Live Trading Day 17 - 21/12/2009

Must be careful when placing my stops, I put in an incorrect stop on a forex trade and stopped myself out. I made a profit but could have made more if the stop was placed correctly.

Open Positions:

AUD/USD -35000 0.90007 0.9121 0.9065 YES 0.8815
CORN    -1     397.82  418.25 -      YES 400

New Trades:

none

Account:

$34,006.22 $32,290.97 $1,715.25

Live Trading Day 16 - 18/12/2009

As there are only 4 more trading days til xmas I will not be entering any more trades until after the New Year. I will exit all open trades on the 23rd of December, 2 days before xmas in accordance with my trading rules.

Open Positions:

GBP/USD -17000 1.6171  1.648   -      YES 1.6162
AUD/USD -35000 0.90007 0.9121  -      YES 0.89
EUR/JPY -20000 128.97  131.793 -      YES 129.69
CORN    -1     397.82  420.25  418.25 YES 397.6

New Trades:

none

Account:

$33,958.90 30.690.29 $3,268.62

Live Trading Day 15 - 17/12/2009

Open Positions:

AUD/USD -35000 0.90007 0.9241 0.9121 YES 0.8867
COTTON   1     75.89   73.25  -      YES 75.74

New Trades:

GBP/USD -17000 1.61708 1.648   YES -525USD
EUR/JPY -20000 128.97  131.793 YES -479.91USD
CORN    -1     397.82  420.25  YES -1162.50USD

Account:

$34,321.65 $28,635.47 $5,630.48

Live Trading Day 14 - 16/12/2009

Open Positions:

AUD/USD -35000 0.90007 0.9288  0.9241 YES 0.9009
CORN     1     393.25  388.25  -      YES 410.20
OATS     1     260.75  256     257.5  YES 262.2
SOYBEAN  1     1059.5  1024.75 1036   YES 1067
WHEAT    1     546.5   520.5   -      YES 537.2
COTTON   1     75.89   73.13   73.25  YES 76.25

New Trades:

EUR/CHF     -20000 1.5064 1.5163 YES -159.20USD
SOYBEAN OIL  1     40.48  39.6   YES -528.00USD

Account:

$38.091.29 $23,681.77 $14,409.52

Live Trading Day 13 - 15/12/2009

Open Positions:

CORN    1 393.25 388.25  -   YES 407.4
OATS    1 260.75 254     256 YES 260
SOYBEAN 1 1059.5 1024.75 -   YES 1062
WHEAT   1 546.5  520.5   -   YES 536.6
COTTON  1 75.89  73.13   -   YES 74.88

New Trades:

AUD/USD -35000 0.90007 0.9288 YES -1005.55USD 

Account:

$38,255.57 $26,300.67 $11,954.90

Live Trading Day 12 - 14/12/2009

I'm not very good with paperwork and there is a lot more paper work involved in live trading than there was in paper trading. Hence I am now doing catch up paper work for the last week. Jeanette, my wife loves paper work and if it was her trading she would be up to date everyday and give reams of detailed information.

Open Positions:

CORN 1 393.25 384.75 388.25 YES 408.4
OATS 1 260.75 254    -      YES 258.6

New Trades:

SOYBEANS 1 1059.5 1024.75 YES -1737.50USD
COTTON   1 75.89  73.13   YES -1380USD

Account:

$38,977.72 $27,191.68 $11,786.04

Live Trading Day 11 - 11/12/2009

My wife told me that my posts are getting boring now because I dont comment at the begining. Well I just said something so it cant be to bad today. I would like to thank my good friend Dave Rogers for the xmas present, a book titled 'The New Market Wizards' which I will be reading tonight.



Open Positions:

GBP/USD -17000 1.6442  1.6678  1.6615 YES 1.6260
EUR/JPY -20000 130.122 133.895 -      YES 130.195
AUD/JPY -35000 80.27   82.885  -      YES 81.305
CORN     1     393.25  374.5   384.75 YES 404.4

New Trades:

OATS 1 260.75 254 YES -337.50USD

Account:

$39,100.95 $34,708.50 $4,392.39

Live Trading Day 10 - 10/12/2009

Open Positions:

GBP/USD -17000 1.6442  1.6683  1.6678 YES 1.628
EUR/JPY -20000 130.122 133.895 -      YES 129.925
AUD/JPY -35000 80.27   82.885  -      YES 80.885
WHEAT   -1     566.5   557.5   -      YES 537

New Trades:

CORN 1 393.25 374.5 YES -932.50USD

Account:

$37,811.88 $34,976.87 $2835.01

Live Trading Day 9 - 9/12/2009

Open Positions:

GBP/USD -17000 1.6442  1.6683  -       YES 1.6262
AUD/USD -35000 0.9154  0.9282  -       YES 0.9087
EUR/JPY -20000 130.122 134.4   133.895 YES 129.4
AUD/JPY -35000 80.27   82.935  82.885  YES 79.855
NZD/USD -35000 0.7187  0.7288  -       YES 0.7187
CORN    -1     398.750 401.25  398.5   YES 383.4
WHEAT   -1     566.5   562.75  557.5   YES 535.2

New Trades:

none

Account:

$39,302.76  $32,775.98  $6,526.78

Live Trading Day 8

Open Positions:

GBP/USD -17000 1.6442 1.6856 1.6683 YES 1.6286
AUD/USD -35000 0.9154 0.9379 0.9282 YES 0.9037
NZD/USD -35000 0.7148 0.7363 0.7288 YES 0.707
CORN    -1     398.75 401.25 401.25 YES 385
WHEAT   -1     566.5  572.75 562.75 YES 539.6

New Trades:

EUR/JPY -20000 130.122 134.4 YES -725.90USD
AUD/JPY -35000 80.27   82.935 YES -792.54USD

Account:

$40,488.49 $32,528.98 $7,959.51

Live Trading Day 7

There was an entry signal for a long trade on Soybeans today however I had to pass on this trade as the risk on the stop loss exceeds the 5% risk as set in my trading rules. However there were three other trades with entry signals that I could take.

