First post - why I'm doing this

This log started on Saturday, March 28, 2009. I became serious about trading nine months ago. I made some money, and I lost some money over that time. What prompted me to start trading for myself was the fact that most mutual funds underperform the market. The standard advice of "the market always goes up" has been proven false. The standard advice to young people was "don't worry about dividend stocks" and "don't worry about bonds - those are for older people" is a load of garbage. I was almost fully invested in growth stocks, and those are always the ones hardest hit during downturns. The fact is, dividends and bond yield payouts could have helped me considerably during the downturn. So I have decided to go against the standard advice and diversify my holdings.

I am 35 years old and watched my 401(k) plan and IRA head south in a hurry; I am thankful that it happened at my young age, because I at least have a chance of recovering from this disaster. But I am now inherently distrustful of anyone who manages money. I have learned (the hard way) that the only one who is interested in protecting and growing your money is you. Everyone else is simply interested IN your money - as in, transferring it from your pocket to theirs.

There are three ways to learn: you can read about it, you can observe someone else doing it, and you can pee on the electric fence. I have decided at this time to follow methods one and three. Every trading book I have ever read tells you to keep a log of what you buy and why, when you've sold it and why.

So this is my trading log.