At the beginning proceed with caution – or – FOR GOD”S SAKE DON”T DO WHAT I DID!
If you’re reading this article, understand that I’ve walked in your shoes. Like you I was a new member to Phil’s Stock World, arriving on the site looking for companionship and education on my options journey. Probably like you, I had read a few books on options, dabbled in some trades, made and lost some money, but I was still looking for a system, as well as a teacher.
Having read Phil’s daily posts on Seeking Alpha, I was both amused and intrigued, here was someone who spoke plain English, obviously had some education, a passion for the markets, and an opinion on most everything! He also wrote on the importance of “being the house” – of being the on the side of the odds, and being consistent in an approach to investing. All these things appealed and made sense to me, and after reading the article Phil wrote on “How to Buy Stock for a 15-20% Discount” I decided to jump in with both feet. Being a quick study, I took the plunge in late 2008, just in time to have a single, very successful month in December.
Wow – 10-15% gains in my first month! It was a great Christmas Season! I was going to retire early! Obama took office with great promise, and I was keenly optimistic for 2009. I invested heavily, in a variety of sectors, across the board. I sold lots of premium, and things were looking good.
Well, you know what happened next, things went bad, then worse, and then downright scary! I had a number of sleepless nights, and the more I read, both on Phil’s favorites as well as the main street media, the worse things looked. I did my best, but on a number of issues, I pulled the plug and panicked. Not understanding how to roll down, I just sold, generally exactly when I should have been buying. In my first three months of trading, I probably lost 30% of my holdings.
Fortunately, I have some background (martial arts training) that taught perseverance, and I didn’t bail out on my new education altogether. I don’t expect you to understand from a martial arts perspective – but there’s a great summary on lifelong learning called “Mastery” by George Leonard – a former editor at Esquire. If you’d…
