Today — Thursday, April 19, 2012 — is the last day you can purchase Outsourcing A Kindle BookThis web site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way. By using this link to purchase the item, you enable us to continue providing valuable content at no charge to you. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied. for just $7. According to James Jones and Rachel Rofe, the price goes up by $40 at midnight (Pacific Time) tonight, to $47.

And today is also the last day you can claim your bonus by purchasing the product using my referral link. You can read about my full bonus offer here.

Ebook Cover From The Site

I’ve also noticed that quite a few of you haven’t claimed your bonus yet. Please let me encourage you to do so before the end of the month (April 2012 — and remember, Protector Support is the place to file your claim). I’d like to get the bonus into your hands (after all, a promise is a promise), but I’d also like to use the space on my web server to store future bonus package for other high-value deals. So you’d be helping me a lot if you can claim your bonus and download it by the end of April. Thanks for your help; I appreciate it.

And be sure to check back often; I’ll try to set up deals like this (where you can get a great bonus for stuff you’re going to buy anyway) a bit more often. I was very encouraged by the response and would love to set up more offers like this one.

Name Your Own Bonus? For Any Digital Product?

If there’s ever a digital product (and in some cases, physical products) you want to buy but can’t find a bonus offer to go along along with it, let me know and I’ll work with you to come up with a great bonus offer. In fact, the “name your own bonus” program is something I want to implement soon. Purchase a product and either claim the special bonus package I’ve put together — or build your own, based on “points” (I’m still working on the concept; it’s not finalized just yet).

Want to purchase something with a bonus but can’t find a good one? I have a huge library of products I can give away as a bonus. I plan on getting them online “soon”, and once I do, I’ll tell you how you can choose your own bonus for any digital product you want to buy. Sound good?

You Rock!

I’d like to once again thank all of you who have taken me up on this bonus offer by purchasing through my link. I’m honored and grateful that, out of all the people whose referral link you could have used, you chose to use mine. Maybe this isn’t something that most marketers would write (and therefore isn’t something you’re used to reading!), but I sincerely appreciate your choosing to do business with me.

You May Still Have Time To Claim The Bonus!

Are you still undecided about taking me up on my bonus offer? How about if I added something to the package?

Actually, I’ve already done this… In addition to the three bonuses I mentioned in the original review of this product, I added two additional bonuses. One shall remain a mystery (unless you purchase the course using my link), but I’ll tell you about the other…

The Amazon Navigator (or the “Amazon Pack” — take your pick) contains a lot of “stuff” to help you get your book published on the Kindle. It also comes with Master Resale Rights (MRR) and some tools to help you promote it, including a sales letter (which you can preview by clicking here).

Just one word of warning: Today (until midnight, Thursday, April 19, 2012) you can purchase “Outsourcing A Kindle Ebook” and get all five of my bonuses — the three in the original post, the one I just mentioned, plus an unannounced bonus (it does come with MRR; I’ll say that much) — for just $7. Tomorrow, you can still purchase everything — but “Outsourcing A Kindle Book” goes up to $47 and won’t include my bonus package, which you’ll still be able to purchase — but the price will be much higher than $7 (it will be at least $27). The choice is yours.

Again, I think Outsourcing A Kindle BookThis web site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way. By using this link to purchase the item, you enable us to continue providing valuable content at no charge to you. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied. is an outstanding value. Any time Rachel Rofe talks about outsourcing, I tend to listen, and if you think that you’ll ever outsource any kind of writing — especially a Kindle book — then $7 is a small price to pay in order to learn what Rachel has to say on this topic. And James? Well, James almost always manages to throw a few twists into things that makes for a much more interesting product… and experience… and just maybe (it depends on you, ultimately) a bit more revenue…

Last Minute Additional Bonus

OK, this looks like some kind of “cheap marketing trick” — and maybe it is! — but I just decided that I’m going to write up a “quick and dirty” special report that goes into some of the “behind the scenes” work I did on this promotion. In it, I’ll tell you:

• Where I got the idea to promote this — and “how and why” I found out about it in the first place.
• How I formed my promotion.
• Where I got my bonuses (it’s not a source I’m willing to reveal publicly).
• And anything else that I think might be useful.

