How much money does one need to start day trading in order to make a weekly pay check of $100-$300?
Answers
951 points
Grudun answered one year ago …
It really depends on your strategies for day trading. But my estimate would be $10,000 to $25,000 if you don't use leverage, maybe as little as $5,000 if you do.
Read more from Grudun flag as abuse great answer
260 points
Hillcat88 answered one year ago …
It also depends on your skill and luck too. Say a target of 5% profit for each trade, and it is not too difficult to do two trade per week. The answer is not far from 10,000 - 25,000 as given by Grudun.
Read more from Hillcat88 flag as abuse great answer
781 points
jillybeansisme answered one year ago …
A great number of people who day trade go broke. Are you going to use investment advice for your trades or just wing it? How much experience trading do you have? If you have little experience trading, I would definitely get some and also practice daytrading on paper for awhile. Figure out what you would need if you were doing those trades for real.
Read more from jillybeansisme flag as abuse great answer
3970 points
EthanR answered one year ago …
I would say that you will need more than the amounts cited above. The reason is that it is far easier to shoot for a profit of 1-2% per trade, than for 5%. I would begin with $20,000 to $30,000 for that reason.
A few more suggestions. Start with Jilly's advice to paper trade. Pick just one or two stocks or ETF's to trade. Get to know them well. Do not jump around. Also, do not chase stocks that gap up in the morning. In fact, fading the gap is often more profitable. The best trades are often made on pullbacks.
But I do have to ask this question. Since day trading involves a lot of hours, unless you are confined to the house for some reason, wouldn't it be better to just work a job than to spend all week chasing a high risk return of $100-300?
104 points
Markie answered one year ago …
As much as you can afford to loose!
Read more from Markie flag as abuse great answer
249 points
engcomp answered one year ago …
Because lose it you will.
Successful day traders all have paid huge learning costs before they acquired that "Fingerspitzengefuehl" necessary for success.
380 points
SirCrashton answered one year ago …
I agree with Ethan R about working a job vs. day trading to earn such a modest return relative to the risk involved. Unless you are into day trading primarily for the excitement, selling covered calls with a realistic target profit of 3%/month is much less risky and stressful. Also, these kinds of trades do not have to watched with the intensity required of day trades. In order to buy quality stocks that could generate that kind of return through the selling of call options you would need $25,000-$40,000.
Do heed Jilly's advice about paper trading first. Don't let greed sweep you into trading before you are ready. The market will always offer offer opportunities to profit and you will be better positioned to exploit those opportunites after you've had some practice experience.