Open Positions:

AUD/USD  -35,000  0.9154  0.9398  0.9379  YES  0.9126
Corn     -1       398.75  408.5   401.25  YES  383.6
Wheat    -1       566.5   586.25  572.75  YES  548

New Trades:

GBP/USD  -17,000  1.6442  1.6856  YES  -541.25USD
NZD/USD  -35,000  0.7148  0.7363  YES  -1309.00USD
Cotton    1       pending 72.15   YES  -1270.00USD       

Account:

$38,665.38  $32,319.34  $6,346.04

Live Trading Day 6

One week into live trading and my mantra is still follow the rules and you cant go wrong. A good friend and mentor of mine recently suggested that I combine one of my passions with my trading, the passion being cooking. Something along the lines of the Share Market Chef or the Trading Cook. Apart from the name there is also, along what lines can I combine the two? If you have any suggestions for me please leave a comment I would love to hear them. My other blog can be found here. Its not very pretty yet as it is still a work in progress.

Open Positions:

Corn   -1  398.75  421.75 408.5   YES  388.4
Wheat  -1  566.5   598    586.25  YES  558

New Trades:

AUD/USD -35,000  0.91535  0.9398  YES  -855.75USD

Account:

$38,331.35  $34,114.52  $4,217.72

Live Trading Day 5

I feel like I am settling in well to trading live, I am following my rules and everything is going according to plan. I mentioned to my wife this morning that I much prefer trading during non daylight savings time in Australia when the data comes in between 7:15 am and 9:15 am. rather than closer to lunchtime.

I am hoping that soon I will be interviewing other traders and putting their comments on this blog for you to read. We are having a traders club meeting this weekend with plenty of guest speakers so I am hoping that they will agree to be interviewed for you. If their are any questions you would like answers to then let me know and I will put them to the experts.

Open Positions:

nil

New Trades:

EUR/USD  20000  1.50568 1.4806  YES  501.6
USD/CHF -25000  1.00015 1.0188  YES  513.45
Corn    -1      398.75  421.75  YES  1150
Wheat   -1      566.5   598     YES  1575

Account:

38,293.78 32,586.94 5706.84

Live Trading Day 4

Had a long training session for commodities and Forex this morning on reversing orders and exiting trades and how to trade livestock on two different exchanges. Hope I get full marks from my mentors.

Open Positions:

Wheat     1      584     549.25  549.25  Yes  576

New Trades:
none

Account (AUD):

39,056.80 36,491.49 2,567.31

Live Trading Day 3

Still getting used to this new method of recording.

Open Positions:

GBP/USD  -17000  1.6532  1.6842  1.6842  Yes  1.6612
Corn      1      413.25  388     388     Yes  414.4
Wheat     1      584     549.25  549.25  Yes  584

New Trades:

None

Account (AUD):

39491.93  34571.18  4,920.75

Live Trading Day 2

The butterflies are starting to flutter away and I am setting into business.

Open Positions:

GBP/USD  -17000  1.6532  1.6887  1.6842  Yes  1.6441
Corn      1      413.25  386.75  388     Yes  417.4

New Trades:

Wheat     1      584     549.25  YES -1,737.5USD

Account (AUD):

40,181.01  35,217.90  4,963.10

Live Trading Day 1

Well after four months and not a few butterflies I am finally live trading. Because my initial deposit in my trading account was $5,000 I was only able to take two trades today but we have transfered the balance of $35,000 to the trading account and hopefully it will be there tomorrow for me to start trading with. I have a new format for recording based on the training I have received from Lifestyle Investor Services. See the Trading Diary Recording Format for an explanation.

OPEN POSITIONS:
none

NEW TRADES:

GBP/USD  -17000 1.6532 1.6887 Yes -656.20USD
Mar Corn  1     413.25 386.75 Yes -1325USD

ACCOUNT (AUD):

4941.14 2,548.05 2,393.09

Final Paper Trading Post

This is my final post before going live. I havent been posting the last week because I have not entered any new trades because of the Thanksgiving holidays and I have exited my last trade on the 20th of Nov. These are the results I have obtained from using Lifestyle trader over 90 trading days.

I started with an account of $85,000 made up of what the margin would be if I had a trade on all forex, all grains, all livestock and all softs. I have ended with a total of $109,110.80. I made a profit on Commodities of $12,315.75 and a profit on Forex of $11,795.05 a total profit of $24,110.80 an increase of 28.36%.

I stress the fact that this was just on paper, NO REAL MONEY changed hands. I am now going to start trading live with an account of AUD$40,000 about USD$36,000, just short of enough to trade forex. However what I will be doing to start with is trading mini forex, grains and softs. The margin I require to do this is USD$29,000 for grains and softs and USD$7,266.44 for mini forex at total margin of USD$36,266.44. When my account is large enough to allow I will start trading full forex contracts.

I have a dose of the butterflies at the moment but if I stick to the rules I know that from the results I have received while paper trading that I will make money.

I would like to thank Aussie Rob and the team at Lifestyle Trader for the excellent training they have provide. I would also like to thank the people who have followed this blog and sent me comments. I will continue to use this blog as a trading diary and hopefully it will become a forum for traders to comment on and for others to see what the Lifestyle Trader software really can do with the right training and the right mentality.