One of the purposes of this blog is to show you how I’m building my business, what works, and what doesn’t. This promotion worked (at least according to my standards), and while I’m willing to share some of the “how” behind it publicly, I don’t want to make all of the details on this blog.

So I’ll write up the report, but only those who qualify for my “Outsourcing A Kindle Ebook” bonus will get a complimentary copy (which means you need to purchase before the April 19, 2012 deadline). Anybody else will have to pay for it (and the price will be at least $7, probably more because I’ll be revealing one of my big secrets).

Hopefully that will help you make your decision. There are lots of good reasons to take me up on this offer! But if you do, please buy it because it’s something you think you can use to help build your business. Don’t buy just because of the great offer. Thanks.

Normally, when writing a post, I have a topic in mind, so I write the post title first. Today, I have several random things on my mind that I want to share, so I’m going to write the post first, then come up with a title. WordPress has suggested “1648″ for a title, so if I can pad this out to 1,648 words, I just might let it slide.

Just under 1,600 words to go!

And if this post suddenly stops in mid-sentence, then you know I hit 1,648 words…

No More FOREX

While I still may continue to “play” with FOREX on a demo account (and remember, I only recommend trading with a demo FOREX account), I think I’m done with live FOREX trading. I’ve closed out my profitable positions and will monitor my account, waiting for the trades that are currently losing money to become profitable. So far, one trade has done that.

Once all trades become profitable (or I lose my patience and close them out anyway), I’m going to close out my live account and cash it out. I’ll reinvest that money back into my business in some form.

But I’m done with FOREX, and just in case you missed it, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT YOU TRY TO MAKE MONEY WITH FOREX.

You’re welcome.

Kindle Outsourcing

The Kindle Outsourcing Bonus Offer went much better than I expected. In fact, it went so well that I actually had to create a “thank you” page and upload the products.

I’ll deal with that any day of the week.

In case you missed it and would still like to take advantage of the offer, it’s still available. The price of the product will go up after April 19, 2012, but as I write this, it’s still at an affordable $7. There is an upsell (which I also have) that you may want to consider purchasing.

Here’s my “take” on whether you should get the upsell / one time offer (OTO):

• If you are curious about having somebody else write a Kindle book for you or if you just want to try it out inexpensively, then the base offer is for you.
• If you have no intentions of outsourcing a Kindle book but would like an inexpensive lesson on how to do it from somebody with lots of experience (Rachel Rofe), then the base offer is for you.
• If you anticipate doing this long-term and using multiple writers that you will have to train, then you will want both the regular and one time offer.

Hope that helps a bit. If you’re not sure, get both; you have 30 days to request a refund. And if you order through my affiliate link (click here; this is my affiliate link!The owner of this site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way and enables us to provide valuable content without charging additional fees. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied.), you can keep my bonuses even if you decide to ask for a refund.

But please: don’t just buy the thing because you want some free bonuses. If you’re really desperate for the bonus products, just let me know and I’ll send you my PayPal address. Just send me $7 (the price of the main product) and I’ll give you the download link. No point in messing with somebody’s product and payment system just to get an ebook that’s going to sit on your hard drive.

Thanks for understanding.

Reflections

I made some money this week (as long as we don’t talk about FOREX, which we’re not going to do any more. Until I change my mind. Again). That was encouraging. I actually got to the point where I kept logging in to check my stats at least once a day to see if I had made any money — something I haven’t done on a regular basis for a while.

Now I have to carry it forward. The promotion went well and I referred some sales with my format. Here’s why I think it worked:

• It was a new product that received a lot of pre-launch publicity.
• It was a quality product, provided by people I know and trust.
• I was able to review the product before the public launch (NOTE: I did pay for it; it was not given to me for free).
• People would be looking for reviews and bonus offers.
• I wrote a review and offered a bonus which somebody obviously found. Somehow.

Not a bad deal. Something good to build on, and I have a formula that I can “tweak”.

