The Stealthy Sisters of Spin and Speculation (Part 2)

I believe people often mistake Spin for responsible investing/trading. I suspect the same may be said about Speculation.

Mr. Know It All has admitted to consistent losses from day trading futures. I believe he does this to pass the time. He is retired and where other people pay for golf memberships or for tennis lessons, he pays to day trade.

A part of me does not believe trading/investing should ever be something done just to pass the time. If asked point blank, I don’t think Mr. Know It All would admit this either. [I hope] He would say he enjoys day trading and if he loses a little money on a consistent basis then he can afford it. I noticed early on that when people asked questions about trading/investing, Mr. Know It All was quick to stick his nose in [to an amusing extent] and give answers. Perhaps his day trading makes him feel qualified to seek this ego boost coming in the form of appreciation for his “knowledge.”

Yet, because he’s a consistent loser I regard Mr. Know It All as the last person who should ever be answering questions. What he does is clearly not trading as a business: consistent losses would make for a horrible business model! What he does is clearly not responsible trading/investing, either: consistent losses could land someone in the poorhouse!

I think most people interested to incorporate trading/investing into their lives are at least looking for supplemental income and at most seeking permanent long-term income replacement. I doubt any newbie is looking “just to pass the time” if the very activity done for the purpose of making money would do nothing more than generate small losses on a regular basis. Why listen to anyone who is doing just that, then?