1 down ... 1 to go

So, it has been a little more than a week since I posted. During that time, I have been to Atlanta and back with volleyball and celebrated the 4th with some friends. Things have been going well with trading, but I will get to that second.

First up, volleyball. The season is finally over. Thank goodness! This was one of the most disappointing seasons I have ever coached. There was rarely a practice that went by that I didn't think I was wasting my time. The girls on the team struggled to make change, and I lacked the fortitude to force them to change. As a result, we finished the year-end tournament somewhere around 41st in the nation. The same basic team last year finished 11th. There were some players added/switched to the team from the year before and the chemistry wasn't as good this year. Hopefully, the "bad seeds" can be placed on a different team next year and the team will experience more success. However, the girls on the team were really nice.

Regardless, I am glad things are over. I still haven't decided whether I want to coach again next year. The time commitment is extensive and I just don't know if my heart is in it. I will have to make that decision in a couple of months, so until then, I am not going to think about it.

Now ... on to trading.

I have really been blessed to have some great days since the last time I posted. Last Monday, I made around $200, and I followed that up on Tuesday with a personal high of $350. Because of stupid volleyball, I missed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday last week, but I called and talked to some trader friends about how the days went. They all said I would have made even more money than Monday and Tuesday because the stocks I have been trading trended really well the last part of the week. Great ... that is exactly something I wanted to hear. Just when I was starting to get on a roll, here comes volleyball getting in the way. Needless to say, I watched CNBC while in Atlanta, and was cursing at myself for having to coach rather than trade. I am over it now, but that feeling might definitely help me make my decision about whether or not to coach next year.

This week started off with a half day of trading on Monday. I came back and ended the day up about $125. Not bad considering I have been off for a while and the volume was very light. Tuesday was the 4th and the markets were closed, but today things were in full force. And I am proud to say, I achieved another personal best day today ... $590.

So what does this mean? This means that I finally dug myself out of the hole I dug when I first started back in March. The term the firm uses for this occasion is "Yahtzee." So, today, I yahtzeed. This is the first big step that a trader makes on his/her way to becoming profitable. In fact, once a trader "yahtzees", the odds of him/her "making it" in the long run increases from 30% to over 80%.

Where does this leave me? Well, I still have an enormous bill I have to pay back before I start receiving a check. Since March, I have been accumulating exchange fees, lunch fees, insurance premiums, etc. All of these I have to pay back before I get paid a dime. My monthly fees run somewhere in the neighborhood of $1100/month, so you can do the math and figure out how much more I need to make in order to really break even. Regardless, I feel good about where I am at right now. I am starting to see the big picture and hopefully can keep chipping away at all of my accumulated debt. Then, one of these days, I might even be lucky enough to get a paycheck .... oh to dream!

So, for right now .... one goal reached. The next one will be longer, but I am up for the challenge.