It’s my great pleasure to share with you all a new forex trader interviewee, interviewed by one of the most charming BabyPips.com forum residents–yours truly, of course!
Because I am a special resident of the BabyPips.com community, I was given this rare chance to have a quick chitchat with the lady trader of the ComDolls, Happy Pip! Not only am I interviewing one of the only two beautiful ladies of the FX-Men, this is also her first time to be interviewed! This should really be of interest to Happy Pip’s fans, lady traders and basically anyone who wants to learn about how someone from BabyPips.com trades.
I know you’re all excited to get started, so let’s get the ball rollin’!
For those not quite familiar with her, Happy Pip is a very enthusiastic and smart lady who primarily trades the commodity dollars. Her blog “Playing with ComDolls” is named as such because well, she loves dealing with the Aussie, Loonie, and Kiwi!
1. What type of trader are you?
Just like some of y’all, I’m a lady trader who is hoping to catch some pips from discretionary swing trades with commodity–related currencies like the Aussie, Loonie, and the Kiwi. I’m also cooking up a mechanical trading system, but it’s still a work in progress so you better watch out for that!
2. On a daily basis, how much time are you spending on your trades?
I spend at least two hours reading up news reports and trading blogs and reviewing my past trades, and probably another hour putting up my horizontal and Fib lines, and another few minutes setting my orders. I’m a fan of swing trading because I like to “set it and forget it,” but there are also times when I spend hours watching my trades closely, especially when market sentiment is having mood swings.
3. What does your trading station look like?
I have a dual-monitor setup so I can keep a close eye on the charts while browsing through economic news or updating my Twitter account at the same time. Beside it is a stack of books on forex trading so I can easily grab one for reference. Of course, there’s also a portion on the wall on which I can bang my head during losing trades and enough space on the floor to do my happy dance for my winning trades.
4. Do you consider yourself an organized trader?
Yep! Maintaining “organized chaos” counts, right? I try to keep my data organized so I can get information that I want at the drop of a hat. I especially like journaling my trades because it helps me avoid making the same trading mistakes, and it also helps me identify similar trade setups on my comdoll pairs.
5. Speaking of trade setups, what is your best forex trade ever?
Hmm, it was a while back in 2010 when I hit both profit targets on an NZD/USD long trade and gained 2.30% profit on my account. That was when RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard put in a few good words for New Zealand’s economy, which caused NZD/USD to rally by over a hundred pips! Technicals and fundamentals lined up quite perfectly then and I was able to manage that trade properly. Of course, that’s what I always aspire for in my trades.
6. What do you think is the most frustrating aspect of trading?
I think that the most annoying part of trading is chickening out on a trade idea only to find out that price action went as you initially predicted. I would sometimes spend hours analyzing a setup, “wait” for more confirmation, and then totally miss a big move! Good thing I also have my trusty Nerf gun to shoot the screen with whenever I miss out on a good trade.
7. Are there any specific lessons you have learned that have helped you find profitable trades?
Why, I don’t think a day is enough for me to talk about the helpful lessons I learned and use for finding good trades! If I were to narrow it down to the best ones, it’d probably be these: First is to keep monitoring open trades for any signals that tell me to exit early. Another is to keep on observing past price action in order to recognize potentially profitable setups if they occur again. I also wouldn’t leave out the wise words of Pipcrawler: “Gotta risk it to get the biscuit!”
8. As a regular forex trader, what do you think should new traders focus on?
Each trader has his/her own path to trading success, but if I’m to choose the most important skill for newbies, it is managing their risk. After all, a trader can put up all the fancy schmancy chart indicators they want and still get a margin call if he/she bets the whole farm on one losing trade. Risk management is what separates trading from gambling, and I think that mastering this skill would go a long way at keeping the new players in the game.
9. Do you use any special or important trading tool? What is it and why do you use it? (any tool in general)
I like to keep it simple and not over-analyze things so I just stick to the good ole fundamental, technical, and market sentiment analysis combo. But since breakout trades really aren’t my cup of tea, I stay on the lookout for retracement trades by using the trusty Fibonacci retracement tool. I even have a neat little song for it, inspired by Lady Gaga herself. “I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until I profit, papa-Fibonacci…”
10. How do you spend your non-trading hours?
As much as I love trading, I also try to keep a well-balanced life by hanging out with friends after-market hours, working out at the gym at least twice a week, taking out-of-town trips on some weekends, and even indulge in yummy hobbies like baking. Of course, nothing beats an occasional me-time with a good book and a beanbag chair.
11. How does it feel to be part of the “FX-Men”?
Oh my, of course it’s a huge honor to be part of this elite group of forex traders. But at the same time, I feel that it’s my responsibility to prove that I’m worthy of being part of the FX-Men by coming up with awesome trade setups!
12. What separates you from the other FX-men?
Unlike the other FX-Men, I prefer trading comdolls because they tend to have pretty consistent reactions to risk sentiment and commodity-related news in markets. Also, I write a lot about food and my activities with my friends because they play a huge part of my life. Oh, and yes, I can still do cartwheels and backflips. I bet ya Cyclopip can’t do that!
13. Any word of advice for your tons of fans out there?
Wow, I had no idea I had any fans at all! But for those of you who take the time to check out my blog posts and trade ideas, I thank you from the bottom of my happy heart for your support, especially to those who make an effort to give their two cents (two pips?) and comment on my trades. Remember that, while experience is the best teacher in trading, you can learn a lot from your fellow traders too. Stay positive – not just in trading, but in life as well!
Thanks for the wise words Happy Pip, and to all of my readers out there, I hope you learned something new. More importantly, I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did! My biggest take away was when she said, “Remember that while experience is the best teacher in trading, you can learn a lot from your fellow traders too.” Shoooooot! That’s EXACTLY why I love manning the forums!
And the next time I’m given a chance to chat with her, I’ll make it an interview/baking session. I’m pretty sure my cupcakes would taste better with her secret recipe!
So, only 13 questions for this quick chitchat, and for some of you, I’m sure that’s not enough. If you want to holler at her to get to know her more, you can just visit her blog to leave a comment, or just say hello! And be sure to add her on Twitter via “@Happy_Pip”– I’m sure she’d love to hear from you!
You can also find this post on the pips á la carte blog here: The Lady Trader of ComDolls, Happy Pip! � Pips a la Carte | News, talk, opinions, tips and tricks about our entire product line. All in one place.