This is what I've been saying inside my head for the past few days. Outwardly, it's a different story. I've shown nothing but pure joy and happiness. Which is exactly how I feel, for the most part. But there is definitely a side of me (a side that I'm keeping under wraps to everyone apart from you honoured readers of this blog), that has gone all Clay Davis.
The reason? I'm going to be a father. My hands are getting clammy as I type the words out. FATHER! ME! It doesn't seem real but it's true. I wrote a few months ago about proposing to my girlfriend and how my future would be highly likely to turn me into a family man but I guess I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon! I am delighted of course. I've mentioned before how I had been having paternal feelings in recent times and I do want kids. But this now makes what I am doing in terms of ending my trading career, an even bigger decision. Whilst trading has given me enough money to provide for a family for years to come, it won't last forever. I knew that before and am already investing my winnings in projects away from trading, as well as working towards a new career. But knowing that I have an extra mouth to feed, an extra life that is dependent on me, means that I can no longer make financial decisions (or any decision) based purely on what I want.
I want to finish trading. I'd already made my mind up on that. But it was a decision made purely because I want a change, for my own personal satisfaction. In financial terms, I now have to consider whether that is the right move for my family. With some talk that the global economy might be set for a second potential crash, trading might well be the best option for me. This is something I'm going to have to think over for a while. There is the option of trading part-time, bringing in two wages but I get the feeling that is easier said than done. Does it leave enough time to actually see my child as he/she grows up? My priorities have suddenly changed instantaneously, over-night. I can say bye-bye to my 6 months of backpacking around the Americas, for starters! I'll be at home changing nappies (SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTT!!!!) and cleaning up vomit instead of climbing Machu Pichu and drinking Pisco Sours!
Funny though, when I was told that I was going to be a Dad, one of the first things that ran through my mind was "I have to make sure my child grows up to support Nottingham Forest!". I don't know if that's something other fans of sports teams think but it was right there at the forefront of my mind literally minutes after my girlfriend told me she was pregnant. Boy or girl, there is no way I will accept them supporting any other side. Pity we are making such a hash of getting back into the Premier League - I was practically in nappies the last time Forest were there (OK that's not even remotely close to being true but it sure feels like it!). Even when we were top of the league and unbeaten a couple of months ago, I said that we had been fortunate in several games, had a relatively easy start and were just riding on the wave of optimism of one of our greatest ever players becoming the manager - I knew it wouldn't last. If we were in amongst the Chelseas and Manchester Citys, it would certainly help to stop my kid latching onto them as impressionable, young, glory-hunters do. Anyway, I digress. Where was I. Ah yes, fatherhood. Probably means I'll have to grow up and stop posting pictures like this one now..........
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So it looks like I might well be on the ladders for a while longer - maybe even indefinitely. In a recent post I said "You never know just what life has in store for you" - how prophetic. 2015 is now set to be an even more tumultuous year for me. Another thing I've also started to think is, would I want my son/daughter to one day learn about sports trading? When you think about it, there is a generation of Betfair traders now who will have kids that will one day be old enough to trade. If they were successful traders, teaching them the skills to be a good trader could be very useful. Not only so they have the tools to make money independently at any time but also the life skills that can be learnt, such as money management, patience, planning, discipline, research, maths, buying and selling etc. But then there is the worry that they might fall into the same traps that many traders do and end up in trouble. And as I've written about a lot over the past few months, it's not the most fulfilling, varied or exciting way of making money in the world - not to mention the stress!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I've got 18 years till I have to worry about that! In all honesty, even if betting exchanges were still around in 18 years, I seriously doubt I would still be involved. But a couple more years could bring in the kind of money that can pay school, university, mortgage, medical fees and keep a family comfortable for a long time. Yet there is also that added pressure of making money with other people in mind and if there is one thing that you don't need as a trader, it's pressure. It might actually now be more imperative that I stop trading and find a stable career, with a guaranteed income. Would that be the more responsible thing to do? Or would the really responsible thing be to try and maintain the status-quo? I've got a lot of thinking to do because there's going to be a mini Sultan crawling around by this time next year - I can barely get my head around it! Happy Christmas everyone!
"What Goose?""The one that lays them golden eggs!" (Trader Clay Davis)
The reason? I'm going to be a father. My hands are getting clammy as I type the words out. FATHER! ME! It doesn't seem real but it's true. I wrote a few months ago about proposing to my girlfriend and how my future would be highly likely to turn me into a family man but I guess I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon! I am delighted of course. I've mentioned before how I had been having paternal feelings in recent times and I do want kids. But this now makes what I am doing in terms of ending my trading career, an even bigger decision. Whilst trading has given me enough money to provide for a family for years to come, it won't last forever. I knew that before and am already investing my winnings in projects away from trading, as well as working towards a new career. But knowing that I have an extra mouth to feed, an extra life that is dependent on me, means that I can no longer make financial decisions (or any decision) based purely on what I want.
I want to finish trading. I'd already made my mind up on that. But it was a decision made purely because I want a change, for my own personal satisfaction. In financial terms, I now have to consider whether that is the right move for my family. With some talk that the global economy might be set for a second potential crash, trading might well be the best option for me. This is something I'm going to have to think over for a while. There is the option of trading part-time, bringing in two wages but I get the feeling that is easier said than done. Does it leave enough time to actually see my child as he/she grows up? My priorities have suddenly changed instantaneously, over-night. I can say bye-bye to my 6 months of backpacking around the Americas, for starters! I'll be at home changing nappies (SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTT!!!!) and cleaning up vomit instead of climbing Machu Pichu and drinking Pisco Sours!
Funny though, when I was told that I was going to be a Dad, one of the first things that ran through my mind was "I have to make sure my child grows up to support Nottingham Forest!". I don't know if that's something other fans of sports teams think but it was right there at the forefront of my mind literally minutes after my girlfriend told me she was pregnant. Boy or girl, there is no way I will accept them supporting any other side. Pity we are making such a hash of getting back into the Premier League - I was practically in nappies the last time Forest were there (OK that's not even remotely close to being true but it sure feels like it!). Even when we were top of the league and unbeaten a couple of months ago, I said that we had been fortunate in several games, had a relatively easy start and were just riding on the wave of optimism of one of our greatest ever players becoming the manager - I knew it wouldn't last. If we were in amongst the Chelseas and Manchester Citys, it would certainly help to stop my kid latching onto them as impressionable, young, glory-hunters do. Anyway, I digress. Where was I. Ah yes, fatherhood. Probably means I'll have to grow up and stop posting pictures like this one now..........
Bouchard to the left, SIR!!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I've got 18 years till I have to worry about that! In all honesty, even if betting exchanges were still around in 18 years, I seriously doubt I would still be involved. But a couple more years could bring in the kind of money that can pay school, university, mortgage, medical fees and keep a family comfortable for a long time. Yet there is also that added pressure of making money with other people in mind and if there is one thing that you don't need as a trader, it's pressure. It might actually now be more imperative that I stop trading and find a stable career, with a guaranteed income. Would that be the more responsible thing to do? Or would the really responsible thing be to try and maintain the status-quo? I've got a lot of thinking to do because there's going to be a mini Sultan crawling around by this time next year - I can barely get my head around it! Happy Christmas everyone!