Wow! I just checked Google (using a browser where I’m not logged in to my Gmail account) and my little blog post review and bonus offer shows up at #3 in the listings for “how to outsource a kindle book bonus” (without quotes). Of course, I don’t see any other reviews; wonder why?

I’m at #11 for “how to outsource a kindle book review” and at #33 or so for “how to outsource a kindle book” (at least from where I sit). Amazon and the pirate sites beat me out for that last term, which isn’t surprising when you consider that Amazon owns the trademark for, and makes, the Kindle — and the pirate sites obviously read and practice the stuff they offer for free download…

I also just realized that I made a mistake in the title; it’s “How To Outsource A Kindle Book”, not “How To Outsource A Kindle Ebook”. Oops…

Want Some Free Stuff?

Hey, everybody loves freebies, right? Here are a few offered by Dennis Becker and Rachel Rofe, partners in crime business at Earn 1k A Day. They’re going to ask you for an email address when you sign up, but they use Aweber so you can unsubscribe any time you want if their emails get to be bothersome (and I wouldn’t promote them if I thought that was the case).

1. 5 Bucks A Day to 1k A Day Webinar. This is the recording of a webinar where Dennis reviews the 5 Bucks A DayThe owner of this site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way and enables us to provide valuable content without charging additional fees. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied. strategy in depth. If your business is going nowhere fast, pick up a copy of 5 Bucks A Day (it’s cheap; about, uh, $37… That’s 5 bucks a day for a week, plus $2), read it, and do what it says. Or, if you prefer, you can get the 5 Bucks A Day SystemThe owner of this site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way and enables us to provide valuable content without charging additional fees. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied., which includes the original version of the ebook, a couple of videos that goes more in-depth to the system, and a copy of Dennis’ Action Enforcer SystemThe owner of this site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way and enables us to provide valuable content without charging additional fees. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied. that will help you manage your time better as you become more productive.

2. The Earn 1k A Day Report Bundle. 34 reports on various marketing topics. Rather than rehash all of them here, just click on the link to see what’s available.

3. The Official Earn 1k A Day Blog. This one doesn’t even require an opt-in, but it will give you a small “taste” of what Earn 1k A Day is all about. As will the next one…

4. Earn 1k A Day Top Posts. Want a sample of what awaits inside the The Earn 1k A Day Insiders’ Club Membership SiteThe owner of this site participates in an affiliate program for the linked product that is designed to provide a way to earn advertising and/or referral fees from the linked site. This does not affect your purchase price of the linked product in any way and enables us to provide valuable content without charging additional fees. No endorsement, sponsorship, etc. by either party of either site is expressed or implied.. This consists of the first post for 8 different threads that were started in the forum. Once you join, you can find the full discussion for all 8 threads — plus 16 additional discussions that have made the Earn 1k A Day “Hall of Fame” — inside the “Top Forum Posts” area. All are gold, and this is just one benefit of the membership.

And remember: You only pay $2.95 for the first 10 days of your membership and cancel at any time by logging into your PayPal account and cancelling your subscription. You are in complete control at all times. And if you do join Earn 1k A Day, contact me and I’ll hook you up with lots of extras.

Just A Few Words To Go

Almost to 1,648 words! But I’m not sure if WordPress counts ALL words, including the ones you don’t see in the blog post — or if it just counts the ones you see. Sure, I

Enough is enough. A stagnant portfolio, almost halfway through April, losses of $500…

I am closing out my Hedge Fund positions and will no longer be using it.

Again, nothing against Brian Campbell, but the system simply didn’t work and I’ve had enough.

Short post — possibly the shortest I’ve ever written — but I promised to be honest, so here it is.

And I may be done with FOREX period. Haven’t decided yet.

For many years, my advertising philosophy has been pretty simple: If I like the product and think it’s a good value, I’ll promote it. Granted, there have been some exceptions (i.e. I may promote a new product launch “sight unseen” if I know and trust the product creator), but for the most part, I’ve stuck with my rules.

Until I read something the other day that basically said that such a philosophy is an insult to my blog readers. I apologize for that.