Paper Trading Day 85 of 90

Thanksgiving day looming and a sharp downturn in just about everything has prompted me to believe that there may be a good reason why Lifestyle Trader suggests that you exit all trades two days before a major US Holiday, So I will be exiting all open trades on monday 23rd Nov and I won't be entering any new trades before thanksgiving on the 25th Nov.

FOREX:

Three of my open trades have gone in the wrong direction 2 days in a row so I have exited them:

• a short trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen taking a lose of $301
• a long trade on British Pound / US Dollar taking a lose of $1,090
• a long trade on Australian Dollar / US Dollar taking a lose of $1,005

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 EUR / GBP  Short      .8904        .8934         -$564

Profit on Open trades is currently -$564 and profit on closed trades is currently $12,800.85 a total of $12,236.85 an increase on my original account of 33.07%.

COMMODITIES:

No new trades and no exits today.

Current trades are:

 Commodity     Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Corn          Long       408          413            $280
 Soybean Oil   Long       38.73        40.18          $870
 Wheat         Long       550.75       588            $1,862.50
 Lean Hogs     Long       56.3         64.225         $3,170
 Orange Juice  Short      112.75       112.85        -$15

Profit on open trades is currently $6,167.50 while profit on closed trades is $$9,948.75 a total of $16,016.25 an increase on my original account of 33.37%.

Paper Trading Day 84 of 90

Six more days of paper trading before I go live. I am both excited and a little nervous at the same time. I can see the results I have on paper and that excites me but I am not and never have been much of a gambler so I am a little nervous about using real money.

FOREX:

No exits and no new trades today.

Current trades are:

  Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
  USD / JPY  Short      88.985       89.263        -$236.30
  GBP / USD  Long       1.684        1.6812        -$280
  AUD / USD  Long       .9368        .9307         -$605
  EUR / GBP  Short      .8904        .8849          $1,034

Profit on open trades is currently -$87.30 while profit on closed trades is $15,197.60 a total of $15,110.30 an increase on my original account of 40.84%.

COMMODITIES:

I entered one new trade today a long trade on lean hogs.

Current trades are:

 Commodity    Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Corn         Long       408          417.4          $470
 Soybean Oil  Long       38.73        40.24          $906
 Wheat        Long       550.75       596.4          $2,282.50
 Lean Hogs    Long                                             (buy order pending)
 Orange Juice Short      112.75       112.4          $52.50

Profit on open trades is currently $3,711 and profit on closed trades is $9,848.75 a total of $13,559.75 an increase on my original account of 28.25%.

Paper Trading Day 83 of 90

Today I did my lesson 1 of sessions training. Easy, install the software, take a screen shot and send it back. did that 2 weeks ago but anyway its done now.

FOREX:

I closed one trade today a long trade on US Dollar Japanese Yen taking a lose of $1,066.75. Flip side is that the weekly chart has changed direction so I have entered a short trade on the same pair. I also entered three other pairs.

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 USD / JPY  Short      88.985       88.985
 GBP / USD  Long       1.6840       1.6840
 AUD / USD  Long       .93675       .93675
 EUR / GBP  Short      .8904        .8904

Profit on closed trades is currently $15,197.60 an increase on my original account of 41.07%.

COMMODITIES:

I entered one new trade today a short trade on Orange Juice.

Current trades are:

 Commodity     Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Corn          Long       408          417.4          $470
 Soybean Oil   Long       38.73        40.18          $870
 Wheat         Long       550.75       583.6          $1642.50
 Orange Juice  Short                                           (buy order pending)

Profit on open trades is currently $2,982.50 while profit on closed trades is $9,848.75 a total of $12,831.25 an increase on my original account of 26.73%.

Bloggers editor has decided to go on holidays again today so the formatting is out again.

Paper Trading Day 81 of 90

Getting pretty slack here I nearly didn't write anything at all here. Though this isn't much anyway.

FOREX:

I exited two trades that went the wrong way two days in a row:

• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc making a profit of $64
• a long trade on Australian Dollar / US Dollar taking a lose of $505

I entered one new trade today a long trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen.

Current trades are:

Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
USD / JPY  Long       90.295       90.295

Profit on closed trades is currently $16,264.00 an increase on my original account of 43.96%.

COMMODITIES:

No exits and no new trades today.

Current trades are:

 Commodity    Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Corn         Long       408          405.6         -$120
 Oats         Long       277.75       282.4          $232.50
 Soybean Oil  Long       38.73        38.79          $36
 Wheat        Long       550.75       552.2          $72.5
 Cotton       Long       72.93        71.07         -$930

Profit on open trades is currently -$709.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $11,736.25 a total of $11,027.25 an increase on my original account of 22.97%..

Paper Trading Day 80 of 90

I have been going to a lot of personal development seminars over the last few years and the thing I am picking up the most is to follow what you are passionate about. One of the things I am most passionate about is food and drink and entertaining friends, but more importantly food prepared with fresh ingredients. With this in mind I am starting a new blog where I will share some of my own recipes and experiences with cooking and entertaining. If you like to eat good food, share a nice bottle of wine or kick back and have a few brews after a hard hot day at work then please follow my new blog at http://myfreshkitchen.blogspot.com

FOREX:

Today I closed two trades that have both gone the wrong direction two days in a row they are:

• a long trade on Euro / US Dollar making a profit of $1,210.00
• along trade on British Pound / US Dollar making a profit of $40.00

there were no new trades that fall within my trading rules.

Current trades are:

Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
USD / CHF  Short      1.0174       1.0079         $760
AUD / USD  Long       .93          .93

Profit on open trades is currently $765.00 and profit on closed trades is $16,705.35 a total of $17,470.35 an increase on my original account of 47.22%.

