Back In the Confessional Booth with ForexDiva, Volume 080310

Not even a week away and I can't keep my trading legs closed! So, I'm back, but have decided to take my trading much more slowly now. And I'm thinking... open relationships with all my investments. I'm also going to Switzerland in about two weeks.

My nymphomaniac trading style has taken me far, but my self-pity / personal financial sob story have not!

Today's ForexDiva Portfolio Jackpot results:

+0.70% on the standard brokerage
+2.32% on the Roth IRA (not a typo!)


Whilst I was away, I've had time to think about what it is I want to do with myself and my portfolio.

At the beginning of the year, I wrote down a whole bunch of goals I wanted to achieve this year, including:

1. Be really, really happy.
2. Live a passionate life.
3. Be financially free before I turn one and thirty.
4. Have six figures in cash or cash equivalents by EOY 2010.
5. Buy Hermes Kelly or Birkin with matching wallet and matching watch - definitely very OTT.

The rest of the stuff, you don't need to know.

At some point last week, I found myself feeling really, really overwhelmed. I had been basically jumping from one trade to another from EOY 2009 through to a good part of February 2010 non-stop. Even a nymphomaniac needs a break every once in a while. It was getting exhausting and honestly, I thought my portfolio wasn't smokin' hot anymore.

But the thing that really, really got to me was this. I looked at my personal balance sheet and for the first time in at least a decade, my liquid assets have finally surpassed my liabilities - and I wasn't any happier. And it really started sinking in. I will not have any more excuses from this point onwards. I won't be able to say to myself I'm not happy today because my finances are a mess or I can't do this because my balance sheet isn't in order or even I'm such a bimbo trader because psychologically, the debt is taking a toll on me. Do you know what I mean? Maybe not, but everyone needs an excuse once in a while, but now I don't have one.

There was no turning back, so I turned around so to speak. I decided I needed to stop this for a while and then I realised I had the power to walk away now and be carefree if I wanted to. Now that's freedom!

So why did it feel so bad? I suppose there's always that adjustment period when one chapter ends and the next begins. But this time, I can really write what I want in this next chapter, so I've got to be slightly more thoughtful!

Then there's the thing about my family and here's the thing about holding the longer end of the stick during a recession. It doesn't matter if you've been in a recession all your life. When you're getting out of one and it appears you've got it better than other people, there's always the element of guilt involved even if your so-called personal triumph was just getting out of a financial fiasco you've been in for over a decade. Is that winning? It's just getting back to zero according to my diva standards. But hopefully, the party's just getting started. I've now got a few more months to go before my liabilities are completely erased PDO style.. At the end of that period, I will have still a good five figures in liquid assets. It may not be chart-topping, but it'll definitely be a good foundation for me to work with.

Delete all thoughts on the annuities I was considering before. I'm now considering purchasing bonds for my family so that the dynamic is more balanced - as in I'll be able to, in principle, keep the principal.

My favourite trade of the past week: LEHMQ... up +37.88% to date... seriously not a typo!

Messed up on: BGCP, BX, and IPG - should have moved my stop to exit on these trades since they all turned out to be mini trendships with benefits.

BNHNA: totally got fried...

To sum it all up, my most important financial lesson of the week was past performance is really not indicative of future results. I'm now officially in an uptrend!

Put all your equestrian skills to good use with all your trendships with benefits, Happy Shiny Forex Traders!