We’re a year and some change into the pandemic and there’s been a noticeable shift in the way people make money. Businesses are still closed, events have stopped and the typical side hustles people had pre-pandemic have long died out. The world had to pivot into making money from home and that’s how day trading became the new side hustle.
Day trading used to be an exclusive club for wall street types but now everyone can get in and make major money. Social media feeds that used to be all about the latest shoes or bag someone just got are now stock charts and tickers symbols. People have traded in their usual slang for terms like; options, short, hold, and diamond hands. I realized day trading was the new side hustle when girls who would normally DM me for fashion advice were DM’ing me about stocks and cryptocurrency.
To be honest, day trading is probably one of the best side hustles you can have if you take the time to learn and you never go against a few major rules with trading.
Don’t trade with money you can’t afford to lose
I can’t stress this enough. Do not put your rent money in the stock market because you see everyone on social media doing it. The stock market is extremely volatile and you could lose everything in a matter of seconds. However, $100 in a savings account will still be $100 in a month but if you invest $100 in the right stock in a month you can double or triple your money.
Read books and learn the market before jumping in
I studied the market for 6 months before I made my first trade and I’m still learning.
Never trade with “House” money
When you have a trading account you may notice Marginable Securities and a dollar amount that you’re able to trade with. Don’t do this as a new trader. This is a loan and if you use this hoping a stock goes up and it dips hard you will have to pay this loan back so unless you’re an advanced trader just so no to Marginable Securities.
Take out your initial investment so you’re trading with free money
Let’s say you invest $100 into a stock and it goes up to $500. Take your initial $100 out and some profit and leave the rest in to grow. Now whether you win or lose won’t hurt because you’re trading with free money.
If this lockdown has taught us anything it’s we need to learn to make money from home and I see day trading becoming a permanent side hustle for a lot of people post-pandemic and if they become good enough it could replace their day job. Trade responsibly and seek professional advice from a broker if necessary.