COMMODITIES:

I entered three new trades today all of them grains:

• a long trade on Corn
• a long trade on Soybean Oil
• a long trade on Wheat

Current trades are:

Commodity    Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
Corn         Long       408          408
Oats         Long       277.75       280            $112.50
Soybean Oil  Long       38.73        38.73
Wheat        Long       560.75       560.75
Cotton       Long       72.93        71.07         -$930

Profit on open trades is currently -$817.50 and profit on closed trades is currently $11,736.25 a total of $10,918.75 an increase on my original account of 22.75%.

Paper Trading Day 79 of 90

I installed the latest version of ARLT on saturday and because it now has 2 new currency pairs I also had to download the latest trading spreadsheets. Now that I have the new spreadsheets updated with current trades I can start reporting again.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today:

• a short trade on Euro / British Pound taking a lose of $347.80
• a long trade on Australian Dollar / Japanese Yen taking a lose of $89.95

There were no new trades reported by Lifestyle Trader.

Current trades are:

Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
EUR / USD  Long       1.4864       1.4993         $1,290
GBP / USD  Long       1.6581       1.6745         $1,655
USD / CHF  Short      1.0174       1.0075         $792
AUD / USD  Long       .93          .9306          $65

Profit on open trades is currently $3,802.00 and profit on closed trades is $15,455.35 a total of $19,257.35 an increase on my original account of 52.05%.

COMMODITIES:

I entered two new trades today being the only open commodity trades I have.

Current trades are:

Commodity  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
Oats       Long       277.75       277.75
Cotton     Long                                       (buy order pending)

Profit on closed trades is currently $11,736.25 an increase on my original account of 24.45%.

Paper Trading Day 76 of 90

I thought I had booked in to start the sessions training this week but it looks I didn't complete the registration and so now I am booked in to start on the 16th of November.

FOREX:

I entered one new trade today a long trade on British Pound / US Dollar.

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
EUR / USD  Long       1.4864       1.4873         $90
GBP / USD  Long       1.6581       1.6581
USD / CHF  Short      1.0174       1.0161         $100

Profit on open trades is currently $190 and profit on closed trades is $15,892.40 a total of $16,082.40 an increase on my original account of 43.47%.

COMMODITIES:

I closed two trades today:

• a long trade on Corn taking a lose of $300
• a long trade on Soybean Meal taking a lose of $1230

I also received an exit signal for a long trade on Lean Hogs.

Current trades are:

Commodity    Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
Oats         Long       260.5        255.6         -$245
Soybean Oil  Long       37.3         37.18         -$72
Wheat        Long       515.5        512           -$175
Lean Hogs    Long       54.8         56.6           $720 (sell order pending)
Coffee       Long       141.75       142.1          $131.25

Profit on open trades is currently $359.25 and profit on closed trades is $13,205.50 a total of $13,564.75 an increase on my original account of 28.26%.

Paper Trading Day 75 of 90

Very tired today due to lack of sleep. Planning a trip for twelve couples to Bali in April next year and couldn't sleep last night thinking about it. Details will be posted here within the next couple of days.

FOREX:

I entered two new trades today, so current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price P/L
 EUR / USD  Long       1.4864
 USD / CHF  Short      1.0174

Profit on closed trades continues to be $15,892.40 an increase of 42.95% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

I entered one new trade today, a long trade on Soybean Oil.

Current trades are:

 Commodity     Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Corn          Long       381.25       384            $137.50
 Oats          Long       260.5        258           -$125
 Soybean Meal  Long       303.4        301.6         -$180
 Soybean Oil   Long       37.3
 Wheat         Long       515.5        521            $275
 Lean Hogs     Long       54.8         57.8           $1,200
 Coffee        Long       141.75       140.75        -$375

Profit on open trades is currently $932.50 and profit on closed trades is $14,735.50 a total of $15,668.00 an increase on my original account of
32.64%.

Paper Trading Day 74 of 90

A friend of mine who I visited today told me about a seminar he had just been to about book writing as my friend has just finished writing a book. He told me about a gentleman that he met there who had written a book about how you can make one million dollars in eighty days trading forex starting with an account of just one thousand dollars and if you wait another forty days or so you can turn it into a billion dollars and in less than a year one trillion dollars. If this is so I wonder has the author tested this or is it just theory. Lifestyle Trader suggests that you paper trade for ninety days just to make sure you are comfortable that the system does work before you risk any money. I for one would rather see the proof from testing the system rather than chasing what looks to me to be a get rich quick scheme.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today:

• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc taking a lose of $152
• a short trade on Euro / Swiss Franc taking a lose of $128

no new trades and no open trades.

profit on closed trades is currently $15,892.40 an increase on my original account of 42.95%.

COMMODITIES:

No exits and no new entries signals today.

Current trades are:

 Commodity     Direction  Entry Price Current Price P/L
 Corn          Long       381.25      390           $437.5
 Oats          Long       260.5       257          -$175
 Soybean Meal  Long       303.4       306.4         $300
 Wheat         Long       515.5       515.6         $5
 Lean Hogs     Long       54.8        57.55         $1,100
 Coffee        Long       141.75      141.1        -$243.75

Profit on open trades is currently $1,423.75 and profit on closed trades is currently $14,735.50 a total of $16,159.25 an increase on my original account of 33.67%.

Paper Trading Day 73 of 90

It's Melbourne Cup Day today.

FOREX:

I closed one trade today a long trade on British Pound / US Dollar taking a lose of $1,685.00.

