With the impending announcement on Wednesday of a potential interest rate increase for the first time in over seven years, there’s a lot of talk about the effects it may have on the market. What about the central bank itself? What is it exactly? …and when did it come about? Does a country even really  Continue Reading »

  For those new to trading, the concept of a mentor can easily be dismissed. You've paid for classes, read the books, and watched videos on how this trading thing works. You've got this, and don't need any further assistance. ...do you really have trading down, though? Why is it that you're barely breaking even? ...or perhaps you just can't quite get your timing down for executing options trades. Whatever the case may be, a mentor can be invaluable in helping raise your trading game to the next level and clear whatever hurdle you're currently facing. Mentors can also help with another important aspect of trading: mindset. Despite outward appearances, trading isn't easy. It can be mentally exhausting searching for good trades. It requires discipline to keep to your personal trading rules whether you're having an up day or a down day. ...and you need focus to keep the end goal in mind instead of trying to find that one improbably huge home run. In this episode, Tim and Matt discuss the important role mentors play in learning how to trade and in building the right mindset for trading. You can get lost in the details while learning the basics, and a mentor can also help you keep an eye on the big picture. The coaches also cover the seasonal impacts of Thanksgiving and Christmas on the markets.    

Finding your trading identity early is important as a trader. The type of trader you are determines the strategies that apply to you, when you trade, and even the securities themselves. Misapplying the wrong strategy to a situation that it doesn't fit can lead to disastrous drawdowns and frustration as a trader. That said, there's nothing saying you can't be a multifaceted trader or that you can't change over time. Starting out, there's nothing wrong with only embracing one style of trade to start with until you understand it completely. As mentioned above, trading strategies and systems are also important for traders to have. Systems help provide guiderails for finding trades and staying within your risk tolerance when you go on a big winning (or losing) streak. Strategies are as varied as traders themselves, but there are a few common ones such as writing covered calls to generate cashflow over time. In this episode, Jim Francis joins Tim and Matt to talk about his journey to find what kind of trader he was from Jim's early days and a costly error to the class that completely changed how he traded. The trio also covers the importance of trading systems that match the trader and the benefits of having a variety of systems and strategies to fit the situation. If you'd like to follow Jim Francis yourself, you can find him at: jimfrancisblog.com creditspreadsystem.com

  To say the market's been acting a bit strangely this year would be an understatement. Surging bulls on bad economic data, bears on improving economic data... it's a bit crazy. Looking past the surface action, though, reveals that this year's movements indicate a standoff of sorts between the markets and the Fed. With interest rates at zero, the market has been able to continue its run unimpeded. Any possible mention of interest rate hikes have been challenged by Wall Street with surges after said possible hikes haven't happened. With a robust jobs report last Friday, and non-farm payrolls up as well, there's stronger talk for actually raising interest rates in December, after all. In this episode, Tim and Matt discuss the S&P's recent run since Black Monday and what's been fueling it. They also cover why there wasn't a breakout and how to spot when the market may fadeout instead of breakout. The Fed's talk of raising interest rates, what impact that may have, and its likelihood are also covered today. Lastly, Tim and Matt take a look at how their NFL picks are doing so far this year, and one of the Justice brothers is doing rather well...

Time management is increasingly important in modern society. Utilizing your time efficiently can mean the difference between having the ability to start your own business on the side and feeling like you're always half a step behind as you watch the latest episode of a cooking reality show. Like any other skill, it can be learned with practice. If you notice you're vegitating in front of the TV while you do have energy for something else, get up and do something else. It doesn't have to be entrepreneurial related to start, either. Go for a walk or meet up with a friend and talk about what you'd love to do instead of your nine to five. As the habit builds, turn it toward taking the steps to build your ideal business bit by bit. You'll also find you have more time than you realized in other areas, too: sleeping in that half hour on the weekend, during commutes (listening to podcasts and news related to your goal on the ride); the list goes on. Taking control of your financial future bit by bit will continue to be important as time goes by, as well. Inflation is being actively sought out by central banks while wages remain stagnant. Interest rates on bonds, a former safe & secure way to earn money just by saving, is at historic lows with no change coming in the foreseeable future. Instead of waiting for that raise to come to you, seek it out and get it for yourself. In this episode, Tim and Matt discuss the importance of managing your time (and money by investing) to move to a place of independence. They also cover this week's upcoming Fed meeting and the possibility of an interest rate hike & Draghi's speech at the European Central Bank last week.  

In this episode, Tim, Matt, Gino, Noah, and Dean Beckette hold a fantasy stock pick draft league with a set of stocks picked out by Producer Phil. Tell us who you think came out on top in the comments! Noah - Covered calls & dividends strategy VZ, D, KR, DUK, PCG, GIS, QCOM, ADM, KEY, SHLD Tim - Consistent, longstanding industries and theme of picks UNP, DOW, DD, NSC, RGLD, CSX, GG, KING, SNEJF, M Dean - Cinderella underdog picks JWN, GOLD, EA, KSU, PX, NTDOY, JCP, REGEN, SEE, BMRN Matt - Low P/E ratios and good diversification ATVI, T, CNI, CPB, AEM, TXN, CAG, FSLR, VRTX, FITB Gino - Got six of the 10 he wanted from his screener analysis beforehand SWKS, MDVN, SJM, CELG, CFG, FNV, APD, ALTR, RF, MTB  

Central banks across the world held the bear markets at bay for the past several years with quantitative easing and the printing of trillions of dollars’ worth of currency, and within the US, keeping interest rates at 0% for close to a decade. Despite talk that the rate would increase earlier in September, the can  Continue Reading »

Andrew Sather is a co-founder of the Money Tree Investing podcast and the creator of the value trap indicator to aid in trading without emotion. He knows that trading emotionally is dangerous; you’ll likely go after risky trades and positions you might not otherwise. Setting your own trading rules and indicators like Andrew’s above and following them  Continue Reading »

Doug and Suzanne Belnap first got involved with trading after Doug retired in 2010. Over the following three years, they took several trading courses two mentorships. Ultimately, they committed to creating a cash-flow trading business and together they formed a General Partnership in 2010. They funded two separate trading accounts, and we traded our own accounts. Doug had been a long term investor  Continue Reading »

Caleb Light knows his stuff when it comes to finance, and he was able to show his stuff when he countered Mark Cuban’s offer on Shark Tank with an options buy-in that wouldn’t dilute his other shareholders’ position. One of the founding members of Power Practical, Caleb Light is an outdoorsman from Billings, Montana that  Continue Reading »