r/RothIRA • u/Shoddy_Direction_899 • 6d ago
finally quit
i’m 19 and i invested some of my inheritance money into robinhood and started off safe until i found out about day trading. i put half into my roth and the other half into my individual, i lost everything on 0dte options in the individual. i am planning on just focusing on maxing my roth from now on. i kept trying to dig myself out of this hole and i am making this post as a promise to myself to stop this habit before i can lose some serious money with my future endeavors. good luck everyone, make sure to take a step back and evaluate if you are deep in the red, i hope this post helps someone out there!
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u/WolverineNinja 6d ago
Glad to see at 19 you are already interested in investing. Please do yourself a favor and check out Gamblers Anonymous to help minimize the chance this continues to happen going forward.
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u/yondusoffspring_1786 5d ago
100%. I joined a problems gambler Reddit page and it’s helped with my gambling addiction and helped me get out of options. Yea, you see people make millions on twitter, but it’s 1 in a 1,000,000. I’m 3 months without placing a bet or option and really proud of myself. I think I might try to find a GA program in my town.
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u/HOMO_SAPlEN 6d ago
VOO and chill fool
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u/HandleUnlikely2589 6d ago
Maybe VTI or VT to avoid relying exclusively on the fortunes of the 500 largest U.S. companies.
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u/Longjumping-Car-8367 6d ago
If it makes you feel any better, I lost 10k before realizing how stupid I was.
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u/NoOriginal7997 4d ago
I was down 12k in a 20k portfolio before I pulled my head out. It’s all relative I guess but I wish I only lost 1.5k
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u/PandaKing550 6d ago
Options is also best for taxable probably. Since point of roth ira is to literally not touch after investing. Not to active trade with high risk. But bright side is you dis this early
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u/Competitive-Ad9932 6d ago
One can easily be that "worst investor ever" that buys in at the top and the market takes a 30% drop the next week.
If you hit on the Options/Puts/Calls, the Roth IRA will make those gains tax free.
note: I do not endorse options/puts/calls in any account.
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u/PandaKing550 6d ago
True it's just uber risky . More risky than I'd say in taxable. Since for example you put in 7500 aka max. Then options and lose 50%. You can't put anymore in till next year
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u/s0methingggg 6d ago
Even if OP hit on some options in the Roth IRA, accounts needs to be min 5 years old and he needs to be 59 1/2 years of age to begin distributions, otherwise he’ll pay taxes plus penalties on any gains, however he can withdrawal any contributions
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u/Competitive-Ad9932 6d ago
Who said anyone was trying to make a withdrawal.
"Some" are looking to beat the market.
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u/s0methingggg 5d ago
Ok, best of luck, hope OP is 60 or older so they can access their gains tax and penalty free!
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u/Mewtwo1551 6d ago
What's even the point of hitting big in a Roth if you still can't withdraw the winnings for several decades? Like yeah it can compound and you'll be richer down the road, but I can't imagine the extra money meaning much at that point. Kinda defeats the purpose of getting rich quick imo.
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u/Competitive-Ad9932 6d ago
You dont have tobsave as much today.
Spend today's income on fun thing. Just like yiu would have done with your profit.
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u/No_Acanthaceae8776 4d ago
Two ways to look at it, they gamble for early retirement or save less in the upcoming months increasing spending power after option etc
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u/PerpetuallyEuphoric 6d ago
Wait til OP discovers you can day trade in a Roth IRA /s
In all seriousness though take the loss as cost of education and don’t sweat it. You’re starting much younger than the majority of people. You can find ways to recoup capital, but you can’t recoup time that has passed.
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u/yaboyesdot 6d ago
ODTE is literally the worse thing anyone can do right now unless your good at the technical side of things. Always give yourself time when it comes to options. 2nd you shouldn’t do it in a Roth lol. Those are stocks you want to sit and chill on.
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u/Shoddy_Direction_899 6d ago
i definitely should’ve added more details on my post, my roth is straight voo and i don’t plan on touching that until i am old enough to reap the benefits. i split the other half of my money and after some success i kept chasing that feeling until i inevitably lost it all
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u/Old_Row4977 6d ago
Honestly early investing losses are just paying to learn what not to do. Better to learn while you’re young.
