An opportunity has presented itself whereby I could take up sports trading full time (I currently work for an international company). This has been my plan for a number of years and is an exciting opportunity, that said, there are a few aspects to this that I still need to address so I thought I would start with you all.
I have not underestimated how hard a road this will be and I recognise there is a psychological difference between trading 'for a nicer holiday' vs. paying for the mortgage. What I am interested in are the more practical aspects and would appreciate if any of you would be willing to share your experiences. By 'practical' I mean the following: employment status with HMRC, mortgage applications, credit status etc.
I can hear you all saying that no-one in their right mind is going to reply on a public forum what could be sensitive information so if you'd rather PM me that's understandable.
TIA
Sports trading full time
As I said a lot of this has already been covered in depth.
I just searched HMRC and numerous topics came up where your specific question has been answered e.g.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=17227&hilit=hmrc
It is worth spending time searching and reading the topics as you will find a lot of useful other information.
I just searched HMRC and numerous topics came up where your specific question has been answered e.g.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=17227&hilit=hmrc
It is worth spending time searching and reading the topics as you will find a lot of useful other information.
-
iambic_pentameter
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2016 1:24 pm
Right off the bat, I am not a full time trader but I hope what I've learnt from this forum over the last 2.5 years will help you:
1. How profitable are you at the moment? And over what time frame is this?
2. What contingency do you have in place if it goes wrong? Could you get your old job back? Do you have at least 6 months of living costs saved?
3. What would happen if your edge was eroded? Do you have other strategies that are profitable?
Best of luck
Iambic
1. How profitable are you at the moment? And over what time frame is this?
2. What contingency do you have in place if it goes wrong? Could you get your old job back? Do you have at least 6 months of living costs saved?
3. What would happen if your edge was eroded? Do you have other strategies that are profitable?
Best of luck
Iambic
Many things to consider, especially managing your finances!
This is not like a normal job, where it doesn't matter if you have a bad month because you'll still get paid on the 28th.
When going self-employed, you need a buffer in your bank to cover all your expenses for a period of time. I got made redundant from a sales job when going SE, and used that to cover my expenses for 6 months, whilst seeing if I could make this pay
If you don't have that buffer, then 1 bad month will lead to you taking money from your BF account............then you're buggered, as you'll have less money to make money with.
Also, without that buffer you might find that you'll become too cautious or defensive, as you know you cannot afford to take unnecessary risks, and that will also impact upon your trading performance
This is not like a normal job, where it doesn't matter if you have a bad month because you'll still get paid on the 28th.
When going self-employed, you need a buffer in your bank to cover all your expenses for a period of time. I got made redundant from a sales job when going SE, and used that to cover my expenses for 6 months, whilst seeing if I could make this pay
If you don't have that buffer, then 1 bad month will lead to you taking money from your BF account............then you're buggered, as you'll have less money to make money with.
Also, without that buffer you might find that you'll become too cautious or defensive, as you know you cannot afford to take unnecessary risks, and that will also impact upon your trading performance
-
spreadbetting
- Posts: 3140
- Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:06 pm
Don't think HMRC will be a problem for you, you can simply be unemployed without claiming benefits or being in the 'system'. Many people don't claim benefits as unemployed simply because their partner works and supports them so they wouldn't qualify or they don't want the hassle of job clubs etc and live off savings. Some may sign on for their NI stamp but no legal requirement to.
Think your main problems will be if you wish to borrow for mortgages , credit etc
Thanks for all your comments, it is very much appreciated.
I have considered the financial side at great length and provided everything falls into place, I will have a reasonable trading bank and will be able to cover basic living expenses for over a year.
There is no way to know whether I will suit the mental side of trading for a living without actually doing it but what I have learnt, in the 11 years I have been doing this part time, I could never have appreciated without experiencing it first hand and this has shaped the way I approach my trading. One area of weakness I can clearly identify is that of consistency as I tend to only trade at weekends and the occasional weekday evenings. I sometimes take ‘holiday’ from my day job to trade the big meetings (Cheltenham, Ascot, York, Goodwood etc) and I feel (and my p&l supports this) that I read the markets better when I trade for consecutive days.
My main concern is the practicality of being a full time BF trader, with no other income. I have read the HMRC website test cases and the similar threads on here regarding tax status and NI contributions - thanks for the link PDC. A comment by Le Tiss on a similar thread, regarding the difficulty of getting a mobile phone contract after going full time, concerned me. I have no issues getting credit now - utility bills, phone contracts, credit cards, rental contracts etc but if all this becomes problematic once you become a full time trader, what do you all do? Do I need to speak to an accountant with experience in this field or is it a simple fact that my partner will need to have everything in her name?
I have considered the financial side at great length and provided everything falls into place, I will have a reasonable trading bank and will be able to cover basic living expenses for over a year.
There is no way to know whether I will suit the mental side of trading for a living without actually doing it but what I have learnt, in the 11 years I have been doing this part time, I could never have appreciated without experiencing it first hand and this has shaped the way I approach my trading. One area of weakness I can clearly identify is that of consistency as I tend to only trade at weekends and the occasional weekday evenings. I sometimes take ‘holiday’ from my day job to trade the big meetings (Cheltenham, Ascot, York, Goodwood etc) and I feel (and my p&l supports this) that I read the markets better when I trade for consecutive days.
My main concern is the practicality of being a full time BF trader, with no other income. I have read the HMRC website test cases and the similar threads on here regarding tax status and NI contributions - thanks for the link PDC. A comment by Le Tiss on a similar thread, regarding the difficulty of getting a mobile phone contract after going full time, concerned me. I have no issues getting credit now - utility bills, phone contracts, credit cards, rental contracts etc but if all this becomes problematic once you become a full time trader, what do you all do? Do I need to speak to an accountant with experience in this field or is it a simple fact that my partner will need to have everything in her name?
-
arbitrage16
- Posts: 573
- Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:27 pm
I'm full time, can confirm what you're saying about trading better after a consistent run of days in the market.
Also the case that if you overdo it and go for 10+ days without a break then there are negative side effects to one's mentality, so this has to be managed.
Also the case that if you overdo it and go for 10+ days without a break then there are negative side effects to one's mentality, so this has to be managed.