I know that index fund investing is superior, and that beating the market is a fool’s errand for the 90% of people out there. I know from experience.
However, how do I beat the temptation to make an occasional day trade every now and then to capitalize on some irrational market fluctuations (like overtly bullish days where stocks just moon). There’s certain stocks on my watchlist that just consistently pump +6-8% on a given day after a few days of red or flat trading. It does this not consecutively, but frequently enough in a given week where I feel dumb for not capitalizing on the pump.
Even just 6% of 25k one can use for a small trade is like a +1,500 profit, enough to buy a round trip ticket to somewhere, or enough to buy a bunch of meals/tickets guilt free.
I know if one day trades consistently over the long run, it’s a losing game. But is there any harm in trying to go for these small wins every now and then? (with a disciplined stop loss)
It’s hard for me to avoid the temptation of trying to go for these +8% gains in a given day, considering that’s the average return of the S&P 500 in a given year.
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