Best Thread £10k wipeout

I'm down, rock bottom.

started trading Crude Oil futures, though it was easy money at first. made a bit. then I got greedy and didn't use stops. went short and I wasn't willing to take any loss so let the trade run for 7 days, the loss got bigger and bigger so then I entered another short hoping to raise my breakeven. then the biggest rise since the gulf war took me out of the game.

I own double what was in my account and my losses are shocking bad probably £10,000 in total. don't think I can come back to trading, I feel emotionally scarred.

my wife found out about my losses and has threatened to leave me. I hate myself

What made you take a counter trend trade ?


Paul

Thanks for sharing your painful story, I read it and immediately checked my stops - all in place! Stops and trend - those are the lessons your story tells.

Good luck with the wife.

he proabably felt it could go no further and may pullback soon...............adv, did you use any technical analysis? or just gut feel?....be honest.

and by the way i respect you for being honest and posting this

so many ego heads on here have had simialr losses but have far too much pride to post this so well done, you have taken the first step on your road to recovery.........being honest with yourself that it.

SirFrancis said:

Thanks for sharing your painful story, I read it and immediately checked my stops - all in place! Stops and trend - those are the lessons your story tells.

Good luck with the wife.

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easier said then done, all trends are born somewhere, and end somewhere............maybe he had a signal for the trend to end or consolidate but i agree with you on the stops 100 %, that is a lesson i personally learnt the hard way

Don't feel so bad mate, this is probably the norm rather than the exception with most traders.

Ouch. I hope your wife forgives you. Sod the money, it's the marriage that I'd be more concerned with.

I did £10k on Marconi a few years back - Expecting them to recover - similar scenario.

My missus knew all about it - If she doesn't want you to lose - you can't trade, as long as you're with her.

You need to ask yourself - if she'd got into a major problem situation - would you be standing by Her - or threatening to leave ?

What's done is done - you can't undo it - but maybe your loved ones could try to help instead of piling on pointless pressure.

thanks for your words guys. we are not in debt and can save again so financially can recover. I will just have to give up trading and put it down to one of lifes hard lessons. its the lack of trust is the main issue as I took risks with our money, not just mine!

why did I average, I thought theres no way it can keep going up !! but it did. lesson learned.

Well you can still paper trade & learn & read - maybe try a very small account at some point in the future.

We all know it's not easy - but if you're a trader at heart - you won't be happy uinless you have Some involvement.

Really Sorry to hear that, I was "lucky" as when I started out I doubled my account, withdrew funds to another broker, got that account margin called. I didn't have alot of money to start with which I'm thankful for now. But it taught me about the importance of good MM and stops. Now I'm compounding with good MM and havn't looked back.

It would be sad for you to give up, take the advice of others, I don't know about futures but with fx you can start small with micro lots and compound it. But I guess first make peace with your wife.

Good luck!

Hi Adv - we all go through this initiation period of handing our money to the markets before we make it. Unfortunately, and I do sympathise with you that you lost it in a short spate of time, you need to re-evaluate and correct the mistakes you may have made. If you do get back into trading, I'd suggest start with a very tiny amount of money - if you can not make money with a small amount, then you will NOT make it trading with BIG MONEY!, Trading small money will also help you gain the desired experience, confidence and mind set.
I sincerely hope you will manage to save your marriage - Good Luck!
Joe

Isn't it amazing how relationships are about money? You can do a lot to women but when it comes to money, they are out the door before you can say 'stops'.

A very sad story, 'if only' you'd have come onto this site to find out more about trading before trading, or read a few books maybe, or talked to others that have been actively trading some time.

Knowledge is power and in this case, money.

Stops are not just important to trading but an outright necessity. Also trade a plan to prevent from over trading, margin calls are not welcome.(that includes putting more money into an account unplanned)

One thing that amazed me, how many people have responded to this thread in a little under an hour, I wonder if anyone would get the same response if they posted good results. Maybe it's because we've all been there in some fashion, not maybe blown an account or risked a marriage but every trader has had what he would call 'big losses'.

Learn from it, pick yourself up, and remember to always use stops...always.
The markets do what they want to do and, 'the markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.

Lets all take something positive away from this and check those stops and trading plans.
Lets have a good weeks trading.

Good luck for the future and I only hope that your story helps others understand not to make the same mistake.

Agree with all the others here... I defy anyone to tell me they didnt blow up at one time or other..

I myself lost a substantial amount of money some time ago, and it was actually the catalyst to become a better trader / investor because it taught me more than my previous winning streak before had ever done...

but I cannot speak for you ... or your personal life...

Incidently... why did you double down ??? why not short cover ?

Having a look at your previous posts I can see that you were taking a view and then hanging on when the market went against you. So whether you'd built your 10k up to 15k
or 150k, at some point you would have gone through this blow up!

Most importantly, you need to avoid jumping back in to make it all back!

“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. That's the essence of it.” Vince Lombardi

I took a £14k hit six months ago - it was a good lesson in risk/money management, and won't be repeated (damn those penny shares, won't be going there again ...)

As the Ninja says, matrimonial harmony is more important than making millions. For some time now my wife is completely involved with the assessment and acceptance of all trading and investment risks, and so is equally responsible for any losses. It just makes life easier.

FXSCALPER2 said:

Isn't it amazing how relationships are about money? You can do a lot to women but when it comes to money, they are out the door before you can say 'stops'.

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Bet you would be a bit narked if your wife "lost" your savings?

Better if you are using joint money to make joint decisions, it's not the lost money that is the issue here, it's the loss of trust and lack of communication.

"We" as a couple have been completely stuffed by RBS and so I really feel for you. It's caused us much angst as my parter feels awful about it but I knew what was going on and that makes a big difference!

Not all us women are money grabbing.....

FXSCALPER2 said:

Isn't it amazing how relationships are about money? You can do a lot to women but when it comes to money, they are out the door before you can say 'stops'.

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What's that saying again ? Ah yes... " When Poverty walks in, Love walks out"..... :whistling


On a more serious note, this thread should be mandatory reading for all newbies registering on this site !!!

All the best,

Chorlton

beebop said:

Bet you would be a bit narked if your wife "lost" your savings?

Better if you are using joint money to make joint decisions, it's not the lost money that is the issue here, it's the loss of trust and lack of communication.

"We" as a couple have been completely stuffed by RBS and so I really feel for you. It's caused us much angst as my parter feels awful about it but I knew what was going on and that makes a big difference!

Not all us women are money grabbing.....

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I would be miffed, to be sure, but leave her? What is up with leaving people because of money?