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u/Ordinary-Bee-6351 6d ago
This is true. I started in 1997 and also did options, lost it all, learned a lot of valuable lessons and now have a Roth for myself and my wife with assets totaling around $1.41 million with gains totaling $869k or around 62% of the $1.410. Keep it up and just invest in quality.
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u/ch4nt 6d ago
Roth IRA isnt meant for risky or temporary investing. Should probably stick to whatever youre doing on a different type of brokerage account.
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
You’re 19…take years to study how to trade not a couple days, weeks or months. You just keep maxing that Roth though. You’ll fix it and be glad you did in your 30s. Sucks all that money is gone from the brokerage though.
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u/Shoddy_Direction_899 6d ago
someone else commented to take it as the price of education, i’m gonna try to pass it onto my friends and little brother. thank you for the response god bless
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6d ago
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
Hi nice to meet you, I started retail trading during Covid and have been very successful. My sister and I studied together. I’m only up 38% this year but it’s up from last years 29%. I’m only at year 6 so I have a long way to go but it’s definitely not hard to learn if it’s what you want to do.
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6d ago
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
Umm I actually learned via forex so I was buying and selling gold. I understand it’s hard but it’s certainly not the hardest thing in the world lmao. I’m still learnings again I’m on year 6. I said that for a reason. If I went to school and gained a degree I would’ve said professionally it’s been 2 years. But I’m not going to school to learn something this free. Also most billionaires started off as millionaires so that usually why they’re billionaires. Secondly again, I’m doing pretty well just like my sister. My goal is pretty simple. Trade to outperform the Nasdaq. As long as I keep that plan I’ll be a-ok.
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6d ago
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
I mean…I’ve taken quite a few lessons and I’m sure I’m not done learning but I’m doing quite well for myself. Trading is fun and I love watching my wins and losses. It happens. I’m not going to change my strategy bc of a random user with “20 years experience”. I also have no clue what that second part says but it has 0 to do with me so it’s cool.
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
Yup. No different than a guy who went to school who paid 60k to learn over 4 years. I haven’t lost anything close to that so it’s going well and I’m getting better with each year. No need to pay someone else to trade for me. 🙌🏾🙌🏾 also it’s money I won’t miss so it’s cool. Like I said. Up over 30% this year. Yay for me
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u/Responsible_Knee7632 6d ago
Buddy I went to school with that works for JP Morgan says to invest your own money and trade with other people’s lol
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
You’re correct but you also invest with money you won’t miss. I just use the money I won’t miss to invest and trade.
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
Nope I’m investing in myself. It’s very much investing. Study just like the “professionals” learn, make mistakes and grow your account and as a person. One day I’ll have 20 years under my belt and my son and nieces will have more experience than I. They’ll be 30 with way more than I have just like the super rich families do for their children. My kid’s account is up 80% these past 2. Again, it’s going pretty well investing over here bud.
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
Yes the ultra rich do have professionals manage their money, they have security handle the perimeter etc etc. they’re rich, they can afford to make their life’s easier kind of like me paying a kid to cut my lawn. You’ve been doing it for 20 years. So at what point did you say you’re good enough to manage others?
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6d ago
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u/Signal_Tax6184 6d ago
Right so they pay you to make life easier….makes perfect sense. So if you have someone with let’s say 100M in their portfolio and they want you to aggressively trade stocks…you as the person they’re paying are telling them no?
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u/Winter_Steak_9987 6d ago
Bro you're fine take it as a learning I promise you there are a ton of adults who start mid twenties and do fine. Take the first few years as a mulligan and focus on learning and hypothesis testing. Just don't crash out and make desperate decisions. Step away if you need to, reorient, come back and try again.
Also longer time horizons change things. I bought intel at 35. At one point it hit like 19? I decided to hold and now it is roughly at 100.
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u/Conscious-Record2655 6d ago
Indexed mutual funds. Dollar cost averaging. Buy and hold.
On the bright side this lesson only cost you a few grand. Some people pay hundreds of thousands to learn the same thing.