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 USD / CHF  Short      1.0217
 EUR / CHF  Short      1.5096       1.5099        -$24

Profit on open trades is currently - $24 and profit on closed trades is currently $16,172.40 a total of $16,148.40 an increase on my original account of 43.64%.

COMMODITIES:

I entered four new trades today:

• a long trade on Corn
• a long trade on Soybean Meal
• a long trade on Wheat
• a long trade on Coffee

Current trades are:

 Commodity     Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Corn          Long       381.25       381.25
 Oats          Long       260.5        254.2         -$315
 Soybean Meal  Long       303.4        303.4
 Wheat         Long       515.5        515.5
 Lean Hogs     Long       54.8         57.725         $1,170
 Coffee        Long                                          (buy order pending)

Profit on open trades is currently $855.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $14,735.50 a total profit of $15,590.50 an increase on my original account of 32.48%.

Paper Trading Day 71 of 90

Today I placed my first simulated trade using the trading platform, two infact.

FOREX:

I closed a long trade on Euro / Swiss Franc today taking a lose of $320.

Lifestyle Tradere gave an entry signal for a long trade on British Pound / US Dollar.

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 GBP / USD  Long       1.6564       1.6564         0

Profit on closed trades is $17,857.40 an increase on my original account of 48.26%.

COMMODITIES:

Lifestyle Trader reported an entry signal for a long trade on Oats

Current trades are:

 Commodity  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Oats       Long       260.5        260.5          0
 Lean Hogs  Long       54.8         57.2           960.00

Profit on open trades is currently $960.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $14,735.50 a total of 15,695.50 an increase on my original account of 32.7%.

Paper Trading Day 70 of 90

Good morning traders a very quite day today. Lets hope the action picks up soon.

FOREX:

my long trade on Euro / Swiss Franc has gone in the wrong direction two days in a row so I will exit that trade tomorrow. No new acceptable trades were reported by lifestyle Trader today.

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L 
 EUR / CHF  Long       1.5146       1.5104        -$336.00 (sell order pending)

Profit on open trades is currently -$336.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $18,177.40 a total profit of $17,841.40 an increase on my original account of 48.22%.

COMMODITIES:

No new trades no exits today.

Current trades are:

 Commodity  Direction  Entry Price Current Price  P/L
 Lean Hogs  Long       54.8        55.95   $460.00

profit on open trades is currently $460.00 and profit on closed trades is $14,735.50 a total profit of $15,195.50 an increase on my original account of 31.66%.

Paper Trading Day 69 of 90

Can someone please convince google to put a better editor in here so that when I format the text it stays formatted. Perhaps once I start making money from trading I will move over to a self hosted wordpress blog.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today;

• a long trade on Euro /US Dollar making a profit of $1,600.00
• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc making a profit of $696.00

There were no new acceptable entry signals and no exit signals

Current trades are:

 Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 EUR / CHF  Long       1.5146       1.5128        -$144.00

Profit on open trades is currently -$144.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $18,177.40 a total of $18,033.40 an increase of 48.74% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

I closed three trades today;

• a long trade on Soybean Meal taking a lose of $1,050.00
• a long trade on Wheat making a profit of $150.00
• a long trade on Cotton taking a lose of $520.00

Lifestyle Trader reported one entry signal that is acceptable to my trading rules, a long trade on Lean Hogs.

Current trades are:

 Commodity  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Lean Hogs  Long                                        (buy order pending)

Profit on open trades is currently $0 and profit on closed trades is currently $14,735.00 an increase on my original account of 30.7%.

Paper Trading Day 68 of 90

I now have the Trader Workstation software installed and running on my computer and I am now starting the sessions training in order to learn how to use it. Looks like a lot of fun and now I have to keep a more detailed diary of what I am doing. Part of this is creating a trading strategy which I have also posted on this blog.

Thanks for your comments Leon it is good to know that someone is getting some value out of reading my blog.

FOREX:

I closed one trade today a long trade on Australian Dollar / US Dollar taking a profit of $2,960.00.

Lifestyle Trader signaled exits for two trades today;

• a long trade on Euro / US Dollar
• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc

and an entry signal for a long trade on Euro / Swiss Franc

Current Trades are:

Curr Pair  Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
EUR/USD    Long       1.4717       1.4877         $1,600.00 (sell order pending)
USD/CHF    Short      1.0268       1.0181         $696.00   (buy order pending)
EUR/CHF    Long                                             (buy order pending)

Profit on open trades is currently $2,296.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $15,881.40 a total of $18,177.40 an increase on my original account of 49.13%

COMMODITIES:

I was stopped out of a long trade on corn today taking a lose of $480. Lifestyle Trader signalled exits for a long trade on cotton. The following two trades have gone in the wrong direction two days in a row;

• a long trade on Soybean Meal
• a long trade on Wheat

Current Trades are:

 Commodity     Direction  Entry Price  Current Price  P/L
 Soybean Meal  Long       305.0        294.8         -$1,020.00 (sell order pending)
 Wheat         Long       521.0        527.0          $300.00   (sell order pending)
 Cotton        Long        68.45        67.41        -$520      (sell order pending)

Profit on open trades is currently -$1,240 and profit on closed trades is currently $16,155.50 a total profit of $14,915.50 an increase on my original account of 31.07%.

