Tesla $TSLA

 I bought some more $TSLA today. Notes on chart.

Apple $AAPL add too.

 I added a small amount to my $AAPL trade today. I still think there will be a pullback and profit taking, so planning to add to the trade again later. Plan is for long term hold.

ROKU Closed

 $ROKU Taking profit. Will buy again later.

Coca-Cola (KO) open

 Bought $KO. Planning to add too lower or higher too.

IAC trade example

TBH finding entries like this are easy. The hard part is getting it out of your head that once you get a few, thinking your going to get rich overnight and thats when you loose everything. Not all stocks will go the way you hope. $IAC

Coca-Cola $KO Watching

 $KO has been doing what I call the rinse - wash - repeat trade. Price may be breaking out of it's current move and I am planning on buying a small amount, but also plan to add later if price drops or goes higher. Leaving room for seconds and dessert.

Dish (DISH) Watching

Watching $DISH. May start with a small entry and add too later. Would like to hold at least till price gets to the .618 Fib and 1st target the .888 Fib. Will update when I enter.

My go to list of stocks

 These are my favorite stocks to trade. I may trade others, but these are the first ones I look at. Some of these are very expensive, but with the creation of fractional shares, you can invest as little as a dollar and still own a piece of these.

AAPL, ADBE, AMD, AMZN, BA, COST, DE, DIS, DPZ, FB, GOOGL, HD, HUM, INTU, LULU, MCD, MSFT, NFLX, NVDA, PYPL, ROKU, SBUX, SHOP, SNAP, STZ, SQ, TSLA, TWTR, UPS, V, WMT, 

Setting up the charts (Video Soon)

 I'll post a video soon of how to add these indicators to the charts, but here is a photo and list.

I USE THE FREE VERSION OF TRADINGVIEW.COM

I USE THE ONE HOUR TIME FRAME

1. 200 SMA

2. 800 SMA

3. WEEKLY PIVOT

4. MONTHLY PIVOT

5. USC MURREY MATH OSCILLATOR 

I SOMETIMES WILL USE THE FIBONACCI RETRACEMENT AND WILL SHARE HOW I USE THAT SOON. 

Trust The Trade-Six thoughts on learning to trust your trade.

Six thoughts on learning to trust your trade.

If (TTT) was a stock symbol most people would only short it. Why? How many times have you bailed on a trade that you were in only to watch it turn around and go in your favor? See (TTT) really is a short, because most people don’t trust their trade. Now what can we do about this? 

1.          Build Trust… Test it! Test your setup. Get to know it. Learn to love it. Live it! Spend time with it. Sleep with it. Treat it like your spouse or partner. How can you trust a setup that you do not know? 

2.          Easy Trust… The market only goes two ways. Up or down. How is it we have created a zillion indicators to try to predict only two directions. When you quit looking so hard to predict a move up or down, things become very easy.

3.          Repeatable Trust… Does your setup work every time? Or almost every time? Or do you just hope it does.

Let me give you a few examples of setups in everyday life.

1.          The Sun Rising

2.          Peanut butter and Jelly

3.          Pressing the accelerator in a car.

Each works every time, or almost. Your setup should be as reliable. If you can’t take your setup for granted like the 3 things above, find a new setup. (HA HA, my setup repeats itself so much, I find myself doing a happy dance, how about you). 

4.          Buy Trust…. Start with a trade size that is easy to trust. A size which you don’t care if the trade does not immediately go in your favor as long as it lines up with number 1 and you did not throw a dart at the market and hope for trust.

5. Real trust….. Why are you asking someone else about your trade? Quit looking for permission, quit watching the social networks for their opinion of your trade. It’s your trade, not theirs, trust it! Unless you have not done number 1. Ok, then its number 6.

 

5.          Stupid Trust…. Quit stressing out. When you are ruled emotionally by your trade, you will do stupid things like watching it reverse and go up without you.

 

I will tell you and this may sound weird, I have been trading my earnings setup for a while and it still takes my breath away. And when I look through my charts at night of trades I did not take, I find myself doing a happy dance, because I am in awe as to how well the trade setup has performed.

 

Find a trade setup you can trust every time and trade happy my friends.

