Analysis of Q1 FY08 (10/1/2007 – 12/31/2007)

Results

This post should have been written a couple of weeks ago, but better late than never.  This is for the period from 10/1/2007 to 12/31/2007.

First the raw numbers.  I started with $10,000 on 10/1, and ended with $10,769.55 on 12/31.  I gained $467.46 in October, gained $637.17 in November, and lost $329.08 in December.

Overall, I’m very pleased with my trading right now.  Since starting this website, I have been able to keep my emotions in check when trading, and haven’t made a single trade that was not justified by my trading plan.  Perhaps the only mistake I have made is that I didn’t take a few trades that I should have, and would have actually made quite a bit more money if I had taken all of those trades.  The current quarter is also off to a strong start, and I’m hoping to be able to continue to show consistent results.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have expected such a strong performance so quickly.  Looking back on my trading before starting this website, though, I see that the biggest difference is that I am now controlling my emotions.  My two biggest mistakes were getting into trades before they showed a complete entry signal in hopes of getting a better entry price, and holding on to losers in hopes that they would recover.  Even worse, I would often add to my losing positions hoping that the price would come up just a little bit so I could get back to break even more quickly.

With my new focus on being objective and systematic in my trading, I have been able to eliminate all of those emotional mistakes and I am already seeing the results.  I still feel excited when my trades do well and get anxious when they go against me, but I haven’t let that influence my trading.  I think that level of emotional involvement is potentially even necessary, in order to keep me motivated and excited to keep trading.

I am definitely looking forward to continuing this website because it has been a great help to me in my trading.

Goals

These were my 90-day goals when I started the website:

• Get this website up and running
• Develop a routine of constantly keeping the website up-to-date
• Start making trades and recording my results
• Begin experimenting with new techniques

I am pleased to say that I have achieved all of those goals.  I am also making good progress on most of my 12-month goals:

• Establish a consistent routine of trading based on this plan
• Develop a consistent methodology for testing and analyzing new techniques
• Eliminate emotional trades
• Show consistent profits
• Develop this website into a good resource for people interested in becoming better traders

Time for some new goals for the current quarter.  Aside from addressing the mistake mentioned above, I have a few other things I’d like to work on:

• Take every trade that fits my entry criteria
• Come up with a plan for how to trade during earnings season
• Evaluate results of recent trades and analyze alternative exit strategies
• Continue updating this website on a regular basis