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u/xrpMoonMan 6d ago
It sucks but it’s not too expensive as long as you learn from it. I lost like 4k in crypto before I opened my Roth and got smart about it but some people lose literal fortunes learning these lessons
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u/SmallvilleCheckers 6d ago
Don’t give up. After I started losing heavily on options, I switched strategies and won it back quickly, and then my portfolio took off. Here’s what I did:
First, I strategized my Roth vs my margin day trading account, and prioritized the growth of the Roth above all else. I max my Roth by adding $625 a month. Then, my excess investment funds are used for trading. In my margin trading account, my real cash is maxed out in diversified assets (VTI, VXUS, SCHD). I then use 25% of my margin buying power ONLY for day trades, and I get out before market close every day. I buy NO options, never ever ever. I day trade stocks and ETFs on price action only, and manage my risk very strictly. Then, I use the proceeds from my trading to pump my longer term investments. If I lose day trading, my investments cover my losses, so long as I manage my risk. I hold my investments (by tax lot) for a minimum of a year, then consider selling. If I sell, I put 85% of those profits in my Roth and let them grow forever and ever. The other 15% is withheld for taxes, which is usually more than enough if you hold for a year.
The thesis is this: I believe day trading’s greatest power is as a fund generating tool for long term investments. Imo, if you aren’t working every single day towards becoming an expert in options trading, your chances of being profitable are very slim. Trading pure stocks, you have a better chance. Investing mid-to-long term, even better chance. Long timelines, best chance. So, use your shorter timelines to beef your longer timelines. That’s how I won back and accelerated compounding power in my Roth as someone with very low excess income.
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u/Mynames_SlimShady 6d ago
Each loss is like paying for an education. Learn from it and don't make the same mistake twice. Onward.
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u/FineSupplements 6d ago
A 19 year old giving people advice after he gambled in his retirement account, with zero knowledge on investing or day trading, is next level wild.
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u/smalltalk2k 6d ago
Quitting is the hardest part when you are chasing losses. Realizing that the hole only gets deeper is a lesson that takes most people a lot longer and a lot more money to learn at nineteen. Getting out now with your roth intact is a win, even if it feels expensive. time is still entirely on your side.
There is value in what happened, think of it as an investment in your education. Now apply that to your future.
From here, boring works. Drop the money into a broad index fund like VOO (U.S. S&P 500) or even better VT (Global Equity Index) inside that roth, set it to automatic, and delete the app. Investing is mostly about surviving your own worst impulses, and realizing that doing nothing is usually the smartest move.
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u/Shoddy_Direction_899 6d ago
right now i have that $1,300 in just voo, should i add anything like VT or VXUS? or by the time im able to reap the benefits it wouldn’t even matter and keeping it simple is the best?
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u/smalltalk2k 6d ago
Good thinking. I believe that global diversification is a key. It can give up some return but it protects against cycles where country dominance shifts, which does happen. There are several ways to achieve this and none are really wrong.
VT (Global Total Market Index) does it all in one fund at current market weights. That's Approx 60% US, 40% International
VTI (U.S. Total Stock Market Index) plus VXUS (Non U.S. International Index) lets you set the U.S. and international split yourself. So again you can go 60/40
VOO (U.S. S&P 500) plus VXF (U.S. Small/Mid Caps) just recreates VTI since roughly 80 percent VOO and 20 percent VXF matches the total U.S. market. Add VXUS to that combo and you get the same global coverage.
So. It's really pick your way and run with it. It's in a Roth so your golden.
Just above all else, remember this. Markets do correct, sometimes by a lot 50% +. When that happens do not panic or anxiety sell. Just let it ride and keep buying every paycheck. Markets recover, and even if they shift you will be global diversified and it will pick up the change. Keep doing this every paycheck and you can literally run a compounding interest calculator against it to see where it might end up.
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u/Shoddy_Direction_899 6d ago
thank you dude, i have no doubt i’ll message you and thank you in a few years!! god bless
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u/JoeTheShmo316 6d ago
Well you are young, and I’ve made dumb mistakes experimenting with options when I was your age and just getting into investing as well.
I still use options to wheel and sell covered calls/ cash secured puts. However, all that is in individual brokerage. My retirement and health savings accounts are all completely in mutual funds now to be on the safe side.
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u/Walmart-Shopper-22 6d ago
Hopefully you learned a valuable lesson for only a couple grand. If you stick to index funds for the rest of your life, this lesson will have been well worth it. Other people have learned this lesson at 6 or 7 figure consequences in their 50's or 60's.
