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Your 5 key Rules to become an excellent Home-trader

Rule 1 - Involve those around your home in the decision to trade from home

From personal experience the presence of Partners/children/pets, or all three, can be a challenge to say the least when you decide to be a hometrader. These creatures will demand form you even if they don't think, nor mean, they are. There are times when you may choose to keep a closer eye on the market, or decide to further your education through reading or researching your potential next trades only to hear the heavenly tones of your beloved asking for some of your head-space. Consultation must be made, times allotted and rewards planned to make this work. These things are what it will take to make it really happen. It needs to be perceived as your job for some..calling it a business doesn't cut it, neither will a hobby. Delightful that it may be to have your 3.5 yrs darling daughter doing the cute dad give me some attention routine using all sorts of heartstring pulling tactics - this will not be conducive to where you want to be in your mind when making those bigger decisions.

Rule 2 - Ensure you have the minimum technology to trade

Broadband internet with a PC/Laptop that are newer than circa 2000 are just the start. Softwarewise, a spreadsheet and word processor packages will be vital from a record keeping point of view and access to a FAX machine will be useful though not mandatory. An extra telephone line may also be a necessity particularly if you have a partner who seems to have the thing permanently attached to their face. Mobile phones are getting more useful form a traders point of view. Although we would not endorse gluing yourself to a screen day in day out (c'mon its a lifestyle thing we are trying to create here), the latest networks form the big fat company beginning with 'T' with their 3G network enable you to do a quick live check with their internet capabilities whenever and more importantly wherever you want. This is obviously going to get more and more sophisticated (and expensive obviously) pick something that works for you and give it a years lifespan tops before you upgrade.

Finally have a backup plan for when you have a techodrama (and it will at the most inopportune moments). This includes everything from what happens when internet decides it is not playing the game to exploding computers.

Rule 3 - Plan and stick to your time to trade and to learn

We endorse the use of a default trading diary where you ring-fence your time for trading activities. This includes your education and research as well as trading itself (which to be honest may well be your least time intensive activity of these). This will not only ensure that you know, and so or more likely to stick to your time for these activities (rather than being caught in the TV soap opera fixed gaze thing), but also those around you. Quick suggestion for home harmony - plan time with your partner first before anything else is in. This will enable you to dodge any potential accusation of your relationship being slotted in around other stuff..and besides i am sure you would want to do this anyway (and this is not just a guy thing - i have female trading friends who get the same accusation from time to time)

Rule 4 - Arrange your trading environment in your home

Again this is one from the archives of my past, and yes there are still occasions when my old habits result in an overflowing in tray with the ensuing paper mountain. Good record keeping is vital and this is made easier if you have a system and a place for everything. Trading does create an incredible amount of paper from brokers, ASX and accountant/bookkeeper. This is worth either getting on top of early or paying someone else to do it, in which case a box that you can deliver around to your paid help will do the trick.

If you are to treat trading as a business, and of course you should!, have a business like environment, at least for some of your activity. This will give the right message to you and also to those around you at home. A library with those invaluable texts, a desk etc will always help. Get this right for the research stuff and you can do the rest with your laptop round the pool.

Rule 5 - Know when you are Beaten!!!

Sometimes you just gotta face facts..it isn't working on a particular day/week/month. There is no point, as it wont serve any purpose anyway, in beefing about it, just accept it move on and find somewhere that does work. This is not usually for trading activity itself but rather the research/reading stuff. Coffee shops, offices of friends or the beach all may have merit (unless of course your nearest beach is miles away).

Stick to these 5 rules and your hometrading will not only be successful but harmonious

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