has truly been life-changing as it makes my day start with one less decision to make before I get on with the rest of the day.
It’s called “Overnight Oats”. If you’d like to see my personal recipe feel free to click here…
SAVINGS TIP #9: Follow the 30-Day-Rule
Before you buy something really expensive, give it 30 days and then decide if it’s worth it.
I’m talking about items like jewellery, motorbikes, paintings, juice extractors and any other item that can cost over R3,000.
SAVINGS TIP #10: Don’t be fooled by sales
Avoid sales and don’t be duped by discounts, special offers, buy 1 get one free etc…
Remember this for every time you see a sale for 50% at the next Black Friday’s Special.
“You’re not saving 50% of your money, you’re spending 50% of your money that you weren’t planning to spend in the first place.”
SAVINGS TIP #11: Skip the alcohol and bottled water!
When you go out to a restaurant, avoid spending unnecessary money on alcohol and expensive water bottles.
A standard restaurant can mark up their cost of alcohol by three to five times.
Instead order just plain water or even a sugar free soda.
Personal note:
In Europe I have noticed that when you ask for tap water, they pour it from a bottle of expensive water (R30) anyway. This is due to the danger of drinking tap water in Europe.
SAVINGS TIP #12: Own your doggy bag
Ask your waiter to put the food that you didn’t finish in a doggy bag, so you can save money on lunch for the next day.
People are far too embarrassed about everything nowadays which I think needs to stop.
There should not be a stigma attached to taking leftover food home.
Everybody easts, drinks and sleeps. And when it comes to the food you ordered at the restaurant, you paid for it so why waste it?
This will also save you money, time and effort the next day for lunch, which will make your trip to the restaurant EVEN MORE WORTH IT.
SAVINGS TIP #13: Put three items back after shopping
When you’ve added extra items to your shopping that weren’t on the list, to avoid overspending, put back at least three items that you believe you can live without.
It’s very easy to walk through the final naughty aisle grabbing a whole bunch of crisps, chocolates, biltong, dried fruit and even a bottle of juice.
SAVINGS TIP #15: Cut down on smoking and drinking
Try to cut down your smoking and drinking by half the number per day.
This is really tricky to do but if you put your mind to it and challenge yourself, I know you can achieve this.
Personal note:
What I do with smoking is I’ve limited it to two in the morning, two in the afternoon and two at night.
This tip has saved me hundreds of rands per week from buying more boxes and I will continue to try cut it down until I’ve quit completely.
SAVINGS TIP #16: Fill up your milk with water
As soon as the milk reaches, the half way mark – fill it up with water. YOU WON’T TASTE THE DIFFERENCE.
As a parent or as a milk drinker, it can be extremely expensive to buy milk on a daily basis.
SAVINGS TIP #17: Become a vegetarian (at least once a week)
At least once a week, switch to meatless dishes which will help drop your grocery bill.
Replace it with: Chickpeas, couscous, okra, rice, sauerkraut, quinoa, beans, nuts, pasta dishes etc… You’ll be surprised what you can find at your local supermarket.
Personal note:
Inspired by my cousin, she insisted I cut meat out just once a week. I call this day “Meatless Monday”.
EXTRA MONEY SAVINGS TIPS
#18: Grow your own vegetables
#19: Sign up for loyalty cards
#20: Track your spending on your finance budget app
#21: Make meals that will last a week e.g. Lasagna, casserole, giouvetsi, gemista, soups, roasts, ratatouille etc…
#22: Buy the generic foods rather than the expensive name branded foods
#23: Pay careful attention to expiration dates
#24: Check your eggs in their boxes and your vegetables in their packets
#25: Freeze your foods in bulk
#26: Eat a meal before going to a restaurant
#27: Keep to Pay-As-You-Go with your cell phone account and use the Wi-Fi to call on WhatsAapp
This will be fun!
With these savings tips you can watch your money grow in your savings and trading account!