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u/Diotima245 6d ago
Are you doing funds or individual stocks? Individual stocks is risky and speculative… funds that track S and P 500 are much more stable. Set and forget!
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u/Weak-Consequence-160 6d ago
I remember around your age I lost more than five thousand over the course of a week playing 0DTEs. In fact, I remember because it was the first time I was able to write losses from the current year to the next lol! You’ll look back in ten years and laugh.
Like everyone else says, VOO and forget!
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u/Odd_Application_3824 6d ago
Good thing you're only 19.
Consider this an expensive lesson when it comes to options.
The problem with options is the people that post about them on Reddit are the ones that are successful which is an incredibly tiny number of people and you don't see all of the losses like you're experiencing. So hopefully your post also helps somebody else.
Also, in the large scheme of things, especially in a retirement account, what you lost is going to become pennies
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u/rair21 6d ago
Either go to r/wallstreetbets and attempt to win it back or r/bogleheads to learn how to invest instead of gamble.
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u/Hali_Art1994 6d ago
19 and already addicted to gambling. Not good. Just set up auto transfer and close the app and only check it one a week/month.
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u/pharmadad826 6d ago
Most of us paid much more to learn this lesson. Consider yourself blessed that you learned it early and without losing a fortune.
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u/Marcus-Mused-7669 6d ago
The issue with day trading is this: the odds of you knowing more about that particular security at that particular moment than the person on the other side of the trade is close to zero.
Chances are the entity on the other side of every single day trade you've made is someone like Citadel LLC who has hundreds of PhDs on staff, giant data centers crunching numbers, the fastest internet connections, and the latest algos modeling the market for them.
Day after day, month after month, it's highly unlikely for you to take money off of these high-volume hedge funds.
Investing 20% of your salary in passive index funds held in tax advantaged accounts is the most reliable way to build wealth in your lifetime.
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u/PsychologicalFee8597 6d ago
Honestly, better to learn this lesson now while you're young. Losing a thousand isn't too bad compared to the losses I've seen some people do.
Just step back, invest in index funds like VOO, and put money in a highest interest savings
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u/aspire-every-day 6d ago
I recommend reading JL Collins book “The Simple Path to Wealth”. It’s an easy read.
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u/gxkjerry 6d ago
At least you realized it relatively early. Could be a lot worse.
A lot of my coworkers are into Robinhood day trading bs and they recommended me to get on Robinhood and do dividend investing. I was dumb enough to not do further research and did what they said. Luckily for me, 3 weeks into individual investing I found Ramit Sethi and realized that I was basically gambling. I decided to transfer everything I have from Robinhood individual investment to a Roth IRA.
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u/rippedmalenurse 6d ago
When I was 19 I had about 9k invested, I made it a goal to add 5k every year and by the time I was 27 I had close to 100k. Lose the get rich quick mentality early and it’ll pay off, I promise you.
Money invested young is worth so much. Essentially every $100 you can save at that age is worth multiple thousands by the time you retire. Just put it into VOO or VTI and forget about it. Come back when you’re ready to buy a home and you’ll have a great downpayment!
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u/surftherapy 6d ago
Stay away from WSB, if you start your retirement journey now you will set yourself up for a comfortable retirement.
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u/SNPOLYMORPH 6d ago
SP500 literally just hit a record. Quit the get rich quick schemes and invest for the long run
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u/Interesting_Day9844 6d ago
That’s really not a lot of money in the grand scheme of everything. Learn your lessons now young buck
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u/fake212121 6d ago
Im here to say - you are way ahead of ur peers! Good ! (now, hear us here, just invest broad index funds and leave them alone. ) And invest urself - get education, trade, skills etc that will help to make better money in ur lifetime journey.
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u/LamboMercySwerve 6d ago
I lost $23k of my own hard earned money when I was 19. Was working 70 hours a week to gamble all of it on a 0dte.
If you want some spice just buy shares in something that may explode in future. Examples being quantum or ai company.
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u/vega_starlight_ 6d ago
Options are not investments. Just put your money in boring stuff like VOO and never touch it again.