My Trading Strategy

What I trade

• All Forex
• All Grains
• All Livestock
• All Softs except Cocoa

Entry / Exit Rules

• I get in on the daily chart cross (correct angles) if the weekly chart is trending in the same direction
• I exit on a cross or when the trade has gone in the wrong direction two days in a row

My Stops Are

• 2 x 10 day ATR for Commodities
• 2 x 5 day ATR for Forex

My Maximum Risk per Trade

• 5% of my account

Monthly Target

• 5% per month increase on my account

Statements About My Trading

• I take every trade that satisfies my rules. I check that I am not risking too much on any one trade and if I am I don't take the trade
• I am patient with my trading education and know that I can't learn everything overnight
• I am responsible for ALL my trades
• I will not trade when I feel angry or pressured about external factors not related to trading

Additional Notes

• I make sure I have peace and quite when I trade
• I only open the platform once daily
• I'll simulate for a month before trading a new strategy

Trading Diary

• I will continue to use my blog as my trading diary
  

Paper Trading Day 66 of 90

I now have my account to use the live trading simulator so I will be installing that today and hopefully I will be able to start using it tomorrow.

FOREX:

Same as yesterday nothing new. Profit on open trades is now $8,526.00 and profit on closed trades is $12,921.40 a total of $21,447.40 an increase of 57.97% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

All open trades are doing well. Lifestyle Trader showed an exit signal for a long trade on Coffee today and two new entry signals;

• a long trade on Soybean Meal
• a long trade on Cotton

Profit on open trades is currently $7,841.25 and profit on closed trades is $11,964.25 a total of $19,805.50 an increase of 41.26% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 65 of 90

This is all starting to become a little routine now and even when the my profits drop one day I am not bothered by it as I know they will probably go back up again the next as they did today.

FOREX:

Nothing new here again today. Profit on open trades is currently $8,484.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $12,921.40 a total of $21,405.40 an increase on my original account of 57.85%.

COMMODITIES:

I closed a long trade on Cotton today making a profit of $1,920.00 and opening three new trades that all went well. There were no new entry or exit signals from Lifestyle Trader.

Profit on open trades is currently $7,305.00 and profit on closed trades is $11,964.25 a total of $19,269.25 an increase on my original account of 40.14%.

Paper Trading Day 64 of 90

Not much to report again today.

FOREX:

No exit signals today and no entry signals. Profit on open trades is currently $6,786.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $12,921.40 a total of $19,707.40 an increase on my original account of 53.26%.

COMMODITIES:

There were three conservative entry signals from Lifestyle trader today;

• a long trade on Corn
• a long trade on Oats
• a long trade on Wheat

There was also an exit signal for a long trade on Cotton.

Profit on open trades is currently $6422.50 and profit on closed trades is currently $10,044.25 a total of $16,466.75 an increase on my original account of 34.31%.

Paper Trading Day 63 0f 90

The sun has finally arrived in Melbourne and along with it the winds of the western deserts.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today;

• a short trade on US Dollar / Canadian Dollar taking a profit of $2,741.20
• a short trade on Euro / Swiss Franc with a lose of $200

There were no new entry or exit signals reported by Lifestyle Trader.

Profit on Open Trades is currently $7,534.00 and profit on closed trades is currently $12,921.40 a total of $20,455.40 which is an increase on my original account of 55.28%.

COMMODITIES:

I closed one trade today, a long trade on Corn with a profit of $610. There were no new entry or exit signals.

Profit on open trades is currently $6,961.25 and profit on closed trades is currently $10,044.25 a total of $17,005.50 an increase on my original account of 35.43%.

Paper Trading Day 62 of 90

My wife pointed out that there were a lot of grammatical errors in yesterdays blog and wanted to know why as I usually dont have any. I generally proof read twice and yesterday I didn't proof read at all because I was running a little bit late and wanted to get on to other matters.

FOREX:

There are no new entry or exit signals today. I have two trades that have gone in the wrong direction two days running so will I will close them tomorrow;

• a short trade on US Dollar / Canadian Dollar
• a short trade on Euro / Swiss Franc

Profit on open trades is currently $7,775.40 and profit on closed trades is currently $10,380.20 a total profit of $18,155.60 an increase on my original account of 49.07%.

COMMODITIES:

Lifestyle Trader gave an exit signal for a long trade on Corn today and there are no new entry signals.

Profit on open trades is currently $7,706.25 and profit on closed trades is currently $9.434.25 a total of $17,140.50 an increase on my original account of 35.71%.

Paper Trading Day 61 of 90

Onto the back 9 as it were or on the home stretch depending on your choice of sport.

FOREX:

Big increases followed by big drops. Closed a short trade on British Pound / US Dollar taking a lose of $1,800 and I was stopped out of a long trade on Euro / British Pound with a lose of $696/60. Seems like the British Pound may be making a come back with entry signal for both the previous pairs to enter trades in the oposite direction however the weekly chart is still in the same direction so I will be cautious and wait til both are right.

Profit on open trades is currently $9,315.30 and profit on closed trades is now $10,380 a total of $19,695 an increase of 53.23% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

Down a klittle her as well. nothing closed and no new conservative entry signals.

Profit on open trades is $5,558.75 and profit on closed trades is $9,434.25 a tota lof $14,993.00 an increase of 31.24% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 60 of 90

two thirds of the way through my paper trading apprenticeship today and a good day to review how it is going.

FOREX:

My short trade onBritish Pound / US Dollar today has traded the wrong direction two days in a row which is both days that I have been in the trade and while it hasn't hit the stop point I am going to exit from it. Lifestyle Trader showed an entry signal for a short trade on Euro / Swiss Franc.

Profit on open trades is currently $10,586.70 and profit on closed trades is $12,875.80 a for a total profit of $23,472.50 an increase of 63.44%.

30 trading days ago things were not looking so good as they are now. Closed trades were down by nearly $5000 and in the last 30 days they have reversed by nearly $18,000 a figure attributable to the fall in the British Pound and the US Dollar not fluctuating quite so much.

