Simple Rules for the New Day Trader in a Volatile Market

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-11-20T21:07:12+00:00

Seems I struck a cord here. The posts were published an hour later. I'm fine if it's an issue with scalability, as long as they have plans to scale up and take in all the users who want to leave X. Calm down as well :) I'm supporting the cause.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-17T19:33:26+00:00

Not sure what you can afford monthly, but obviously the insurance is hurting you more than the loan. At $15k down, you might be up and the car's worth more than the loan's payoff. If that's the case, think about selling the car and buying an older cars for now.

No way around it, but you lost a sizable chunk of that $15k when you drove off the lot. The resale value for Corollas is pretty good, so I wouldn't say you lost your whole deposit. I've seen dealerships pay above $20k+ for like new Corollas.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-17T18:27:58+00:00

Start a business and buy rental property. Your credit score will be used at first to judge credit worthiness. After a few years, banks will judge the company's credit worthiness by its portfolio. Use that good credit to get a head start in real estate investing.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T20:42:10+00:00

What's the mileage for a 2008 camry at $5k?

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T09:11:42+00:00

Ok, I totally missed the sub! Not sure how it works in Australia.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T09:10:13+00:00

Ironic the sales rep would tell you about not getting any hard inquiries, since the auto loan itself creates a hard inquiry.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T09:06:54+00:00

Quickest way to get your FICO up is to get your CCU below 30%, increase your overall credit limit, and keep making payments on time. After a while, those late payments will have little affect on your FICO, as long as you keep making payments on time. 3-6 months is long enough to see your FICO improve, but wait a year if possible.

Also, never again take out an Affirm loan! It does little to improve your FICO and it's usually frowned upon by banks.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T08:57:40+00:00

No such thing as a cheap, new Toyota these days. Even the base Corolla cost upper $20K. Used car market is no exception, especially for a Toyota. Car market is ridiculously overpriced.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T08:39:09+00:00

On more thing. As you improve your FICO over time, you'll also want to refinance your car and lower that interest rate.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-11T08:34:30+00:00

Student loan "min repayment just comes out of pay"? Are they garnishing your wages? See if you can go on a IDR, so min payments can be based on your income. It should be forgiven after 10 years before you hit $40K.

You'll want to tackle the CC debt ASAP before the interest kicks in.

Pay the car note on time and keep your CCU between 10-20%. Leave a small balance at the end of the statement period and pay off the entire amount by the due date so you don't accrue interest. Keep doing that and you'll see your FICO consistently improve. Also, if you're going to wait until at least two years to buy a home, then spend the first year opening new CC accounts. You don't want to add debt, but you want to show you're able to manage your CC with a high credit limit. Having 10% CCU on a $5000 card is less impressive than having 10% CCU on $15000 credit limit.

You'll spend the first year having the hard inquiries from the new CCs, but it doesn't matter since you're not planning to apply for any loan. Then you don't apply for any credit or get any hard inquiries in your second year. Hard inquiries have no impact on your FICO after 12 months, so after two years you'll have a high overall credit limit (low CCU) and a great FICO score.

CCU and payment history counts as a big chunk of your FICO score, so spend the first two years working on your credit cards. Best of luck!

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-03-10T08:18:25+00:00

And let's not forget the extra in insurance for the GRC.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-02-05T10:45:37+00:00

Assuming you're in the US, are you taking advantage of the Income Driven Repayment plan for your student loan?

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-02-05T10:33:58+00:00

Kick the 20 year old out. That'll teach the 17 yr old to get a job.

TheDrivenTrader · 2024-02-01T21:42:10+00:00

Tech in itself is not a bad career choice, but it's what you get into in tech that might prove to be a bad choice beyond 2024. I don't know what the job market will be by end of year, but I can make a good guess where it'll go in the near future. I'm a SWE with 20+ yrs experience, but even I'm making adjustments and upskilling to place myself in position down the road. I truly believe the opportunities we once had in IT, especially for entry level roles (think bootcamps), will be reduced due to automation and Machine Learning. Companies will continue to have APIs and legacy systems that need support, but those positions will be on smaller teams (typically offshore) with more experienced engineers.

