You know you are an emotional investor if:
- You pull a quote for your favorite stock and cheer when you find that it is up even a penny.
- You call your broker atleast once a day to find out his or her opinion of your holdings.
- You pee your pants when you find out the money you invested for Grandma is down 20%.
- You get all excited when you get a “big tip” from a friend on a stock you know nothing about.
- You bite your nails while watching CNBC the closing bell.
- As you watch your positions on your streamer, you give it your undivided attention every time the lights blink red or green.
- When your stock is in the red midday you flip your hat upside down and declare the rally is coming.
- You call every friend and family member after selling a stock for a big profit.
- You have buzzers next to you like Jim Cramer does on Mad Money, and use them religiously.
- You yell at the TV while watching CNBC.
- You want to strangle someone when it takes more than one second for your pending market order to process, “cccccccoooommmmeeeeeeee onnnn!!! GGGGGGOOOOOO!!!!!!!” is all you can say until it is filled.
- You break keyboards every other day.
- You pull out a bowl of popcorn as you watch your stock run up after hours when earnings hit big.
- You and your friend get together after every “rough day” in the markets, hug eachother, then proceed to eat ice cream to feel better.
- You exclaim, “That’s right! YES” if you see your latest call being featured as a play on CNBC, Mad Money, or Fast Money.
- You double your position every time a stock you own gets upgraded.
- You declare you are going to Disney World when your call options triple after the company announces they are going to be bought out. And no, you don’t have any kids.
- You sell a whole position when it gets downgraded by an analyst.
- While watching your stock tank real time on your streamer you put your hands on your forehead and ask yourself, “why me?” over and over again.
- You tell all of your buddies that you never EVER make money in the stock market, and later that week when you do you spend all of your profits throwing a party.
- You throw your chair like Jim Cramer does when the market doesn’t go your way.
- You pray to the “stock gods” each and every night for a good trading day.
- You yell at the “stock gods” after a bad trading day.
- You place stop loss orders less than 1% below your purchase price because you can’t bare “big” losses.
- You burn copies of the Investors Business Daily (IBD) when they are wrong about a recommended stock you lost money on.
- You keep an extra mouse or two in the closet because you break them so often by throwing them against the wall.
- You cry more than your wife.
- After a bad day in the markets you spend the whole rest of the evening ranting about your bad luck.
- You celebrate profits while they are still unrealized gains.
- You get pissed at yourself for celebrating those profits after the stock falls 5% the next day.
- Anyone that thinks your picks are bad you tell them to go to hell.
- You take screenshots of your computer screen when your stock is up more than 10% in one day.
- You film your favorite stock’s ticker while its running up in after hours trading because of some big news.
- You contemplate selling out of your position every time your stock slips more than $.20.
- You stand up out of your chair when you think you see an institutional buyer start to buy up shares of your stock.
- You get drunk after realizing your favorite stock is now bankrupt and you have been holding since the top.
- You drive over to your broker’s office and high five him or her after a big winner.
- You yell when you talk about anything to do with the market.
- You take off your shirt and swing it around in the air above your head when your stock announces its record setting earnings.
- You play “Eye of the tiger” everyday just before the market opens to get yourself pumped up.
- You grab your monitor with both hands, shake it, and yell, “what! what!” or “how could you do this to me!?” when your call is selling off heavily.
- You watch Mad Money every day.
- You contemplate what you are going to buy with profits that aren’t realized yet.
- You refresh your portfolio summary page every few minutes like you do your e-mail box.
- You wear a sweatband while you trade.
- You wear the same pair of underwear for good luck everyday until your stock has a losing day.
- You join chat rooms and tell stories of your greatest trades to everyone in the room.
- You join a friend online and together announce the orders like a soccer game as they come in real time.
- You get pissed when your order gets manipulated by a market maker.
- You blog about ways you know you are an emotional investor because you are an emotional investor.