 

Full disclosure – (TTT) is related to an ETF symbol, but you should get the point!

 

I am not a financial advisor and I do not make recommendations or suggestions of what you should buy. I only show you what I am buying.

 

$SHOP missed opportunity.

 WOW! I sure did miss buying $SHOP Monday. Up $80 in two days. Was on my list below. But there will be more opportunities until Mad Max shows up!

Pattern Day Trading-Warning (PDT)

 Pattern Day Trading. What is it and why should it concern me. PDT was a rule created for people with accounts under $25,000. It's a way for the government babysit your account and try to keep you safe.

Simply put, if you buy a stock and close it on the same day, this is called a day trade. If you buy a stock and keep it open until the next day..... no worries.

But if you open and close a trade on the same day, you are only allowed 2 more day trades within the next 5 days. So within the 5 day period if you open and close 3 trades, you will not be able to close any other trades that you open the same day.

The easy solution is to close any trade you open on the next day or later, so you don't have to keep track of it.

Let me know if you have questions.

A view of the $DJI

 

Intel (INTC) Open

 

$WPM Closed

 

Adobe $ADBE closed

 

Shopify (SHOP) Pending

$SHOP has got that trend line and monthly pivot bounce going for it at the moment. I'm going to pick up a fractional share on this and risk no more than dinner money. I am not a financial advisor. This is not a recommendation for you to buy or sell.

Coca-Cola (KO) Watching

 I'm watching $KO. Has a dividend and may buy some on both the bottom and top red line. As you can see KO dos not move much and has been staying between the two lines for awhile. Thanks Phong for the idea.

Apple (AAPL) Pending Order

 $AAPL Apple has a stock split -4-1 on August 31. I already own Apple. I mentioned this on my Facebook page when the stock was $408 a few weeks ago. As of Friday this stock has come just shy of $500. I have seen AAPL in my trading days as low as $40 and as high as $600 I believe. The chart does not reflect that because over the years, the stock has had several stock splits. If it were to split today it would be $125 per share. If you owned 1 share, you would now own 4. For me this is the perfect stock to buy after the split and hold. Following the trading rule of trade small-trade happy, I could risk the price of one share or buy a fraction of a share for the price which I decide and just hold. Who thinks Apple will fail or drop? Well they have in the past, nothing goes straight up, but they have always come back. I will post again about Apple when I buy it. I am not a financial advisor. This is not a recommendation for you to buy or sell.

So why is this site called Lunch Money Trade anyway?

So why is this site called Lunch Money Trade anyway?

 

YOU WILL LOSE. THE MARKET IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. THE MARKET HATES YOU!

(Everything in this feed is in chronological order. Make sure you start at the bottom of the feed and work your way up).

 

So why is this site called Lunch Money Trade anyway? I am going to let you in on a secret. Or a trick. It is so simple that anyone can do it, but no one ever does. The secret will set you free. And it will set you apart from other traders to be a success in the stock market.

 

Here is the secret. The reason why most new traders loose is they trade like they are eating filet mignon and then out of desperation when their trade goes the wrong way, they stop out only to watch the trade turn around and go into huge profit. Upset, they think to get their money back they trade an even larger amount of money or shares the next time and panic again when it goes against them. And thus, the cycle begins of losing more, than winning.

 

Most traders finally come to the realization that the market is not a get rich scheme waiting to happen and most find out to late. It is really all about controlling emotion, trading a ridiculously small or tiny amount of money or shares which you are super comfortable with and accumulating.

 

Lots of the trading gurus will say do not trade with money you cannot afford to lose. Ok that sounds good. I can deal with that…. Well maybe!

Here is what happens. We enter the stock market for the first time, and we get all excited because of a broker we find that has a beautiful trading platform or software with all the bells and whistles. AND LOTS OF PROMISES.

 

With all that stuff, we are sure to win a lot and get rich quick.  The broker has a fee or commission of around $20 for each trade we open and close. (UPDATE because of competition most brokers have lowered their fees). And a huge minimum deposit to open an account and start trading. But that is ok because the software is fancy and cool, and we will make it back…. Because we are excited, and everything seems so cool.

 

And if not. It is ok because I am only trading with money that I can afford to lose. That is what the trading guru said!

