What do Day Traders Do?

Before the internet became a feature in most households in the US, people interested in trading stocks or any other type of financial instruments had to go through a professional stockbroker. However, these traders, called speculators, can now make trades from the comfort of their own homes and on their own schedules. For that reason, a method called day trading has become a viable way for speculators to make money.

Day traders buy and sell stocks within the same trading day. The motive of day traders is purely profit. There are two distinct styles of day trading, and the difference between them is the amount of time that the trader holds on to the investment.

Short-term trading, also known as scalping, is completed in a matter of seconds. While these trades usually only amount to a fraction of a cent, day traders might complete many in a day, and the profit adds up quickly. Scalpers will usually make a slightly higher bid on stocks to ensure that they own it, and then they will sell it for a higher price than they bought it, which is often so small it is barely noticeable.

Longer-term day trading, called swing or position trading, involves holding onto the stock throughout the day and waiting for the price to go up enough to sell. However, day traders will always sell in the same trading day.

The method that day traders choose to use depends mostly on their personality and how willing they are to watch the stocks throughout the day. Some day traders will make many small trades all day long, while others might just make one highly-profitable trade every day. However, no matter which method day traders use to handle stocks on a given day, their main goal is profit.

Understanding Personal Property Limits For Home Owner’s or Renter’s Insurance

If you are a day trader, you probably have a few computers and other tech gadgets and software in your home. If you work at home or run your trading business from your home, the number of technology items will go up exponentially. Before something happens it is important to look at your home owner’s policy with an eye to the personal property limits. Then compare how your personal property insurance limits stack up to the reality of the technology and other higher ticket items in your home.

What is Personal Property Insurance?

Your homeowner’s insurance policy covers several insured areas. Some of those areas include:

·         Structural Insurance that covers damage to the home’s structure,

·         Liability Insurance for accidents that happen on your property,

·         Personal Property Insurance that covers the items filling your home.

Personal Property Insurance covers your possessions. This is for things that belong to the homeowner or to others that live in the home. Your homeowner’s policy will list your Personal Property overall payout value. This is the amount that you would be paid if you lost everything inside the home if there was a fire, or robbery and everything was cleaned out. If only some specific items are taken or damaged, like for instance your computers, there are specific limits to what the policy will pay.

Personal Property Limits

Do you even know what the limits are on the personal property coverage for your home insurance policy? Take a minute to look through your policy, and then do a quick tour of your house. If you have a video camera, use it to capture everything that is visible. Then download a copy to your offsite data storage. This would be handy if you ever have to file a claim. As you look around, make a list of the TVs, and their type, the Wii, the computers, digital cameras, printers, Blackberry’s, and IPods, etc.

Home Office

If some of these things are for your home office, write those on a separate sheet of paper. Make sure you add in office furniture, and supplies, as well as items like paper shredders, flash drives, and even the extra printer ink you keep on hand.

Now ask yourself these questions:

·         What would fire or water do to your business files?

·         If something happens to all that stuff…can you work?

·         How long would it take to get up and running again?

·         Could you replace everything with the standard home office personal property insurance policy that covers up to $1000 for a home office?

I’m betting the answer is no to the $1000. But that is the average amount of standard coverage for the items that are used as part of your home office if there is a loss. There are riders that can add to this amount. But you will need to talk to your agent, take an inventory of the items you utilize for your office and don’t forget the furniture and supplies. These small items can add up quickly if you keep large quantities of items like printer cartridges and reams of paper.

If your home office is heavy on technology, you made need a computer rider, as these items are restricted on the payoff value. It’s important to talk to your agent and figure out what you have, and what you might need, just to cover the home office.

Other Needs

Remember the Personal Property amount is supposed to cover all the pots and pans, appliances, clothes, furniture, and everything that isn’t part of your structure. Don’t forget to think about jewelry, art, antiques, all of the things that you own that you would have to replace with the dollar limit on your policy.

Replacement VS Actual Cash Value

As you read your insurance policy to see what your personal property coverage limits are, pay close attention and figure out if your personal possessions are covered with the replacement, or actual cash value. This can make a big difference in actually being able to afford replacing everything. For example, the actual cash value might be less than a $100 on that three year old computer, but it could cost you over $700 to replace it. Make sure you know what your insurance policy provides, and how it would cover all of your personal property, especially the property that allows you to make a living.

Survey finds working from home desired by many office workers

A recent poll finds that those running a home based business have an opportunity that many office workers would treasure very highly.

While many companies allow employees to work from home on a flexible basis, others are much more rigid, which has some workers eager for the chance to work remotely.

According to a recent poll by the computer company Citrix, 64 percent of people who cannot work from home once a week would give up something else in order to do so. While 32 percent admitted they would sacrifice lunch breaks, 25 percent would give up drinking and 20 percent would cut coffee from their lives.

The reasons for wanting to stay out of the office were extremely varied. Nearly 75 percent of office workers said there was a frequent office activity, such as a baby shower, staff photo or costume contest, that they wanted to avoid. Others complained about some of the attitudes or behaviors of their coworkers.

"These findings show what all of us who work in offices know - life at the office can often be challenging," said Kim DeCarlis, vice president of corporate marketing at Citrix. "There are plenty of tools and technologies today that empower people to do their jobs from any location."

People have even resorted to some very unusual excuses to work from home. Respondents to the survey said they gave reasons such as "It's Elvis' birthday", "Gas is too expensive" and even "I'm having toenail issues" in order to work from home on a particular day.

The many issues highlighted in this survey show a number of advantages traders may have while running a business from home. While it's necessary to set boundaries to avoid being distracted or overworked, working from home can be a positive experience.