2006's results (to be reported in detail after January 1) were helped by foreign exchange gain and a small ($6-7k) inheritance amount. I doubt foreign exchange will add much this year and it may even take away unless I successfully trade foreign currency. The Australian Dollar is close to 80 US cents and it is hard to imagine it going much higher. The US Dollar could be bottoming. The second part of the inheritance could come this year or not. Legal procedures are extremely slow. I expect it would be about twice the value of the first one but we don't really know. So let's assume all these factors are zero. I also assume that my tax bill in April will be zero - I have been over-withholding and I think it is sufficient to meet the required tax.
I can expect the following - my employer contributes 8% of my salary to my 403b and I am now contributing the maximum allowed contribution. Combined these come in at $1750 per month. If I spend at the same rate as this year, I should still be able to save $1000 a month after tax. Total from "contributions" would, therefore, be $33k for the year. In my previous post I stated a goal of making $19k from trading. That would be a 46% return on those accounts mentioned. This year I only gained $3k from QQQQ/NQ trading. So it seems like a lot. If I can succeed in adhering to my model it isn't though a very high goal. Viewed another way, it is about 1/2 the average US salary and only a step on the way to becoming a succcessful trader. If we assume that I do achieve this then the required return on my investment portfolio is 14%. This also is high, but not impossible. This year the S&P 500 exceeded that. Of course returns could be much lower and my spending much higher. But this is a goal, not a forecast, and the point is that it should be hard but not impossible to achieve.
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