Why you should LOVE your losses 5 REASONSWe are brought up in society to WIN, WIN, WIN!
Throughout our upbringing we must either:
Achieve top grades
Drive the fanciest cars
Wear and own the best brands
In other words, we are raised to win with everything we do in life, until you get welcomed into the world of trading.
Today I’m going to be the contrarian and share with you why you should love, embrace and own your losses in order to ensure you grow your portfolio on a consistent basis.
Let’s start with:
What happens after a winning streak?
There will be a time during your trading career, where you’re going to endure a magical time where you end up taking sometimes 6, 8 to even 10 winning trades in a row.
Your portfolio will be smiling at a new all-time-high and, you’ll feel invincible. You may think that you’ve cracked the holy-grail of trading where you can quit your job and just make a living with the markets.
Research shows that individuals tend to invest and trade more actively when their most recent trading performance was successful. In fact, here are:
4 DANGEROUS Actions Traders Take During A Winning Streak:
They take on more trades.
They upper their trading positions.
They start to go against their trading strategy.
Their self-confidence and greed levels pick up.
Winning streaks are normal and INEVITABLE, but eventually they’ll end and the losing streak will begin.
No matter how good you believe you are as a trader or how perfect your trading execution skills are, there will be a time when the honey-moon phase for your trading strategy will be over and the markets will stop acting in your favour every time.
The reason is that due to the conditions of supply and demand, the markets environment will eventually change.
A market that was trending up or down, could enter into a 3-months sideways phase very easily. When this happens, you will enter into a drawdown (downside) phase.
The problem is not the downside for the next three months. The problem is how you’ll treat your trading going forward, based on the DANGEROUS actions you would have taken during your winning streak.
Let’s bring them back, to see what will happen to ‘invincible traders’ portfolios and minds with their unexpected losing streak…
They start to take on more trades –
THIS MEANS MORE LOSSES
They upper their trading positions –
THIS MEANS BIGGER LOSSES.
They start to go against their trading strategy –
THIS MEANS UNEXPECTED LOSSES.
Their self-confidence and greed levels pick up –
THIS MEANS DEPRESSION MAY KICK IN WHICH WILL LEAD TO QUITTING.
Now going back to what we said in the beginning.
When a winning streak ends, you should love, embrace and own your losses because of these five reasons.
5 Reasons To Love Your Trading Losses
Reason #1: Losses are part of your trading success journey
Once you have a winning and proven trading strategy, you’ll need to go back to your trading journal to remind you of the flow of winning streaks, losing streaks, average gain & loss per trade and other historical statistics.
I’ve back, forward and real-tested the MATI Trader System strategy for over two decades and so I know exactly what kind of winning and losing streaks are to come and that I’ll end up profitable in the medium to long term.
Reason #2: Losses help keep your emotions in check
Knowing there are inevitable losses to come, this should curb the ego, greed and fear emotions.
Reason #3: Losses should keep your risk low
With a losing streak that is inevitable to enter your trading results, this alone should be a reason to keep your losses low.
I personally never risk more than 2% or my portfolio in any one trade, no matter how many winning trades I take in a row. You can read more about the timeless money management rules in lesson three of the MATI Trader System programme.
Reason #4: Losses stop the “Hot Hand Fallacy”
Another reason that I love losses when trading is that it reminds me that the winning streak will come to an end.
This keeps me humbled and grounded to know that there will be a time where I’ll need to give back to the market, when the trading environment is less conducive to the trading strategy.
Reason #5: Losses don’t take me back to the drawing board
After a winning streak ends, you’ll find new traders will then quit trading and look for another system to find that will work for them during the changing market environment.
The thing is they don’t realise and accept that losses come with the trading territory and that one should never throw a profitable system away because a market enters into a drawdown phase.
Let me know what you thought about today's trading tutorial. I'm just sharing information I've learnt over the last 20 years as a trader.
