2010 Reflection & 2011 Resolution

The end-of-the-year is coming again at a blink of an eyes.  

Time to do some reflection and set goals & resolution for the year ahead...

What had I accomplished in the year 2010?  NOTHING!!!  OMG, seriously speaking, I had not really accomplished anything for the past one year, apart from setting the ground for my "future".  Good and bad, depending on which angle you are looking at.  I am no longer as young as before and having to build and set my footing again at this age hadn't been an easy task.  Nevertheless, I had to stand firm and keep moving ahead so as not to fall too far behind.

With what I am currently involved in and working on, I am quite happy and optimistic.  I just hope all is not just a dream.  Remembered "DARE TO DREAM", but please be realistic and set goals that are reachable but also scalable.  I am seeing the expansion of my company coming true and hopefully I will also get to expand on my capacity and of course get a better pay check every month.  And this is going to take quite some time to build and I cannot just sit and wait for it to happen.  I was told to keep an open mind for other opportunities, and my reply had always been "okay".  And I dunno whether it is right or wrong, good or bad, maybe if I become what I want to be is right & good, but if I do not then it wrong and bad. Wouldn't that be too late then?  I have no comments, all I know is I am following my heart and having hope that I had the right judgement and insight.  It's a bet no doubt!

What's in for 2011?  At the end of the year 2011, I am going to come back to this blog entry and take a note of what I had resolute and whether I had accomplished them.  In order of priority,

1.   Expand with my current company and continue grow with it.
My company is going through expansion and I am more then ready to grow with it and of course get promoted and have a bigger pay check.  Contribute my best effort and of course to benefit myself in term of character building and skill enhancement.

2.   Produce better trading result.
Not necessarily need to produce result that are meeting the benchmark set for employee traders, but more for myself.  Of course meeting the benchmark constantly and getting employed as a contracted trader would be a dream come true, but I rather take it one step at a time.  I just want to be profitable every month consistently and constantly.  Increase my confident in myself in trading and to be able to trade larger volume, hopefully the profit gain could supplement my income SLIGHTLY.  Just how slightly is good enough?  Most probably to afford an extremely good meal would be great!

3.   Become debt free or at least cut them by half.
With what I am getting every month currently, it sound like a mission impossible to me to accomplish this resolution I set for myself.  But with my search for extra income stream apart from my "full time job", I am quite sure I would be able to make it or at least reducing it to half the sum now.  If I manage to cut it by half, I would have been extremely delighted and pleased with myself.

Imagine, in simple calculation, which all banks or institutions will used, it would be taking me more than ten years to clear my debt.  Hence if I am able to clear it by half, shouldn't I be extremely pleased with myself?  Of course, hard work and effort come with it, and if I make it, I am very sure many people is going to ask me of my success methodology.  Before I reveal it, I think it's only right and ethical to test it out myself first.  Once I get the result and start to reduce my debt month-by-month, week-by-week, day-by-day, then it's time to share my success with all my friends and eventually all that are in need!

Resolution for the new year (2011) hadn't changed much compared to this year (2010).  I had spend half the year (2010) searching myself and understanding what I had really wanted deep in me.  In fact, what you really wanted had always been inside you, but we always fail to see it clearly until we do some serious soul-searching.  Now that I had found it, I told myself not to give up, no matter how hard the path ahead is going to be.  Of course there will be challenges that will set you back so as to make you give up, but as long as WE PERSEVERE, SUCCESS WILL BE OURS!!!

Never know that my secondary education motto will come back and haunt me for a GOOD PURPOSE, and I thought I learnt good experience when I was in the RSN, coming out of regular service with DARE TO DREAM!

In summary, it's...

DARE TO DREAM 

AND 

SUCCESS THROUGH PERSEVERANCE 

THAT WE FULFILL AND LIVE OUR DREAMS!!!

Trading Result for December (1-9 Dec 2010)

It had really been awhile since I update my blog with my trading result, especially so after I joined Six Capital as a Trainee Dealer.  Sad to say, I had yet to meet the benchmark to be hired by the company, but as many who know, I am currently employed as their Executive Officer looking after their trading operation and some Administrative task.  I enjoyed myself doing all the task I am put in-charge and also at the same time making progress in my trading skill.  I never thought I was a slow learner, but when it come to trading, I really have to admit that I am not only a slow learner but an extremely slow learner, haha...

