I read that some traders are done for the year and won’t return until February. Is this the case for you? If so, why is that? Is this more because of vacation time or does it have to do with the market behavior?
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When volumes are low, spreads can get silly wide, so there’s little to gain from taking it to the time limits before/after any day when the stock markets are closed.
But on a D1 time-frame, assuming your stops etc. are not tight, the December-January chart looks exactly like any other period.
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I agree. I only trade D1, so I won’t speak about faster time frames. But, yeah, D1 looks exactly the same. I’ve seen a normal amount of setups during December and January. In swing trading, spreads are less of a concern, in my opinion. So, if there’s a setup, I gotta take it, just like during any other month, because that trade could last for a month or more.
Taking breaks is a personal decision. I’ve learned that if you’re not sure if you should take a break or not, look at your goals. Your goals will tell you if you should take a break or not. Perhaps ¨should¨ is not the word, but can you afford to?
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The opposite situation is also common. Some people are over trading in the last days because they didn’t get enough profit they wanted this year. They’re taking big risks.
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Probably close down 15/12 and open again 8 January as I have better things to do over the Xmas/ New year.
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Yup. You gotta make your own decision about when to keep going, and when to take a break.
Enjoy your time off!
You know, I usually steer clear in December 'cause the spreads get crazy wide for trading. But if there’s some big market news hitting, I can slip in and trade without a hassle.
A thing that some traders might need to be aware of - Christmas used to make me very stressed. So much to do - and all against a random deadline. Not a good condition to wake up in during December, and then try to trade rationally according to a detailed pre-determined plan.
I’m much more tolerant now of the whole stupid season.
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I like that thinking.
I made some good pips today. Struggling to decide when to say when. Is that being greedy or what?
December and the xmas will start asking the same question of me.
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You catch the BOJ monetary shift chat?
If there are more pips to get, why stop? I don’t think it’s a question of greed–it’s a question of wreckless trading. Often we start turning wreckless when we win a few trades, and then we self-sabotage.
If there are more setups, why not take them? If you have the time, and there valid setups, why leave the money on the table?
Get that money, grow your account, reach your financial goals. Why go slower?
I’ve heard people talk about they caught some pips, then decided to keep trading, and then lost all the pips they gained. That sounds like wreckless trading to me, and those people should go back to demo.
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I read about it… well at least something similar… they claimed trading during august isn’t good and trading a few weeks before Christmas too. In fact my trading frequency is reduced since 1 - 2 weeks and I was wondering why - I just couldn’t find good setups. I’m wondering if this is linked or just a coincidence 
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Thanks for pointing out the trade volume / chart.
I live in Asian, so we trade regularly (except 1 week in Jan for Lunar New Year, which means family meetings and travelling).
How about other fellas in the West countries ?
For me it is family time and study time while on Christmas and New Year break from work.
Previous years I have opened charts out of curiosity during late December to early January and I have found the market is very slow with wide spreads.
How’d you do it? Ever since I became an “adult” Christmas has been a very stressful season lol
It seems to be a natural process. Every year, after a certain age, I found that I learned more about the world, but was still just as confused about individuals. In fact it’s worse than that, people are much harder to understand now than when I was 17! Everything else is much clearer…
So I am more tolerant of people now. It’s better to see what they are trying to do, and why, more than what they actually achieve.
I’ve found this behavior true for my dad. I remember getting mad at him for not being as passionate as I was when it came to certain topics or people but now i understand, it’s the secret to peace in life: tolerance.
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That’s a nce expression.
Or just don’t tell anyone. I used to be excited about certain things, and I would tell someone with the expectation that they would be excited also. But they weren’t. So, I stopped talking about it. And the next time I was excited about something that I didn’t think they would be excited about, I simply didn’t share it.
I felt good about that. I only share info with people if I think it suits their personality, and I think they’ll be excited to hear it.
It can be a downer when you tell someone, and their response is just silence.