30 trading days ago I said that I would keep an extra set of records that just traded the currency pairs that did not have the US Dollar in them and while I haven't been showing the results in this blog I have kept recording on it and the figures after just as amazing. I have one open trade at the moment a Long trade on Euro / British Pound and an order in for a short trade on Euro / Swiss Franc. Profit on Open trades is $2,857.90 and profit on closed trades is $10,689.15 a total profit of $13,546.75 an increase of 36.61% in just 30 days of trading four non US Dollar currency pairs.

And the good news is that a new version of Lifestyle trader is due to be released soon that has two extra currency pairs with another non US Dollar Pair, Australian Dollar / Japanese Yen, can't wait for that.

COMMODITIES:

Very little to report here again no exits and no signals. Profit on open trades is currently $6,341.25 and profit on closed trades is $9,434.25 for a total profit of $15,775.50 an increase of 32.87% on my original account.

While the difference between now and 30 days ago seems to be in my good there has been a lot happening in between. Profits soured for the first half of those 30 days to a point where I had an increase of 48.61%. So what has happened here?

I have heard that October is a notoriously bad time to trade and in fact all the great market crashes have occured in October and just in the last two weeks profits on my closed trades has dropped by 1/3.

A few weeks ago I made the decision to take a conservative approach with my trading as a result of my seemingly bad record with forex trading, i.e. if the daily trend is not in the same direction as the weekly trend then dont take the trade. This seems to be working well with forex but could it be hampering my progress with commodities. At the moment I only have three open trades out of a possible fourteen in the sectors I have chosen to trade in (grains, livestock and softs). And while all three of these trades are currently doing well. I have had quite a few recently that have not done so well.

I think it would be a bad time to start experimenting it being October, so I will continue taking the conservative approach for now and see how things go after October has ended. It certainly has been interesting to see what has happened so far this month.

All said and done though when looking at the total figures with both forex and commodities combined. With a total starting figure of $85,000 and a current balance of $124,248. Nearly $40,000 in profits that is a staggering increase of 46.17% in just 60 days of trading.

Paper Trading Day 59 of 90

A cold wet start to the day again today with more rain predicted hopefully we will get more water in the dams from it.

FOREX:

Not much to report here today, I closed a short trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen taking a lose of $261.80. There were no new entry or exit signals.

Profit on open trades is currently $8,240.10 and profit on closed trades is $12,875.80 a total profit of $21,115.90 an increase on my original account of 57.07%.

COMMODITIES:

Same here, I closed a long trade on Cocoa taking a lose of $1,510. There were no new entry or exit signals.

Profit on open trades is currently $5,371.25 and profit on closed trades is currently $9,434.25 a total profit of $14,805.50 an increase of 30.84% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 58 of 90

Daylight savings has ended in the USA and begun in parts of Australia so we now have data arriving from 9:15 am for forex and 11:15 am for commodities so my posts will be a little later over the summer.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today;

• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc with a profit of $48
• a short trade on Euro / Japanese Yen with a lose of $1,315.80

Lifestyle Trader had an exit signal for a short trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen and entry signals for;

• a short trade on British Pound / US Dollar
• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc

profit on open trades is currently $8,004.70 and profit on closed trades is currently $13,137.60 a total profit of $21,142.30 an increase on my original account of 57.14%.

COMMODITIES:

Nothing closed and no new acceptable entry signals, one exit signal for Cocoa at a lose again, three other open trades are all doing well.

Profit on open trades is currently $2,861.25 while profit on closed trades is $10,944.25 a total profit of $13,805.50 an increase of 28.76% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 57 of 90

Another week ends but I still have lots of work to do before I rest.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today;

• a short trade on British Pound / US Dollar with a lose of $1580
• a short trade on British Pound / Japanese Yen with a profit of $493

Lifestyle Trader had two exit signals today;

• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc
• a short trade on Euro /Japanese Yen

Profit on open trades is currently $3,915.50 and profit on closed trades is $14,405.40 a total $18,320.90 an increase of 49.52% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

I closed two trades today;

• a short trade on Feeder Cattle with a profit of $1300
• a short trade on Live Cattle wit ha profit of $190

No entry or exit signals, profit on open trades is currently $1,931.25 and profit on closed trades is $10,944.25 a total of $12,875.50 an increase of 26.82% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 56 of 90

I missed the last two days as I have been extremely busy, I have however continued my paper trading so her we are at day 56.

FOREX:

I currently have 9 open trades with an exit signal for short trade on British Pound / US Dollar and a short trade on British Pound / Japanese Yen has gone in the wrong direction two days in a row so I will exit that trade as well.

Profit on open trades is currently $3,989.02 and closed trades is currently $15,492.40 a total profit of $19,481.42 an increase of 52.86% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

I exited from one trade today a short trade on Soybeans taking a lose of $300. Lifestyle Trader signaled an exit on a short trade for Live Cattle and Feeder Cattle have gone in the wrong direction two daysd in a row. There is also an entry signal for a long trade on Cotton.

Profit on Open trades is currently $4,610.00 and profit on closed trades is $9,454.25 a total profit of $14,064.25 an increase of 29.3% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 53 of 90

A brand new week full of opportunities.

FOREX:

I closed one trade today a long trade on Australian Dollar / US Dollar taking a loss of $1,620.00. Lifestyle Trader had entry signqals for four trades;

• a short trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen
• a short trade on US Dollar / Swiss Franc
• a long trade on Euro / British Pound
• a short trade on British Pound / Japanese Yen

my short trade on Euro / Japanese Yen has gone in the wrong direction two days in a row so I will exit it tomorrow.

profit on open trades is currently $2,265.40 while profit on closed trades is $13,173.60 a total profit of $15,439.00 an increase of 41.73% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

I closed a long trade on cocoa today taking a lose of $1,250 and was stopped out of a short trade on cocoa that I entered today taking a further lose of $1,620 with an entry signal to go long on cocoa.