Nevertheless, no matter how slow l am, I still see progression in my trading and that matter MOST!  I am improving...  From trading DEMO with daily losses to LIVE trading with still daily losses, until now I am seeing more profitable days and they are consecutively.

This show my accumulated result for the month of Dec 2010 from 1st till 9th

And these are my daily result... (the two empty lines are weekends)

Seriously, nothing really fantastic here but it's just an encouragement for myself that I am progressing slowly but moving forward toward being a professional trader.

I had these thoughts before on if I do not make the mark but a long time, what would I do?  I had make plans for myself and I will discuss about this in another entry.  I am also currently trying what something to supplement as my secondary income.  Many will say I am crazy when they find out what it is, and nope, I am not revealing until I made my success...

"Success through Perseverance"

Mey reminded me Bedok Town Secondary School motto, dunno whether I had remembered it correctly haha... but should be correct no doubt, even if it's not, shouldn't be too far off.  

Compared to months ago, I am definitely better off now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and walking and moving towards it.  I am very sure one day I will reach the end of the tunnel and be embrace by the warm light over the other end.... ;p

FOUR Levels of Wealth

There are basically four levels of wealth you must aim to attain.


Level 1: Financial Stability
The first level of wealth is known as financial stability.  This is the most basic level of wealth that you must first attain.  You have achieved Financial Stability when:

1. You have accumulated enough liquid assets to cover your current expenses for a minimum of six months.
2. In addition, you have life and hospitalization insurance to protect you and/or your family's lifestyle should you be permanently disabled, unable to work or if you pass away suddenly.


When you have attained this first level, you will have the peace of mind that should any unexpected challenges befall you (like retrenchment, business failure, pay cut, death or disability), you and your family's lifestyle will not be compromised. Or worse, you or your family will not slide into debt.Once you have achieved this, you must then aim to achieve...


Level 2: Financial Security
You have achieved Financial Security when you have through the investment of time, money and ideas, accumulated a critical amount of Positive Cash Flow Assets that generate enough passive income to cover your MOST BASIC expenses.


In other words, when you reach this level, you can stop working and maintain a very basic lifestyle. It also means that if you continue working, all your active income can be channeled towards your investments and this will further compound your assets and increase your in-come streams.


Of course, we shouldn't be satisfied at being at this level. Once accomplished, you must then aim to go for...


Level 3: Financial Freedom
Many of us have heard of the dream of achieving financial freedom but what does it really mean?


Well, Financial Freedom is when you have through the investment of time, money and ideas, accumulated a critical amount of Positive Cash Flow Assets that generate enough passive income to sustain your CURRENT LIFESTYLE.


When you reach this level of Financial Freedom, you can choose to stop working and still maintain your current standard of living...indefinitely! Finally, you must aim to achieve...


Level 4: Financial Abundance
So what is the ultimate level of wealth you can achieve?


Financial Abundance is when you have through the investment of time, money and ideas, accumulated a critical amount of Positive Cash Flow Assets that generate enough passive income to sustain your DESIRED LIFESTYLE. Your desired lifestyle is the amount of monthly expenses it will take for you to live the life of your dreams. This is totally subjective depending on the lifestyle that you desire.


If your desired lifestyle is to live in a 20,000 square-feet bungalow with a swimming pool, send your kids to the best schools and drive a Mercedes Benz S-Class, then you could be looking at a monthly lifestyle that'll cost a cool $50,000.


Of course the more luxurious your desired lifestyle, the longer it will take for you to achieve financial abundance. The moment you reach the level of Financial Abundance, you will be able to choose to stop working and live your dream lifestyle indefinitely.


Again, most people who do reach this level usually love what they do so much that they keep on working for fun, channeling 100% of their active income towards charitable causes and further compounding their wealth.


With the right strategies and plans in place, you too will be able to achieve this ultimate level of wealth.

Improving your Trading Game

Someone left a comment for me asking where I had been and been so quiet for such a long time.  Oh well I had been trading and training hard trying to attain my goals.  It had been a journey filled with challenges.  Nevertheless, came across this articles in TFJ recently and find it may be useful for those out there reading my blog.

