Taking the CMEG plunge

[andyba45 3]

Greetings and thanks for reading! I'll start with my question and then give you background for the question so you can avoid me babbling on.

The question is simple,

Quote

Those of you using CMEG, have you been able to grow your accounts considering the commission rates?

First off, not a knock on CMEG, we all have to make money and I'm very thankful they are available.

The Story: My son (29) and I (57) took the day trading plunge together back in the beginning of March. My son's financial situation is much better than mine so he has no PDT limitation, I on the other hand do. In the last eight weeks, things have been going fairly well, learning and gradually getting better, we have both been using TOS. This weekend I will be getting the DAS Simulator. My plan is to use the SIM the majority of the time for the next three months and use TOS 3 times a week to fulfill my adrenaline rush needs. During this time I will continue to add money to my account. By the end of the three months I will have in the neighborhood of 3,000 to open an account at CMEG. 

My son's argument, (he basis this on my success trade rate which is around 60% (at the moment))

•  Take it slow, save the money on commissions and slowly build up your account overtime, so says the kid with no PDT rules.

My arguments are:

• Having only 3 trades available a week adds way more stress to my trading, I want them all to be successful.
• Commissions are a part of the learning curve/price.
• The more actual trades I have under my belt, minus the commission, the more money I will potentially gain and ability to build my account, plus experience.

Thanks for you time and I appreciate any and all responses!

Andrew

 

[andyba45 3]

peterB, thank you for the response and advice, very much appreciated!

[danielhadaway 0]

I've been in sim for just over 4 months. I had the same concerns as you. My original plan was to open a CMEG account with around $3,000 (I've since changed my mind and will be opening an IB account with $30K). When I was planning on going the CMEG route, I approached it with the mentality that the fees and commissions are just part of the monthly costs, along with the platform fee, etc. And each month I would add back in an amount equal to all of my fees and commissions. So with my average number of tickets in sim, I might end up spending around $300/month in commissions. I would just mentally think of it as a "monthly fee" that I would pay.

[andyba45 3]

Thank you Daniel, that is exactly how I am thinking of it, a "Monthly Educational Fee". Very cheap considering the alternative.  Much appreciated!

[Bailey Nevener 83]

In my honest opinion it is so much better to just invest the money (if you’re a new day trader) and practice in sim until your account is over 25k.

The emotions from lack of buying power, higher commissions, poorer service, and poorer short selection are overwhelming if you REMOTELY want to make money and not lose money.  (Which is pretty much everyone on here)

Assuming you are having success in sim, enable risk controls on your live account at 25k, and trade as if you had 5k in the account.

Build up a cushion of 1k over a couple weeks, and then slowly build up your risk per trade over the course of months.  

Idk what the mods think about this, but making money with a small account is no joke.  I’m not sure if any of those who made their money up to 25k with a small account (myself included) could do it (FOR SURE) a second time.

It’s just not worth the stress and pressure.

Edited April 19, 2021 by Bailey Nevener

[Adam Lewis 64]

I recently stopped with CMEG after becoming just so frustrated with their lack of shorts. Wait until you're above PDT and then use IB or someone with more short choices.

[andyba45 3]

19 hours ago, Bailey Nevener said:

In my honest opinion it is so much better to just invest the money (if you’re a new day trader) and practice in sim until your account is over 25k.

The emotions from lack of buying power, higher commissions, poorer service, and poorer short selection are overwhelming if you REMOTELY want to make money and not lose money.  (Which is pretty much everyone on here)

Assuming you are having success in sim, enable risk controls on your live account at 25k, and trade as if you had 5k in the account.

Build up a cushion of 1k over a couple weeks, and then slowly build up your risk per trade over the course of months.  

Idk what the mods think about this, but making money with a small account is no joke.  I’m not sure if any of those who made their money up to 25k with a small account (myself included) could do it (FOR SURE) a second time.

It’s just not worth the stress and pressure.

Thanks for the response Bailey. 

That is exactly how I am currently using my sim accounts, and my success rate is fairly well.

But put on the pressure of trading real money and I turn into a different person. Overly fearful, not willing to take risks that I know I should, ie, not listening to my intuition and letting the fear monster take over. My ultimate goal is to get over the fear. The only way I can do that is confront it and trade more with real money, hence the CMEG question.

Honestly this is probably a story of me concurring my fears and achieving a goal more than anything else. I've heard internet folklore that it has been done, I was just wondering if anyone here has actually done it.

[andyba45 3]

13 hours ago, Adam Lewis said:

I recently stopped with CMEG after becoming just so frustrated with their lack of shorts. Wait until you're above PDT and then use IB or someone with more short choices.

Thanks Adam, very much appreciated!

[Adam Lewis 64]

7 hours ago, peterB said:

i just wanted to let you all know that that i created a ticket complain for the  Route disabled problem we had with CMEG on 15.4.2021 and they (CMEG) were serious enough to give me back a refund for the caused losses of not filled stop orders.

They do have superb customer services. I had a commissions issue when I was with them and they refunded me without any problem. Very good little company it seems, just a shame about them shorts!