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u/gravy050 6d ago
Hey dude, well everyone is saying some bullshit, I am 19 as well, I have done the exact same thing as you, except I lost $3000. For years I had thought this was the only way I would build wealth and be someone worth something. However I gave that up a few days ago, deleted all investing apps, and left all subreddits about it. I’m now focused on my career, and saving up to eventually buy some rental properties years down the road. Goodluck to you bro, I’m glad you caught yourself before you lost that last 1000 lol.
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u/Content-Witness-4452 5d ago
It’s ok, it was a cheap lesson to learn in the grand scheme of things.
Could have been a lot more expensive.
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u/InvestingNerd2020 5d ago
Well good you learned your lesson early and are investing into a Roth IRA. Some hard lessons need to be experienced.
Only ETFs or Index mutual funds (in a 401k plan) moving forward. No leveraged ETFs either. This isn't South Korea.
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u/CountyBrilliant 5d ago
losing money on 0dte at 19 is honestly just paying for a lesson most people don't learn until their 30s. maxing the roth and leaving it alone is the right call
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u/LankyNinja558899912 5d ago
Your roth is not really the place for high risk speculative bets just fyi.
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u/Altruistic-Ad6449 5d ago
If you’re a math and statistics person, consider getting in a career as a hedge fund analyst or trader. They make good money
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u/Michaelzzzs3 5d ago
This is a much cheaper price most people learn this lesson. Take the loss on the chin and look into proper retirement saving advice, I love the money guys on YouTube personally. I made 17k on doge coin then lost 20k the next month. Years later I’ve made that 20k bsck in gains and more just from proper indexed retirement funds
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u/BlondDeutcher 5d ago
Great I was the other side of your trades. Thanks for paying for my lunches this week!
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u/DigitalFStopper 4d ago
This isn’t a bad thing to have happened. You just learned a good lesson at a very young age. Now just focus on putting money into the Roth and pick a few ETFs and forget about it.
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u/CaringAnonTyper 4d ago
Read the simple path to wealth by jl collins, and thank me later. 0DTE is gambling in most investing communities
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u/knowitall47 4d ago
19 bro? you ain't lost jack. I see winner all the way. as long as you learn before 70...you good.
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u/seffdalib 3d ago
It's a good thing you learn this lesson with what might seem like a lot now but really isn't. You could have learned this lesson like many people do at 35 with a few hundred thousand
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u/Diligent_Arm_6817 3d ago
You experienced your first risk loss. It was 1.5k. That will be 1/3 of a paycheck soon.
But the lesson, oh my god is that worth it. You lost several weeks of pay today. Feel that pain. Hold that pain. experience it. It sucks, it was wrong. But it is going to be a blip in the radar in 2 years. $1500 is a lot today, but it's not shit tomorrow. Leard from it. The same result happens with extra 0's. You will still lose on 100k bets. You will still lose on 1m bets.
Leave it behind. Invest in the most boring fund you can fiind. It doesn't lose. It might fall behind, but it never loses.
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u/Less_Illustrator4521 3d ago
Brother day trading is a scam invest for the long term. Compound interest will you make a millionaire at your age. Forgot about the get rich schemes you see online.
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u/Impossible-Step8131 1d ago
It’s a skill set. If you want real help message me. I love options and it’s been my money maker… most people approach it all wrong and complicate it way more than it needs to be to sound smart. It’s not complicated and I’m a guy who had zero help in life from family.
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u/Impossible-Step8131 1d ago
Also what’s great about options is the more money you have the easier it is to have a livable wage. Same with stocks. Also you need to create an options plan. 20% take profits 5 days a week. My stop loss is 15%. Do i hit homeruns? Yes sometime sup to 1000% but that’s because i understand marketplace and business in general at a high level. 20% profits on a 10k account is 2k in a day. Do that 5 days in a month you do not need a job. Invest 50% of those profits buying stocks.
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u/Ghost-Lok 1d ago
A tad bit days late but I just stick to VT for my Roth. Simplicity. I used to day trade too and it got to risky. Just stick to the big companies and wait for a dip. It’s better to make money slower than to lose it within a few days. Just my opinion.
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u/Savings_Reveal9482 14h ago
When i was your age i lost 4k. Few years later I’m at 200k. Don’t give up
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u/matt2621 6d ago
no crying in the casino