Issues to consider when improving your game.

1.  The effect on important others in your life
2.  Your resources
3.  Trade-offs
4.  Where to make those changes

Potential areas in which you can improve your game.

1.  Knowledge of the markets and learning technical skills
2.  Psychological skills
3.  Adding or deleting strategies
4.  Adding or deleting market
5.  Changing your level of risk
6.  Changing trading time commitment

I am in fact developing myself in the (1) and (2) area.  It's difficult and full of challenges, but I am pressing on and trying harder everyday to better myself for a brighter future in time to come. ;p

快乐少林 Samsara - The Shaolin Legacy

Received a SMS from Ruilong on 18 Jun 10 whether I am available on Saturday 19 Jun to watch Samsara - The Shaolin Legacy at The Max Pavilion @ Singapore Expo.  He won the free tickets at his workplace when MediaCrop VizPro International when to promote the event.  So we arranged to meet for lunch before proceeding to watch the show.

The Tickets

Some of the items on display for sales

Requesting for donation

The stage

The performers - General Heng and General Ha

Overall I felt the show was not really worth the price of the tickets, luckily ours was free ;p

I find the entire show rather dry and in fact seem to be rushing through the story due to the limited time they have.  The only creative thing was that the two Generals will come down from stage and interact with the audience during break time.

After the show, Ruilong and me went to SAFYC Changi to look at the Carnival by the Straits.  The moment we reached, it started to rain, so I did not take any pictures with my iphone.  Had some food from the stalls there and I took the chance to catch up with the staff there, managed to spoke to Gary, Sharon, Sunny, Rose, Alice and Mr Sim.  Also managed to catch up with some of the members who were there, such as JJ, James and Victor.  We took the transport out and had our dinner at Tampines before heading home.

Three Trading Principles

Three Trading Principles to aid in your success as a Trader.

Read this articles in June issue of TFJ and the 3 principles that can aid in anticipating and avoiding mistakes are:-

1.   Probability
Traders must train themselves to think in terms of probability for three very important reasons:-
a.   No one knows 100% whether a trade will be profitable or not.
b.   No one knows how much money will be made or lost on a trade.
c.   If a trader does not control the profit outcome and does not know with 100% certainty which trade will work, he should spend 100% of his time concentrating on the only element of trading that he can control - the risk.

2.   Self-Discipline
Discipline is a two part process:-
a.   Preparation - mental preparation, technical preparation, fundamental preparation, etc.
b.   Execution - Risk control and profit protection.

3.   Responsibility
Adopt the attitude that he is responsible for his trading.  The market, the brokers or computers are not responsible - only the trader.

Tips for Active Traders and Investors

Find this an interesting articles in the May issue of The Forex Journal (TFJ) and decided to write it down in my blog as a reminder to myself as well as for interested reader.

1.   Evaluate your trading

Record the results of your trading activities diligently.  What is your hit rate, average profit and loss?  Be honest with yourself and assess what you did right and what went wrong.  What can I learn from this?  And most importantly of all - what am I going to do about it and when am I going to do it?  For instance, if you discover that you struggle to continue trading during a losing streak, try to learn how to deal with the stress.  If that fails, maybe you should consider a system with slightly lower earnings expectations but with a higher hit rate.

2.   Do not lose your cool

The moment the market turns tense is the point at which the biggest profits are made - and the biggest losses!  It is important that you do not allow yourself to be distracted regardless of the height of the waves.  This is precisely the time you should be profiting from fluctuations and not being dragged along with the herd.  Make sure you and your trading plan are the one stable factor amidst all the chaos.

3.   Make sure you are 'fit'

Trading, especially day trading, is hard work.  Make sure that you are not distracted by other matters and that you remain relaxed but alert.  For a trader, being fit also means that his technical trading system and his expertise are up-to-date.  It is not a good idea to sit and read your order system's manual during a stock market crash.

Placing orders and trading should come as naturally to you as accelerating and braking.  Make sure you have an alternative for placing orders if your computer crashes unexpectedly.  Put simply, being a fit trader means you can implement your trading plan with confidence and without misgivings.  But do not forget, your biggest losses have yet to come!

Trading with Pivot Points

What are Pivot Points?