 

We get our credit card and we borrow $5000 or $10,000 and its ok because we will make it back or we can pay it back because we can afford to lose that. Well we think so! We take our first trade and it goes terribly wrong and we lose about 10%. That is ok, we will get it back on the next trade. The next trade starts heading south, and we panic and close it at a loss, only to watch the trade turn around and go into profit. Well that is ok. Let us borrow some more money so our account looks like it was when we first started. And the cycle begins.

 

DON’T DO IT-YOU WILL LOSE IT! AND DON’T BE STUPID OR IGNORANT AND BORROW OR USE CREDIT CARDS TO TRADE STOCKS!

 

(Read my post about brokers. I use Robinhood. They were one of the first to come out with commission free trading).

Have you ever left the house forgetting your lunch money at home? Meaning you left your wallet or credit cards at home. How bad did you freak out or panic? Not too bad, right? Maybe a little discomfort. Ok so you must go a few hours without food before you can eat. And most likely, if a co-worker was around, you were saved. So that is why we are starting with lunch money. We are starting with a lot less than what we can afford to lose or what we think the trading guru is telling us.

There is no one around to save you and buy you lunch when you take a trade. It does not matter what the market does, win or lose, the most we can lose is our lunch money. And I really am just talking about $20 or so. Let us have fun trading, not stress! Start at the value menu and work your way up.

 

Remember this. When you buy one share of stock, it takes a lot longer to lose lunch money than it does when you trade 10, 20, or 100 shares. Trade small. Trade happy. Maybe start with one share or even a fractional share. Set a goal of making $1 per trade. If you cannot make $1, skip trading, and maybe take a cooking class.

 

My goal with the lunch money trade is to fill up the big change jar until it gets really heavy and take it to the bank and cash it in. Just like when we empty our pockets every day.

We are going to start with our lunch money, around $20. Why so small!

 

Here’s another secret. We want to win!

 But how much can I win just trading with my lunch money? That is the wrong question to ask. The question should be how much can I loose! The answer is your lunch money. And in no time, we will be moving from the drive thru lane and value menu to inside the restaurant, where they serve steak.

Let us fill up the coin jar first. I know you can do it and I know you can be a success!

 

Next, we need to talk about PDT. Pattern day trading. It is easy to get caught up in that, and we want to make sure we do not.

 

Any stock mentioned or thought expressed is not a recommendation or suggestion to buy or trade. I am not a financial advisor. Check with your financial advisor for recommendations.

August 22 trade update.

Below you will find trades I am in and thoughts on brokers, etc. Make sure to scroll through the entire feed. Remember this, trade small-trade happy, if you get stressed out, your trade size is too big.

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM)

 $WPM notes on chart.

Visa (VISA) Update

 I bought $V on the monthly pivot and it did not hold, but did not take long to recover either. Currently price is filling a gap from February and is at a Fib target. Hoping we get a break above that and then above all time highs.

Paypal (PYPL) Update

I bought Paypal $PYPL on the monthly pivot bounce in July. So far, so good as price has bounced on the August pivot also. Price is close to all time highs and staying above the August pivot. Hoping for a push above ATH.

Amazon (AMZN) Update

 Amazon $AMZN was another stock I wanted to get in before earnings. I think, but could be wrong that Amazon will take over the world someday and wanted a piece of it. This was another chance for me to test out fractional shares keeping within the lunch money rules. Notes on chart.

Adobe (ADBE) Update

I bought a small size of $ADBE looking for some lunch money. Had been and is bouncing on the pivots. I'll keep an eye on the trend line and upcoming earnings for considerations of closing the trade.

Microsoft (MSFT) update

$MSFT I bought MSFT on the monthly pivot. You can see it took a bounce on the August pivot too. As you can see "all time highs" are acting as resistance. I have traded Microsoft many times and well before it was at $100. I wish just like $AAPL, I had invested in these two stocks and not just swing traded them. Will try to hold some this time or part of my inheritance.

INTRODUCTION

99% of people who trade in the market fail. And 100% of the people will at some point loose money. Please let that sink in before you read any further. Maybe take a few days and just meditate on that and then come back to this page.

