Early retirement has me rethinking options trading

I’m really sorry for your loss. Losing my wife is my close-second greatest fear, right behind losing a child. I wish you peace and happiness ahead.

Man, that's gotta be rough. I can't imagine what you're going through. I lost my dad a while back and it really put everything in perspective, made me way more protective of my time. If the daily grind of monitoring isn't adding something positive to your life, stepping back to more passive stuff seems like a no-brainer. You've already won the game, no point in playing it just because you're good at it.

I've been trading options since 2010, FIRE'd in 2021 from pharma PE and live off selling options and dividends Two major cons of being FIRE'd with only capital gains income is 1) can't contribute to a tax advantaged account 2) aren't contributing to Medicare, this can be a big issue depending on how much you are allocating to healthcare in the future, it *will* be expensive.

What do you do with health insurance? Do you have an HSA?

Yeah I have an HSA. I pay for private insurance with a high deductible. My major concern health wise is needing emergency surgery because I mountain bike everyday, so I'd have to pay for the first $3000 out of pocket.

I think you can do both if you do the day trader election.

I (and I imagine many others that are selling longer DTE contracts with lower volume) wouldn't meet their requirements for it.

It’s not the dte but the frequency you trade. You might qualify

Right, but since I'm trading longer DTE I'm naturally doing lower volume (and hence lower frequency) because the premiums on them are better and I'm also tying up more in margin.

Sorry about your wife man. I’m still at it daily and it’s my income and how I support my own family. You brought up something interesting. I’ve done a version of what you’re asking about. I scaled back a long way from heavy directional trades,and a lot of what I do now is built to smooth PnL out over time instead. And its not really about the money as much for me either. The directional stuff demanded something from me on the day... I’d be in the session the whole way through whether it was working or not. Smoothing it out meant fewer days that owned me. Which gets at the thing I’d separate out. The mental work and the daily monitoring aren’t the same. The method, the thinking, building something that holds up... none of that needs you at a screen all session. It’s the monitoring that takes something out of you. So what does a good day look like for you now? Not a profitable one. A good one. I’d be interested in your answer because I think the scale back question sorts itself out once that’s clear.

If you have the capital and don’t want to constantly watch the market, I’d trade ES futures. As long as you know your levels, just set your buy and sell orders then let the trades come to you. Don’t short it, ever, ain’t worth it. No option greeks to worry about. Don’t trade contracts within a week of the expiration date.

Yeah seriously don't short ever. A literal monkey could profit on the long side but short you're trying to walk up a stream. It drives me nuts seeing people load up on Spy puts and then they're like "OOO I'ma make so much money", then you ask why and they're like "because SPY's overvalued". SPY's always "overvalued" now because everyone collectively realized that the government will just donate corporations money the moment the tiniest bad thing happens

For those who FIRE'd, I am curious... what percentage of your portfolio is invested for long term growth and left untouched for the most part, and what percentage is used for options trading?

LEAPS require a lot less attention

I’ve been trading a long time, longer than I care to admit. This calendar year I scaled way back on the time I spend, the number of trades.  This was a conscious decision. I have other priorities, other activities that are more rewarding. 

Sorry for your loss buddy. My partner passed away a few years back. I am in my late 30s and working full time in IT, based in UK. After I had her funeral, I told myself I need to focus and I started learning and d ay trade options once a day. It is not that complicated. I have been sorting out some things and one of my goals is to reach a certain amount to stop working full time before I lose my job. It is a matter of time with how it is going in the economy. You can see my post in the subreddit in my profile over last 20 weeks. I have been growing a small accout to encourage people that one trade a day, 2-5 times a week is enough to grow an account consistently. I only have 2 vids on my youtube channel from march if last year, will try put more. I don't do any complex strategies, and trade only ETFs like SPY, QQQ, IWM etc. I use mainly EMAs, VWAPs and share some tips in the posts and across comments. Just give yourself 2-3 months to practice, double an account consistently before thinking of using real money.

If you just want income go read go read u/scottishtrader

There is one system that I have developed that has a nearly 92% success rate for me… However, the set up only comes roughly 10 to 12x’s a year, and needs more active monitoring during bear markets.  My husband and I are independently wealthy thanks to making some wise (and very fortunate) investments. We have two small kiddos, so they are my priority.  I mainly trade because I need to challenge my brain. The above method allows me to step back and be active in our daily lives without losing myself to boredom.  I do day trade at times, but that is only if I feel compelled to challenge myself more.  Most of my trades are swing trades as the above strategy depends on it. I have found it to be the overall right balance for me.  Perhaps you can find the same balance.