A Pivot Point is nothing more than a level or point where market direction changes.  Once calculated, Pivot Points can yield some important support and resistance levels to work off of.  So think of Pivot Points as markers on a map or markers on a chart.  In the case of FOREX Trading, they can be viewed as points of interest that you can use to trade from or as potential future trading opportunities.

Pivot Point Calculation

Pivot Point = (Daily High + Daily Close + Daily Low) / 3


Support 1 = 2 * Pivot Point - Daily High
Resistance 1 = 2 * Pivot Point - Daily Low

Support 2 = Pivot Point - (Resistance 1 - Support 1)

Resistance 2 = Pivot Point + (Resistance 1 - Support 1)

Pivot Point Trading Strategy

One of the easiest trading strategies is simply to see what the day may look like right at the open.  If the market opens above your calculated Pivot Point, you will want to buy.  On the flip side if the market opens below the Pivot Point, you will want to sell.  You will remain a buyer / seller as long as the market stays above / below the Pivot Point.  This is the most basic level of Pivot Point trading.

There are more strategies and methods involving trading with Pivot Point and can be easily found when you do a search on the internet.

Triangles...

ASCENDING TRIANGLE


Ascending Triangles is a bullish continuation pattern that is shaped like a right triangle consisting of two or more equal highs forming a horizontal line at the top.

DESCENDING TRIANGLE


Descending Triangles is a bearish continuation pattern indicating distribution consisting of two or more comparable lows forming a horizontal line at the bottom. Descending triangles are bearish patterns that indicate distribution. The definitive bearish signal of a descending triangle is when support on the lower rung of the triangle is broken.

SYMMETRICAL TRIANGLE


Also referred to as a coil, usually forms during a trend as a continuation pattern. It contains at least two lower highs and two higher lows. At the time these points are conjoined, the lines converge as they are extended and the symmetrical triangle takes shape. One can also think of it as a contracting wedge, wide at the beginning and narrowing over time.

EXTENDING TRIANGLE


Extending triangle does not occur frequently and is likely to be detected at tops and bottoms after lengthy price moves. Again a minimum of two tracking points for each trendline is needed before a breakout.

Determined to be a Spot Forex Dealer

I was told about this opportunity by Ruilong who had seen the advertisement in Straits Times.  We sent our resume to the email address and attended the career briefing.  Thereafter, I decided to take on the training program and learn to trade forex profitably and earn a rewarding income monthly.

I started the training program since 5 Apr 2010 and is presently going through nothing else but trading sessions, just like what the advertisement had said, Training in Forex Trading is in the Trading itself.  I have yet to reach the stage where I am profitable, but I am determined to be one day.  I also want to become one of the proprietary forex dealer for the company to trade for institutions.

For now, I am just going to concentrate and stay focus on my trading to be profitable. ;p

FOREX end-of-week update (29 Mar - 2 Apr 10)

Yet another week of negative gradient, time to stop trading LIVE and back to DEMO.  Anyway started the training program with Six Capital and should slowed down my trading frequency on this account.

Learning the six mindsets and the six steps in Spot FX trading.  Will be going through one week of lectures followed by five weeks of supervised DEMO trading before starting supervised LIVE trading for 18 weeks.  I should be able to trade profitably by the end of this 18 weeks. ;p

Trade of the Day 31 Mar 2010

Trade of the day 31 Mar 2010 - LONG EURUSD
Price break previous swing point (high) @ ~ 1.3428-1.3430, hence took a trade with protective stop at 1.3390.  Subsequently moved my SL to secure profit at 1.3500, trade still in progress. ;p

Price rise progressively before 8:00am, Sydney opening, but got rejected near resistance 1.3570 area and falls...

FOREX end-of-week update (22-26 Mar 10)

FOREX end-of-week update (15-19 Mar 10)

Another week of negative result, this is pretty discouraging seriously.  Nevertheless, after a week of tracking and tracing my each and every trade, I realised that I should have been profiting.  The reason for the loses, I would think is due to my risk-reward ratio or rather take profit.  I will be trying out a new plan, basically to take profit fast and have a Stop Lose not more than the risked percentage.  Currently I had been trading with SL but no TP set.  I will be setting TP at risk-reward ratio 1:1 this week.  When I am monitoring my trade, I would basically take profit at 5 pips, depending on the price action of course.  If the movement is strong I can afford to wait if not then 5 pips is more than enough.  A few more trades of 5 pips each could amount to hugh amount too.