This is my trading diary. I also post the same information at Facebook. Search Lunch Money Trade. https://www.facebook.com/Lunch-Money-Trade-109459390876082/?ref=page_internal Either place will allow you to set to notifications when a new post is added.

This is my diary, not yours and the trades I take and post are mine, not yours. I’m posting for free what I have learned from over 20 years of trading experience and the current trades I am in or have closed. Remember none of this is a recommendation or a suggestion to buy or sell stocks. I am not a financial advisor. The information here is free and trading is very risky and you can loose everything. Please consult a financial advisor for recommendations

My goal is to leave for generations to come a few simple ideas that may help somebody in the future to understand more about the stock market.

Why is it called the lunch money trade. My thought about trading is if you can learn to make a dollar a day, then your doing better than the 99% who fail. And if you are trading with your lunch money and go to the drive thru and spend $10-$15 dollars a day for lunch, consider packing your lunch and if you loose your lunch money trading, eat a peanut butter sandwich instead. I’ll get into that in more detail later.

Lots of people ask me how much money or how many shares do I buy when I trade. Let’s settle that right now. It’s none of your business, but if you really have to know, let’s start by saying one share, sometimes more.

I can tell you this. TRADING SMALL WORKS and it so much easier when you are holding a good companies stock when it is going the wrong way.

That’s more than enough reading for this post. Don’t forget to set up your notifications and I’ll be back later with trades I’m in, trade ideas I’m thinking about and thoughts on how I’ve learned to try to make a little lunch money and sometimes dinner and dessert on those really rewarding trades.

Tesla (TSLA) update

 Just for fun and to learn more about fractional shares, I bought $100 worth of $TSLA. The stock price was $1489. Currently I'm up $37 and liking these fractional shares. Weekly and monthly pivots were in nice places for a bounce.

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Global Payments Inc. (GPN) update.

 I bought $GPN expecting a bounce off the monthly pivot, but price was weak and has been bouncing around. I have a small trade size, so not concerned.As long as price holds above the .50 on the Fib, I will just wait before making a decision.

Apple (AAPL) Update

Sometimes people ask me when is a good time to buy $AAPL. Personally I think anytime is a good time. I bought this one with no chart pattern set up, etc. I just bought it. I think I bought this laying in a hospital bed. I was bored. With the stock split coming I will probably buy some more. 

Roku (ROKU) update

 $ROKU update. I bought a small size of $ROKU as price appeared to be holding the gap and the trend line. For a short term trader price already hit a nice fib target of .888. I set a take profit stop which I am hoping will not be hit.

Boeing (BA) update

I bought a small size of $BA on the .888 and trend line. It was higher at one time, but I am holding long term and hoping for more. I think once the fears of Covid settle down BA will rise more.The .50 on the fib was pretty spot on.

Brokers

How to get started..... BROKERS

To limit your expenses. You have to start at the value menu.

 

A few years ago Robinhood started offering commission free trading. I am attaching a link at the bottom to their page. This was a new concept that opened the door for larger brokerages to have to start offering commission free trading to compete. The nice thing that robinhood still offers is a no minimum deposit to get started. They now also offer buying fractional shares which you may have to get on a waiting list to start trading, but once on it you can invest as little as a $1 on high dollar stocks like TSLA.

 

Please review their website for any additional fees, etc.

 

When you don't pay commission and you open the trade and it goes up one penny, that penny is yours. And when it goes up a dollar, the dollar is yours. And when it goes up more, the more is yours. Get the picture? Don't forget to pay taxes.

 

Again why pay commission when you don't have too. This is a huge key to trading small or lunch money.

 

One last thought. Most people that pay commissions, trade more

shares or a larger size, so they can get their money back quicker and they have to risk more. Trading commission free keeps me within my lunch money trade size and allows less stress when the trade goes the wrong way.

 

Something to be aware of with a small account is PDT or pattern day trading and I will go over that in another post.

 

Here is a link to Robinhood. With this link you and I will get a free share of stock. They boast about getting a share of AAPL etc, but I have never received a share of a company’s stock valued over $10. Use my link or go to their site and sign up directly. Remember. Trade small, trade happy.... no stress. If you get nervous in a trade, you broke the first rule. Your trade size is to big.

 

http://join.robinhood.com/peteg