The Truth About Trading While You Travel

I lost my very best friend and college roommate in 9/11. And it caused me to really reconsider what was important in my life.

And when I came up with the three F's - family friends, fun.

When I schedule time for these things, I don't want to be divided in my attention. I do much better when I just focus on one thing at a time.

So in the marketplace, I have to make a decision to stay in or get out of my trades.

Sometimes, it just doesn't work to travel and try to trade. Recently, one of the folks I mentor was going to have a hip replacement and he was going to be in the hospital for a while.

He asked my opinion, what should he do about all the trades he was in?

So I shared my plan of action with him.

First, I consider what the stock market is doing and what I think the near future is going to look like. If we're in a smooth, up-trending market, sure, go ahead and leave some of your trades on.

But if we're in a chaotic market, the decision to come off is easy.

I recently attended a Biohacking Conference - biohacking is one of my other interests. That conference was going to run for a week. 

Because the market was so chaotic I had to make some decisions.

The first step for me is the putting all of my trades into categories -long term, midterm and short term trades.

Then I decide how to handle each trade.

For instance, long term trades are things like stocks, bonds or leaps (which is where you buy options way in the future). Those I tend to leave on if I'm only gone for a week or so. They were meant to be there long term.

One caveat here though, is if you've got any covered calls, which is where you sell a weekly option, in smaller term, I would not do those because they have to be tended to every week.

Midterm trades I treat differently. These are trades that are positioned for a month or longer. I generally think of them and say what's the market doing? Then I  make my decision based on what the market is doing.

Short term trades are just that - short term. Get out of don't let them be hanging over your head while you are away. It is easy to get decimated in the short term.

If you like what you're hearing and if these tips are helping your trading, I would love to see you in Investing Buddies. Thanks for listening and I will see you next week!