Still not giving up... ;p

FOREX end-of-week update (8-12 Mar 10)

Another week of negative result, account shrinking in size again.  Profitable trades were often followed by negative trades, hence only able to minimise my losses throughout the entire week.  Watching and trading price action is not as simple and easy as it seem.  Well, nothing is simple and easy in this world.  It take alots of effort and determination to win the race.  Need to have more patience in trading and making that critical decision.

Attended a career briefing at the end of the week, a career of choice seriously.  After attending it, I do have the urge to sign up for it but it requires one to pay SGD3500 for the course and does not necessarily means employment.  You have to attend the course and show results within 18 weeks to be selected for employment.  I look at it this way, no matter employed or not, it's a skill learned and can be utilised so whether employed or not does not really matter, but since I had been jobless for such a "long" time (almost 5 months to be exact), I simply do not have so much extra cash to sign up for the course unless I have a sponsor.  I find this career to be a rewarding one and it's also one of my career of choice.  I am still considering it seriously though my biggest fall back is the SGD3500. :(

Made in Singapore!

It had been quite awhile since I last went to watch a movie.  Been missing quite a number of shows that I had wanted to watch.  The last movie I watched was "14 Blades", chinese martial art movie about imperial bodyguard who failed his mission and went on to make things "right".

Since I slept through the entire Sunday, decided to watch a couple of movies on monday.  Had my breakfast at nearby coffeeshop and went online to check the showtimes of movies I wanted to watch.  Yes I bought my laptop along to have my breakfast.  After checking the timing and duration of each show, I decided on local made movies, Happy Go Lucky, casted by Fann Wong followed by Being Human Being made by Singapore home grown director Jack Neo.  The latter actually had quite abit of scandal news lately.

Happy Go Lucky

Movie Plot - "Happy Go Lucky" seeks to tackle the issue of gambling in a light-hearted yet touching manner. Hardcore gambler, Hock Lee Poh (Richard Low) is an ardent believer of Feng Shui, but is always down on his luck. His eldest daughter Donna (Patricia Mok), though petty and calculative, spends all her time and money on lavish nightlife and hunky social escorts - till she loses everything in the end. Fu Xin (Fann Wong), Poh's illegitimate second daughter is born at an extremely inauspicious hour and thus labeled as the "jinx" of the family. However, Fu Xin actually is a surreptitious 'Lucky Star' who always manages to turn unfavourable conditions into favourable ones. Fu Xin sacrifices a lot for the family. And in a twist of fate and luck, she unexpectedly helps Poh to win a hefty sum of money. Meanwhile, Poh and Donna find themselves stranded along the streets of Cambodia in a failed attempt to recoup their losses at the gambling tables.

Though the show wasn't as good as I thought it would have been, it does have the FEEL.  It maybe touching but I did not shed a tear, hence you should know that it had not really touched my heart, but again like I say it does have that FEEL.  Will be watching the next movie, Being Human Being at four plus in the afternoon and will update in this same post of the movie...

Being Human Being

Movie Plot - "Being Human Being" touches on the unethical practices of the slimming industry. Lee plays a slimming centre owner whose unscrupulous business methods lead to a chain of consequences, notably the fact that he and his wife (played by Yeo Yann Yann) are unable to conceive a child. The cast also includes Singaporean television host Jeremy Chan, Taiwanese TV host NoNo, Tay Ying Ying, Ng Hui and features an appearance by up-and-coming artiste Mei Xin.

Definitely a better movie compared to Happy Go Lucky and also have touching scene as well as comedy.  The story line was great and it bring out the real society life, though more on the exaggerated side.  I definitely recommend my friends to watch this movie instead.

The next local production will be showing in a few weeks time, and the cast is non other than Fann's husband ;p Kidnapper, I will catch it if I can get the time...

FOREX end-of-week update (1-5 Mar 10)

Started with USD39.43 for the week and end with USD25.77. Such disappointing result but was because I hadn't been patience enough in my trades.  Had a few good trades while some were too implusive.  Targetting to end the mar with at least USD100 in my account.  Will have to be more patience to watch and monitor the price action before taking a trade and this would mean that there maybe days without trade.