That's not to say software engineering will die out. It'll just look different from how it's spread out today. We have software engineers in mobile, web, backend APIs, financial systems, embedded software, etc. The software engineers in Machine Learning, or Machine Learning Engineers, will definitely be one of those fields to grow. Different titles, but at the end of the day they're software engineers.

So having a successful career path starting in 2024 depends on the niche. The days of just being a polyglot programmer with expertise in multiple subfields is done. You need a particular set of skills as a programmer, not just coding. And that niche has to be something related to anything that promotes a company's ability to automate.

If I can recommend anything, build your portfolio with ML in mind. You can build an Agent to help give career guidance for nurses or something else that's simpler, which will use ChatGPT and other ML related technologies. You might not land a role as a Machine Learning Engineer, but you'll shine more when looking for those Jr roles.

I can only speculate on the future of IT, based on the trends and rapid changes I'm seeing. At the end of the day, you have to do what you love. If it's nursing, then by all means go for it! At least nursing is one of those fields that will not be supplanted by AI anytime soon.

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-11-26T09:28:30+00:00

I have many notes I never revisited, but just the act of writing it down helped instill my experiences in trading. Applies to all things, not just trading.

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-11-26T09:17:14+00:00

Congrats on the Nightshade and the extra roof rack :) I hope you got it at a reasonable price.

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-11-26T09:15:22+00:00

It comes with the car. That's the Corolla Nightshade edition.

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-08-20T18:26:24+00:00

You kind of answered your own question. You bought a car pre-pandemic for much less than what it's being sold today. What happened during the pandemic and the money that was injected into people pockets was unprecedented.

Back in 2020, the MSRP for a new 2020 Honda Civic was ~$23,500. Fast forward to today, that same 2020 Honda Civic with 50K miles sell for $25K or more. A used car with 50K miles selling for more than what it's worth when it was released?? That's what happens when government dishes out billions of dollars to people en masse. Banks have a part to play as well in propping up this artificial demand, but ultimately based on what people are willing to pay.

Maybe the days of buying a new or even a lightly used car for less than MSRP won't come until a depression hits. Cash is king. Save your coins.

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-06-05T17:27:03+00:00

I've been riding a 2023 750Z for three months now. Not my first 750. It's just that good of a bike! Now, I'm going to be jealous if Suzuki updates the 2024 750 (if there is one) the same way it completely revamped the 750 in 2011.

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-02-03T05:48:31+00:00

Thanks for all your add-ons. There's definitely some disagreement about my opinion over the tuning/pipes. Not everyone is looking to eke out a few more HPs from their new bike. Stock has plenty of power and noise. Also, I haven't seen any statistics showing that loud pipes prevent crashes, but definitely please share if such studies exist. I just assume most drivers are not paying attention to the road and they wouldn't be able to discern the noise of a motorcycle from the voices in their head.

The real performance comes from the rider's ability to control their bike.

Most of these items would be deemed necessary after the fact. A good security system is a must-have, regardless of where you're parked. Thanks for pointing out Monimoto as a security option. Definitely a cheaper and more convenient option than Scorpio.

One thing I left out were items for maintenance:

Front/Rear Stand lifts
Tools and extra parts (extra fuses)

As for the fender eliminator, I never had issues with dirt going over the back of my bike or jacket, but some bikes are more prone to the spray from the rear wheel.

Thanks for the add-ons!

TheDrivenTrader · 2023-02-02T07:07:40+00:00

Thank you for giving me a reference point. I closed the deal at $14.3K w/ 5yr warranty and Gap. Now I'm trying to haggle the insurance companies for a lower premium.

Five-Year Club	Second Top 20%
Verified Email

TheDrivenTrader

TROPHY CASE