Happy Sunday team. Let's prep for the week ahead.

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🗓️ Key Events This Week

• Monday 4/6 — Factory Orders data. Light day — good for reviewing your watchlist and setting alerts

• Tuesday 4/7 — Trade Balance report. Could move the dollar index

• Wednesday 4/8 — FOMC Minutes release (2:00 PM ET) — this is the big one. Expect volatility after 2 PM. Consider reducing position sizes or sitting on hands until the dust settles

• Thursday 4/9 — Initial Jobless Claims + Wholesale Inventories

• Friday 4/10 — CPI data release — major market mover. This will set the tone for the rest of April

📈 What I'm Watching

S&P 500 (SPY)

• Holding above the 50-day moving average — constructive

• Watch last week's low as key support

• Watch last week's high as key resistance

• Bias: Neutral into FOMC, then reactive

Tech (QQQ)

• Still showing relative strength vs SPY — tech leading is bullish

• Any pullback to the 21 EMA is a potential long entry if structure holds

• Watching for continuation above last week's range

Dollar (DXY)

• Dollar weakness = tailwind for equities and crypto

• Tuesday's Trade Balance data could be the catalyst

🎯 Weekly Game Plan

1. Monday/Tuesday — Normal setups. Build watchlist, set alerts at key levels

2. Wednesday pre-FOMC — Reduce risk. No new positions after 1:00 PM ET

3. Wednesday post-FOMC — Watch for overreaction. The reversal after the initial move often provides the real opportunity

4. Thursday/Friday — CPI anticipation builds Thursday, reaction on Friday. Be nimble with sizing

⚠️ Risk Management Reminder

News-heavy week. If you're still working through Trading 101, there's zero shame in sitting out Wednesday and Friday entirely. Protecting your capital IS a strategy — revisit the Risk Management chapter if you haven't already.

Questions? Drop them in the Trading Chat. See you tomorrow morning. Let's have a solid week 💪

Most beginner traders lose money in their first year. I was one of them.

After blowing two accounts and spending thousands on courses that taught theory but not execution, I distilled everything into 5 rules that actually changed my results. These aren't secrets — they're fundamentals that 90% of traders ignore.

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Rule 1: Never risk more than 1-2% per trade.

This is the single most important rule. If you're risking 10% per trade, you're 5 bad trades away from losing half your account. At 1%, you'd need 50 consecutive losers to do the same damage. Math > emotion.

Rule 2: Don't trade the first 15 minutes.

The open is chaos — algos firing, overnight orders filling, spreads widening. Let the dust settle. The best setups show themselves between 9:45-10:30 AM ET. Patience literally pays.

Rule 3: If you can't explain your edge in one sentence, you don't have one.

"I buy when it looks like it's going up" is not an edge. "I buy pullbacks to the 21 EMA on stocks making new highs with above-average volume" — that's an edge. Be specific or be broke.

Rule 4: Journal every single trade.

Winners AND losers. Write down: entry, exit, why you took it, what you'd do differently. After 50 trades you'll see patterns in your behavior that no indicator can show you.

Rule 5: Paper trade until you're profitable for 30 days straight.

Real money amplifies everything — fear, greed, revenge trading. If you can't make money in a simulator, real money won't magically fix that. Prove it on paper first.

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The uncomfortable truth: These rules aren't exciting. Nobody's selling courses on "risk 1% and be patient." But they're the difference between the 90% who blow up and the 10% who don't.

If you're serious about learning to trade the right way — not chasing pump-and-dumps or copying someone else's alerts — we built Trading 101 specifically for this. 13 structured lessons from market basics to building your first strategy, plus a private trading chat and daily market updates. Free 7-day trial available.

Drop a 🔥 if any of these rules hit different.

Welcome to The Trading Edge 🎯

You just made a decision that most people put off forever. Here's how to get the most out of your membership:

1. Start with Trading 101 — The course walks you through everything from reading charts to placing your first trade. Go in order.

2. Join the Trading Chat — Ask questions, share setups, and learn from others on the same journey. No dumb questions here.

3. Check Market Updates daily — I post analysis, trade ideas, and lessons from live market moves here.

The goal isn't to get rich quick. It's to build a skill that pays you for the rest of your life. Let's get to work.

I've seen hundreds of new traders blow up their accounts the same way. Here's what kills most beginners before they even get started:

Mistake #1: Trading without a plan.

You see a stock moving and jump in. No entry criteria, no exit strategy, no position sizing. That's not trading — that's gambling. Before you enter any trade, you should know exactly when you're getting out (win or lose).

Mistake #2: Risking too much per trade.

New traders throw 20-50% of their account at a single play. Professionals risk 1-2%. The math is simple: if you lose 50% of your account, you need a 100% gain just to break even. Keep position sizes small until you're consistently profitable.

Mistake #3: Chasing indicators instead of learning price action.

Beginners stack 15 indicators on their chart and still can't tell which direction the market is going. Strip it back. Learn to read candlesticks, support/resistance, and volume. Everything else is noise until you master the basics.

The traders who make it aren't the smartest — they're the most disciplined. Start with the fundamentals and build from there.