Great idea with the Q&A guys, this stuff helped me when I was a beginner so I hope to return the favour!
@Rollsroyce13
Hey mate I suspect everyone's situation is quite different. I tend to keep a separate accurate record of each of my trades in an excel file. While I could just as easily rely on the records kept by my broker (i.e. Commsec), I find that by maintaining my own records I can better analyse each trade and keep a track of how I am doing, at the very least on a bi-monthly basis. It also allows me to visually record my progress on a chart. Once I have closed a trade I enter it onto the spreadsheet. One of the columns that I think is quite important, especially for beginners is the "reasons" column, that is for each trade you should enter a reason as to why you bought it and why you sold it. I think it gives you pause to think out loud....i.e. did I buy this on a whim or where there actual fundamental and technical reasons for doing so! This will save you a heap of money down the track, and once you develop a regimen you wont need to write down your reasons, rather you will automatically know whether the trade you are about to make qualifies your standards. I have provided an example of what my record keeping system looks like, everyone has there own system, this works for me:
In addition I believe keeping accurate records like this helps out when it comes to tax time. I believe alot of the seasoned posters on here would qualify as professional traders and not investors. The key difference when it comes to tax is that profits (including dividends) are not counted as capital gains, rather they are counted as ordinary assessable income. Furthermore a trader is allowed to claim brokerage as a deduction at the end of the year. On the other hand a regular investor does not enjoy these perks.
Obviously I am not a financial advisor so look up the Australian Taxation Office website at this link
here.
As Mouse mentioned if you have a big juicy capital gain at the end of the year it is always best to prune out some dead wood to offset those gains. But do your own research!
All the best
