Bailing on the Market [0922.1999]

After one year and four months with my Web Street account, I'm withdrawing it all... $1,928.05, a stunning one hundred and twenty eight dollars and five cents more than I put in.

Well, most people lose money in the stock market, so I'm happy.. Even if Corel, the stock I've been watching almost all this time just hit $8 for the first time in years.. after I sold. Even if.

I'm not through with investing. I've still got money in two mutual funds. I fully intend to go back to wall street and whup its ass with an automated trading system. Just not today.

I think the main thing I've learned is that I suck at predicting the market. Especially when I don't watch it very often. From what I've read, though, everyone sucks at predicting the market because the market is unpredictable. That's why trend following systems excel. They react instead of predict.

So, next time around, I'll stick to trend following. Buy low, sell high, let the profits run, and cut the losses, and not let silly things like emotion tell me otherwise.

In fact, I'll be setting up a website for Monty, my day trading bot in the near future. It'll just do paper trades for a while.. Just to see how it works. I'll probably enter it in the paper trading competitions on Yahoo! and ETrade, just to show off.

Meanwhile, all that money is going to help pay my living expenses while I start turning manifestation.com into the website I've always wanted.

Anyway. Seeya, Wall Street. I'll be back.