Dave, like I said, "adjust as appropriate". Which makes the whole question of "how much is enough" a moot one. The answer is, of course, "it depends".
As I said, if you have no or low living expenses, the number comes down. If you have NO expenses, $50K is plenty. (Indeed, ANYTHING is. :) )
Boy, no housing expense sure changes the equation. No fair! :)
In particular, a paid-off mortgage reduces the requirement not only because of the reduced monthly expense, but because of the reduced future obligation - there is less of a need to insure a future source of income.
So, no mortgage, maybe a spouse who works, living in a low-expense part of the country... maybe you only need $20,000 a year. You could trade full-time with, say, a $100,000 capital base.
The part about making money in an up or down market sounds nice. Not a dig but a serious question - have you ever day-traded in a bear market? (Hint: You'd have to have been doing this for 10 years or so...)
Actually, I suspect that hardly ANYBODY has day-traded in a bear market. How many day-traders were there back in the dark ages? We just don't know how day-traders will fare in a bear market.
Based on the over-confidence that this market seems to engender, I supect they will fare rather poorly. |
