My trades are a losing proposition at the moment. Its all still unrealised losses, but with the the US markets are performing, it doesn't bode well. I'm not exiting till the share prices hit my stop, but if they do... I will lose up to $500. Sounds like a small amount, but thats more than a weeks expenditure for me. Oh well. Live and learn.

I really need to think ahead more and not let my emotions get involved when trying to trade. Thinking "Oh man... if I don't pull this trade, I'm gonna miss out!" is probably among one of the worst things you can do to yourself as a trader. And I always just realise my mistake AFTER the trade goes through... sheesh.

Just like the day before... I placed an order of about $4K plus for some shares which I figure are going to breakout (basically prices going up). I put the order in about midnight after reading up just a little bit about it. BUTTT, prices dropped instead o_O 2 things I could have done to prevent that. 1st was to look at the US market, which I believe was the pressure behind the recent downturn in the Aussie market. At the time I placed the order, the US market was already in a pretty bad decline. If I had known that, I would have 2nd thoughts since the stock I bought is essentially a US company too. Mistake #1.

Mistake #2. I didn't want to miss the rally...so I placed the order the night before instead of waiting for the market to open and observing the prices. I was too eager and ended up becoming one of the punters who gets raped by the markets. What I should have done is be patient, and wait for a point in which I can enter the market confidently. Prices go up, but they always come down too. I shouldn't have been so anxious to jump in at the start.

What ticks me off is that the stuff I just wrote...is also mentioned in the books that I've been reading to a certain extent. It just shows how noobish I am in trading. A lesson well learnt indeed. I won't be making the same mistakes twice. Oh. I've decided that I won't disclose or discuss the actual stocks that I buy. A reflection on my purchases in general is ok. Its basically to prevent me from developing an ego regarding my purchases.