Trade well, Live Free...
Timon
MATI Trader
JSE Top 40 Index (J200)Short Term Outlook
Chart Time Frame: 2 hrs
Overhead resistance at 67081
Has made a second attempt at breaching the upper boundary of the channel with a balance between bulls (buyers) and bears (sellers)
A downside breach of line A_B would see the index trend toward further the mid-point of the channel.
Consider that the index could breach the overhead resistance however failure to maintain upside support following the breakout could see a bearish reversal ensue.
QA WHAT is a Margin Call? QA: What is a Margin Call?
You don't want this.
It's an automatic instruction to close out your trade/s when you have insufficient funds in your portfolio.
This is a safety mechanism for both you and your broker.
It's also where either your trading platform, your broker or an automatic message via email will tell you to either deposit more funds into your account, close your trades or will warn you that your positions will be automatically closed.
*DO YOU HAVE ANY TRADING QUESTION?
Comment below or LIKE this post if you found it helpful.
I've been trading for the last 20 years and it's my hobby to help provide analyses and help traders get on the right foot.
I'm happy to have a platform like TradingView to do it :)
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
5 Market entry Orders Easily ExplainedBack in the old days, to action a trade you only had two easy options.
Buy or sell…
Fast-forward into the present day, and today you get slapped with five different options to choose from when you get into a trade.
Right now, I’m going to simplify these five trading entry orders in way that you’ll never forget.
Entry Order #1: Market Order
The first entry order is the easiest to understand.
This is where you’ll buy or sell at the most current market price.
When you choose a market order, it is the quickest, most effective and easiest way to enter into your ‘long’ or ‘short’ trade at the current bid (buy) or offer (sell).
Entry Order #2: BUY Limit
When you place a ‘Buy Limit Order’, you’ll place your long trade entry price BELOW where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price drops on or below the Buy Limit Order price, you will be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
EXAMPLE: BUY Limit
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R305 per share and you would like to buy (go long) at R300 per share, you’ll choose the Buy Limit Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to drop to your chosen order price or below it where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
Entry Order #3: SELL Limit
When you place a ‘Sell Limit Order’, you’ll place your short trade entry price ABOVE where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price hits this entry point or above it, you will be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
EXAMPLE: SELL Limit
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R300 per share and you would like to sell (go short) at R305 per share, you’ll choose the Sell Limit Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to rise to or above your chosen order price, where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
Entry Order #4: BUY Stop
When you place a ‘Buy Stop Order’, you’ll place your long trade entry price ABOVE where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price hits this entry point or above it, you will be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
EXAMPLE: BUY Stop
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R300 per share and you would like to buy (go long) at R305 per share, you’ll choose the Buy Stop Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to rise to or above your chosen order price, where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
Entry Order #5: SELL Stop
When you place a ‘Sell Stop Order’, you’ll place your short trade entry price BELOW where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price drops on or below the Sell Stop Order price, you will be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
EXAMPLE: SELL Stop
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R305 per share and you would like to sell (go short) at R300 per share, you’ll choose the Sell Stop Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to drop to your chosen order price or below it where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
I hope this helps with knowing how to place an entry order for next time!
Trade well, live free...
Timon
MATI Trader
TOP40 index: further upside potential?A price action above 65400 supports a bullish trend direction.
Crossing below this level will negate the bullish stance.
A perfect Elliott wave count is unfolding. It will appear that wave 5 started with alternative outcomes.
The preferred target is around 68 800.
Remains above its 200-day simple moving average.
Why you should never HOLD a boring trade - Rule I followGet in and get out in the shortest time possible.
This is the science of successful trading.
But what happens when a trade turns out to be more like a non-performing investment?
When you hold a long-term trade, there are a few issues that will follow including the:
Opportunity cost
You can find other higher probability trades, instead of having your money tied up aimlessly in a sluggish market.