Profit on open trades is currently $4,321.25 while closed tradews have slipped back to $11,226.25 for a total profit of $15,547.50 an increase of 32.39% on my original account.

Paper Trading Day 52 of 90

Good morning traders, another cool spring morning in Melbourne, cant wait for the sun to arrive and warm up this dreary place now that the football is over.

FOREX:

I closed one trade today, a short trade on British Pound / Japanese Yen taking a profit of $6,528.00. Lifestyle Trader signaled an exit for a long trade on Australian Dollar / US Dollar.

Profit on open trades is now -$152.20 while profit on closed trades is now $14,793.60 a total profit of $14,641.40 which is an increase of 39.57% on my original account.

COMMODITIES:

I closed a short trade on Orange Juice today taking a profit of $442.50. Lifestyle trader signaled an exit for a long trade on Cocoa with acceptable entry signals for;

• a short trade on Rough Rice
• a short trade on Lean Hogs
• a short trade on Cocoa
• a long trade on Coffee

Profit on open trades is currently $3,027.50 while profit on closed trades has increased to $14,096.25 for a total profit of $17,123.75 an increase on my original account of 35.67%.

Paper Trading Day 51 of 90

Okay, clearer heads have taken over, I am not going to join the army. I figure that with the spare time I will have from trading I can do all the cooking courses I want and have the freedom to pursue my other dreams. Besides, my son who is in the army told me that army food isn't as good as dads food.

FOREX:

I closed one trade today a short trade on British Pound / US Dollar taking a profit of $5,040.00.Lifestyle trader signaled an exit for a short trade on British Pound / Japanese Yen.

Profit on open trades is currently $6,968.55 while profit on closed trades is now $8,265.60 a total profit of $15,234.15 an increase of 41.17% on my initial account.

COMMODITIES:

A bit of action here today, I closed one trade today a short trade on Soybean Oil making a whopping profit of $60. Lifestyle Trader signaled an exit for a short trade on Orange Juice and entry signals for the following;

• a short trade on Soybean Meal
• a short trade on Soybeans
• a short trade on Live Cattle

Profit on open trades is currently $472.50 and profit on closed trades is $13,653.75 a total profit of $14,126.25 which is an increase of 29.43% on my original balance.

Paper Trading Day 50 of 90

Sitting here ready to start writing but I am a little bit distracted at the moment. Did you ever
feel like you were driving down the highway of life knowing where you were going and then suddenly a bus changes lanes in front of you and changes your direction. I love to cook, I cook at home for my family, I invite friends over and cook for them. I never really considered a career in the culinary arts though until yesterday when I found an add for the army who are looking to train cooks and they pay you while you do it. I didn't think though that I could apply for it as I am 51 and last time I looked the maximum age for joining the Australian army was 35. It has however changed and is now 55. So after thinking that when I start trading live I will have lots of free time to do the things I want or nothing at all, I now find myself considering a four year stint in the Australian army learning to cook. I suppose now I can combine my love of cooking with a little bit of travelling and still trade and when my four years are over I will have a reasonable sized trading account as well as qualififcations as a chef.

FOREX:

I closed two trades today;

• a short trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen with a lose of $432.65
• a long trade on Euro / British Pound with a profit of $4,700

my short trade on British Pound / US Dollar has gone in the wrong direction two days in a row so I will exit that trade tomorrow. Lifestyle Trader had an entry signals for a short trade on US Dollar / Canadian Dollar and a long trade on Australian Dollar / US Dollar.

Profit on open trades is currently $13,365.75 and closed trades is currently $3,225.60 a total profit of $16,591.35 an increase on my initial account of 44.84%.

COMMODITIES:

Soybean Oil has closed in the wrong direction two days running so I will exit this trade tomorrow. Lifestyle trader signaled an entry for a long trade on Cocoa.

Profit on Open trades is currently $122.00 while profit on closed trades is $13,593.75 a total profit of $13,715.75, an increase of 28.57% on my initial account.

Paper Trading Day 49 of 90

Writers block this morning, probably from lack of sleep as it was quite warm last night.

FOREX:

I have two trades that have gone the wrong direction two days in a row so according to my rules I will close them. They are a short trade on US Dollar / Japanese Yen and a long trade on Euro British Pound.

Profit on open trades is currently $17, 427.25 and closed trades remains at -$1,041.25 a total profit of $16,385.50 an increase on my initial account of 44.29%.

COMMODITIES:

I closed a long trade on Cotton today taking a lose of $1,015.00. Lifestyle Trader signaled an entry for a short trade on Wheat.

profit on open trades is currently $1,440.00 while closed trades is $13,593.00 a total profit of $15,033.75 an increase on my initial account of 31.32%.

Paper Trading Day 48 of 90

Football is over for the year and I'm not a big fan of the cricket, what to do over summer?

FOREX:

No new entry or exit signals today. Profit on open trades is currently $21.399.35 while closed trades remains at -$1,041.75 a total profit of $20,357.60 an increase on my initial account of 55.02% .

COMMODITIES:

I closed three more trades today;

• short trade on Soybean Meal taking a lose of $150
• short trade on Soybeans with a profit of $200
• short trade on Lean Hogs with a profit of $20

Lifestyle trader signaled an entry for a short trade on Feeder Cattle and an exit signal long trade on Cotton.

Profit on open trades is currently $422 while closed trades is $14,608.75 a total profit of $15,030.75 an increase on my initial account of 31.31%.