If each day ends with a profit, be it 5% or even lower, I would be contented.  The most important thing is at least it's a positive and account is growing, though my daily target is 10%. 

PIPS = Patience is Profits

FOREX end-of-week Summary (22-26 Feb 10)

This week trading was a roller coaster ride seeing ups and downs and sad to say, it's mainly down.  This resulted in overall negative result for the week.  I had been abit to impatience and too quick to enter a trade before the "final" price action confirm the direction of the particular currency pair.  I have to constantly remind and keep them in my mind that I have to be patience and not too quick to decide.

Patience Is Profits (PIPS) ;p

FOREX end-of-week Summary (15-19 Feb 10)

Nice trade last week, following the trend and riding it at appropriate time.  Best trade of the day usually occur between 9pm to 1 am local time, hence I will be staying awake most night to ensure that I am able to watch the market and follow the action when appropriate.

  

Made my calculation on my excel sheet and it reveal that if everyday I meet I target, I would be able to see the end of the tunnel between June-July 2010 period.  Draft out a plan in my mind on what I will need to do to reach my goal.  Will reveal my goal in another entry when I have the time.  For the next few weeks, I will be testing my strategy again and again to ensure that I am on the right track.  At the meantime, no withdrawal from my account as I will be compounding it to ensure I meet my target and goal by the end of this year.

Resolution for year 2010 came late this year, not on 1 Jan 10 but on CNY, haha... ;p

FOREX end-of-week Summary (8-12 Feb 10)

Deposited another USD20 to make up the total sum of USD4300, the entire amount of money I had invested into FOREX.  Generally, this week had been a week of up and down, small loses but higher gains.  Still trying to understand price action and being able to ride on the right moment.  Constantly improving myself and will be analysing my trades over the weekend to see what went wrong and what went right. ;p

Wishing all readers a Happy Chinese New Year 2010 with many happy returns and a prosperous year ahead.  Most importantly, wish all best of health. ;p

FOREX end-of-week Summary (1-5 Feb 10)

Had a total of 19 trades this week which only 5 were winning trades, one of the trade in mid-week was a great trade.  Basically riding with the trend and adjusting my SL constantly as the market unfold, gained 99 pips for that trade!  Shall see more of such trade in future ;p

FOREX end-of-week Summary (25-29 Jan 10)

Extremely good result for last week, 6 out of 6 winning trades.  Trading along the trend and taking profit along the way and wait for price retracement before re-entering.  The only minus point here I felt was for the swap fees paid.  I find paying swap fees unnecessary as it reduces my total profit, though not significance but I find it not required.  Hence I might not be leaving my trades overnight in future.  Something I learnt and re-learnt is that one have to be patience and do not rush into a trade.  Losing the chance to win a trade is definitely much better in losing a trade. ;p

FOREX end-of-week Summary (18-22 Jan 10)

A rather fulfilling last week, only 1 out of 6 trades in the negative.  Continued trading based on ActionForex reported S&R, I am also training myself to spot those S&R with helps from the report.  Basically, I identify the S&R then goes to the report and check whether my identified S&R are as reported or at least near to what is reported.  I think the accuracy come with experiences and such training should be fruitful when you trade the certain currency pair constantly.  I am still trading solely EURUSD in view of the lower spread compare to most other major currency.  I search for a new broker is still ongoing, however at this moment, it had been in vain.

The reason why I am searching for another broker is not because InterbankFx had not been good for me, but more because I wanted to have a better deal as there are broker who offer lower spread than what I am getting now.  As for now, I am satisfied with InterbankFx.  InterbankFx had also been the one who have most of its regulation been put inline with the Authorities.

FOREX end-of-week Summary (11-15 Jan 10)

FOREX end-of-week Summary (4-8 Jan 10)

FOREX end-of-week Summary (21-31 Dec 09)

Last two weeks of December 2009 and seeing the market being affected greatly by the slightest news. Nevertheless, my trade was held for two weeks seeing them going from profit to losses and back to profit then to losses and finally ending the year in profit and BE. But I was not able to close the trades as I only got home after the market closed. Think will continue to hold them into the new year and see the market movement on monday before deciding to close the trade or let the profit continue to runs. ;p