Unnecessary impatience
You’ll eventually feel rather anxious and frustrated holding onto a long-term trade, when you are better off trading in a market that is moving.
The fake-out
With an ongoing trade, the breakout pattern may fizzle out into a low probability fake-out trade (a trade that turns against you).
I created a rule to avoid this situation from ever occurring again.
I call it a time stop loss...
After 7 weeks of holding a trade, exit the trade and look for a better opportunity.
Worst case you take a smaller loss than you thought.
Best case you take a smaller profit than you expected.
But you'll stop holding trades that aren't performing and stop paying daily costs with trading....
Sound good?
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
My Interview with US Successful Trader Peter L. BrandtThe Internet has truly made the world a smaller and a more accessible place.
In 2013, I stumbled across world-renown trader, author and owner Peter L.
Brandt, on Twitter and his blog. I sent him a request for him to
join one of the most elite South African trader groups on Skype.
We had some fantastic chats over the next couple of days. There are words
of wisdom that are far too essential to let them slip by.
I’ve collated some of the timeless lessons Peter L. Brandt shared with me.
I hope you enjoy the interview and find it useful for your trading career.
Timon: I’ve never met a trader who trades long time-frames on Forex and
commodities, do you believe technical charts can be used to predict market
movements?
Peter: I absolutely positively do NOT believe I can predict the markets. I
absolutely positively do NOT believe charts are predictive tools any more than
a MACD, COT, Moving Averages or anything else. My win rate is historically
around 38%, although I made some changes to the system in an attempt to
boost that to 45%. Generally, 100% of my profits come from 10% of my
trades. It is a matter of trying to keep the other 90% from being a net loss.
Timon: I agree with no one being able to predict the market movements,
however, I believe in probability predictions. If there is a breakout to the
upside, there is a higher probability for the market to continue moving in the
direction of the breakout. What is your take on when unfavourable markets
bring about a 15% or more drawdown on your portfolio?
Peter: Drawdowns come with the territory. The question to always ask for
discretionary traders is, whether their trading rules are out of sync with the
markets? If they are out of sync with their rules? or both? If I know the problem
are my rules being out of sync with the markets, I will never stop trading because I
cannot time my rules. I may cut back on the size during a losing period.
Timon: As my trading mentor and dear friend Igor Marinkovic
says, “Your biggest drawdown is still to come and so is your biggest
winning streak.” What are your thoughts on risk management principles?
Peter: As a general rule — very general rule — an excellent trader with a
great grasp of money management should have an average annual ROR that
is 1.5 to 2 times their worst drawdown, over the past three or five years. For
me, this is mandatory
Even daily patterns are made up of many hourly patterns that morphed, which
are made up of many 15-minute patterns that morphed etc... — I call it ‘Chart
Morphology’. The trick is to determine which patterns are real and which
patterns are more likely to morph.
Sometimes a market reveals itself by failing.
It is because of morphology that I seek patterns that are 10 to 12
weeks or longer. I’m also not worried about markets changing so drastically
that all conventional systems stop working. The reason is my belief that
markets are and have always been driven by fear, greed and money flows.
These things will always be the same.
Timon: Yes, that’s why I don’t believe in Holy Grail systems. I believe in
finding the system that suits your personality and risk profile. Along the way,
one should not feel scared about making mistakes, but be sure to avoid them
from being too costly. What would be your final feedback on trading in
general?
Peter: Sounds like you are well on your way to a long and profitable
career trading. Mistakes are the tuition charged by the markets for
learning. Unfortunately, the markets often decide the tuition rate, not
us. Hence, I only risk 0.5% per trade.
You have to develop your own style. I have never met another truly skilled trader who has copied his
or her style from another trader. This is true from a tactical standpoint,
but from a money management standpoint most skilled traders think
very much alike.
Forget about motivation and implement this insteadThere is an over-estimated word that people say. I’m talking about MOTIVATION.
“I need motivation to keep to a healthy diet.”
