monthly fully time trader ama

hey everyone, setting up this month's AMA to chat about whatever you want. it'll be 5Aug at 2pm PT. i do these each month to help newer traders, so it's completely beginner friendly. if you're more advanced, even better. if there's anything you're working on that you'd like a second set of eyes on, etc - just let me know! *Background for those interested:* My name is Erik. I'm a Marine Corps veteran and full-time options trader. I've been trading since 2007 and have been active in [r/options](https://www.reddit.com/r/options/) since 2020. I've maintained a high 20% CAGR over this duration, my emphasis has been on consistency vs upside returns. I grew up in a low income single-parent household. A high school teacher introduced me to investing and it changed my life. Over time I built capital through manual labor jobs, flipping cars/motorcycles during college, and eventually expanding into real estate investing. I view wealth building through three levers: Savings; Investing; Income Early on, savings rate matters most. As capital grows, compounding returns begin to dominate. Trading is harder than most people initially expect, but it’s also far from impossible. With the right framework and enough time invested, it can absolutely become a viable career. For transparency: I do run a YouTube community, but I’ve been posting in [r/options](https://www.reddit.com/r/options/) for years and enjoy discussing markets regardless. This AMA is just to talk trading. **Happy to discuss things like:** * How my trading changed as my capital grew * Position sizing frameworks * Managing volatility exposure * Building consistency over time * Strategy development / testing * Mistakes that slowed my progress Or anything else options related. Below are some previous posts that lay a basic foundation for trading. 1. ⁠Trading Options for a Living- ⁠Provides a high level overview of my trading approach: ⁠[https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1gejy0q/trading\_options\_for\_a\_living/](https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1gejy0q/trading_options_for_a_living/) 2. ⁠Stop Wandering Aimlessly- ⁠Offers a general learning syllabus for new options traders: ⁠[https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1c3hgfh/stop\_wandering\_aimlessly/](https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1c3hgfh/stop_wandering_aimlessly/) 3. ⁠Failure rate of options traders -⁠Summarizes common sources of trader failure: ⁠[https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1iaqtzx/failure\_rate\_of\_options\_traders\_3\_causes/](https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1iaqtzx/failure_rate_of_options_traders_3_causes/)