august done.
best month yet.
final numbers #
goal: +$4,000
actual: +$6,340
beat goal by: +$2,340 (58.5% over target)
account growth #
start august 1: $351,145 end august 31: $357,485 gain: +$6,340 (+1.81%)
weekly breakdown #
week 1: +$2,065 week 2: +$1,805 week 3: +$1,705 week 4: +$765
total: 18 trades, 16 wins, 2 losses (89% win rate)
strategy performance #
mean reversion:
- trades: 14
- win rate: 79% (11 wins, 3 losses)
- net: +$4,340
momentum (new):
- trades: 4
- win rate: 100% (4 wins, 0 losses)
- net: +$2,000
momentum small sample but promising.
6-month performance (march-august) #
march start: $400,000 (before losses) august end: $357,485
timeline:
- jan-mar: -$180,000 (learning period, painful)
- apr: break-even (applying systems)
- may: +$22,740
- june: +$3,285
- july: +$6,120
- august: +$6,340
net since going live april: +$38,485 from $220k low = +17.5%
recovered from losses. profitable 4 months straight.
what worked this month #
1. new filters
time-of-day, gap detection, correlation limits.
blocked 35 trades total.
estimated saved: $2,800.
2. momentum strategy
added regime diversification.
4 trades, all winners.
continuing at 0.5% risk.
3. timescaledb migration
10x faster backtesting.
can iterate strategies way faster.
4. discipline
followed rules. no revenge trading. consistent size.
best trade #
august 16: momentum breakout +$520
captured trending move. trail stop worked perfectly.
worst trade #
august 14: SPX put spread -$360
fought gap momentum. added gap filter after this.
learned from it.
comparison to july #
july: +$6,120 (23 trades, 87% win rate) august: +$6,340 (18 trades, 89% win rate)
similar profit. fewer trades. higher win rate.
efficiency improving.
september goals #
financial: +$5,000 (higher than august base goal)
strategy:
- collect 20 momentum trades
- if validated, increase to 1.0% risk
- keep mean reversion unchanged
infrastructure:
- research websocket feeds
- optimize async pipeline further
personal: keep relationship with A. healthy, stay in therapy
risks ahead #
1. momentum small sample
only 4 trades. need 20+ before confident.
2. market regime change
strategies work in current conditions.
if vol spikes >40, need adjustments.
3. overconfidence
4 profitable months ≠ figured it all out.
staying humble.
reflection on august #
turned 20 last month (july 4).
9 months since parents died (dec 31).
mostly healed now. therapy helping.
dating A. for 2.5 months. she stays over frequently. stable.
trading crushing it. systems working. life is good.
looking ahead #
continue what’s working.
don’t change winning strategies.
stay disciplined. stay humble.
11:40pm friday. august done. +$6,340. best month yet. crushed goal. september target: $5k.
-AK