“I need motivation to go to gym six days a week.”
“I need motivation to see my friends.”
If I needed motivation to trade, I would have stopped trading over a decade ago. From today, I want you to remove the word motivation from your life and replace it with…
INTEGRATION
Integration is when an action becomes a habit without any effort and without any force. You make it a part of your daily life where you don’t need the motivation to do something.
To integrate something is to naturally enforce great discipline, passion and determination into your life.
I bet you already integrate certain aspects into your life such as,
Getting dressed
Brushing your teeth
Cooking food
Just like you’ve integrated a few of the above aspects into your life, so too have I done with trading.
For well over a decade, I have the same morning trading routine I’ve incorporated into my life.
I make coffee
Open my trading and chart platform
Look at the main index
Analyse charts using my MATI System
Place my trade orders
Let the market do its thing
That’s it. It’s what I do.
I don’t need the motivation or discipline from friends, family and colleagues when I follow my morning routine.
I’ve just integrated trading into my routine.
It’s time you stop the motivation and start integrating certain aspects into your life with everything that you are passionate about.
Trade well.
Timon (MATI Trader)
5 Laws of Trading Success - EXPLAINED E=MC²
Everything you need to know about the Universe, can be condensed into this tiny equation.
What if there was a formula that unlocked the laws of trading the markets?
I believe, there is…
I call them the 5 Laws To Trading Success…
1. Markets
You’ll need to be able to find and trade the best markets, at anytime and anywhere in the world with CFDs or through Spread Trading.
2. Method
You’ll need to create and adopt proven, mechanical and consistently profitable trading strategies with a few entry and exit rules.
3. Money
You’ll need to learn how to use essential money management rules in order to boost your winners, cut your losses and never blow your trading account.
4. Mind
You’ll need to be able to improve your self-confidence and develop a successful trading mindset, in order to trade effortlessly with little worry and with less stress.
5. Miscellaneous
You’ll need to adopt extra tips and tricks in order to boost your win rate, cut your trading holding time and preserve your portfolio.
Once you incorporate all five equally important elements – around your personality, lifestyle and risk appetite – you’ll be able to create a timeless and profitable trading plan for the rest of your trading career.
Trade well live free.
MATI Trader
JSE Top40: Overbought on Daily TimeframeThe JSE Top40 daily chart is showing exhaustion, one can make a case for a confluence of resistance around current price level while RSI is turning from an overbought position. Today (16th Nov) price has confirmed a swing high which increases the confidence that we are heading down & price will have to go below the blue uptrend support before finding a low.
The index itself is not ideal to short, however it gives a guide for picking those shares that offer higher reward & have a positive correlation to the index. For those who are long underlying shares, it affords the opportunity to open short hedging positions who profits can add to long to medium term holdings when the index turns upwards.
JSE ALSI 40 ready to rock to 73,300The JSE ALSI 40 is finally showing strong upside since April 2022...
It's broken up and out of a box formation and is showing the first target to 73,300...
This is based on following the recent America's rally with the inflation rate coming down finally and dropping below the expectations. GDP is picking up and jobs have added over 261,000 jobs.
The leaders of the pack was Naspers, Anglo American, Sasol and Shoprite helping push up the JSE.
Bullish Bias...
JSE Top40: The Bearish CaseWhile expectation is for the US dollar to give respite to risky assets, there is a hidden possibility that the JSE Top 40 has resumed a downtrend after an attempt of a rally from 15 July to 16 August (Bear Market Rally). 1 September would have marked a cycle low but a higher high, the breach of this price means downtrend has resumed with possible bottom in late October to first week of November with the lower trendline supporting the price.
If one is long, it would help to open short positions & close them when a swing low is formed at the end of October/beginning of November. The swing high from there would be an opportunity to open new short positions to hold into mid to end of December. An exit strategy from long positions would be to buy the swing low then exit at break-even.