Why I’m Changing My Advertising Policy

I’ve been a reader of Randy Cassingham’s “This Is True”This, unfortunately, is not an affiliate link. “This Is True” is awesome but Randy doesn’t have an affiliate program, which is too bad because I’m sure that at least one person who clicks on this link will end up subscribing to the paid version of his newsletter. Boogers. since I signed up for the free version in December 2005. I upgraded to the Premium (paid) version in March 2007. Giving him money for 5 years running means that there’s something I like in his newsletter!

I don’t always agree with Randy, but that’s not why he writes; the way I see it, he’s just trying to get people to think for themselves and form their own informed opinion on the issues. Since I like people who “agree to disagree” and are willing to discuss issues based on their own conclusions (as opposed to spouting off the opinion of some overpaid, airbag talk show host — and no, I’m not talking about you, Dave Ramsey — you’re usually cool!), I’ve stayed with This Is True for several years now. If I ever make it over to the west side of Colorado, I hope Randy has time for me to buy him a cup of coffee. I think I’d enjoy chatting with him for a few minutes.

So when I recently came across a blog post that Randy wrote about his advertising policyThis one isn’t an affiliate link either but it’s an awesome post that made me re-think my position on blog advertising. And isn’t that why I signed up for Randy’s newsletter in the first place?, it got me to thinking. Yes, I should have noticed it back when he first wrote it in early 2007 — but didn’t (my mind was in other places back then, mostly on trying to make a quick buck instead of trying to build a lasting business). In that article, Randy makes an outstanding point about a reader who complained about one of the advertisers in “This Is True”:

So what is he really saying? Nothing less than “I’m smart enough to know that there ‘could be’ a problem with your advertiser, but your other readers aren’t so smart and you should protect them by refusing the ad.”

Do you want me to protect you? Sorry, I just quit that job, at least to an extent. Yes, I’ll still have standards — I won’t promote the “get rich quick” gurus who want to sell you a $2,000 product you can get elsewhere for $9.99, for example (at least not knowingly), and I still feel as if I should “earn” my referral commissions — but I trust that my readers, like Randy’s readers, are smart enough to read between the lines and decide if a sales letter or advertising pitch accurately describes the product.

I’d also like to start allowing ad networks to advertise here, and since I don’t have complete control over what they would display here, you need to decide for yourself if an advertised product is garbage or gold. The occasional “skunk” will slip through the cracks, but you’re smart enough to smell it.

Consumer, Beware!

So while I’m going to start advertising here a bit more and loosen my policy a bit, I’m also going to tell you a few things to watch out for (and I’ll do my best to screen these kinds of ads but they may still pop up every once in a while). This is by no means a comprehensive list, and if you have additional suggestions, please leave a comment and share it:

• First, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Period. Note that I didn’t say, “it probably is” — I said it IS too good to be true. Look for realistic offers.
• Look for a refund policy. Is there one? If so, how long is it? 30 days? 60 days? If they refuse to honor their refund and/or support policy, do you have some recourse without resorting to a credit card chargeback (yes, that is an option, but it should be a last resort option. Please use the merchant’s support system to request a refund if needed; legitimate merchants always honor their refund policies as long as you kept your end of the bargain. And chargebacks hurt everybody because they raise a merchant’s credit card fees — and you can bet that those costs get passed through to you, the consumer).
• Another tip about refunds: Most merchants limit their advertised refund period because credit card companies get nervous. They don’t want to release a merchant’s funds if they have a high refund rate and a one year guarantee period because they are afraid that they’ll get stuck with the bill. So even if the refund period is 30 days, don’t hesitate to ask on Day 31 — or even Day 61. Just have a good reason and ask nicely; while they are under no obligation to do so, some merchants will still refund your money. And if they do, don’t forget to say “thanks” because they did do you a favor. Don’t be ungrateful.
• What exactly are you getting in the package? After you pay, compare the sales copy to what you actually received. If there is a discrepancy, work it out with the merchant.
• Save a copy of everything: sales copy, terms of service, privacy and other policies, download page for digital products, etc. Save them in a separate folder. This can be of tremendous help if you ever have a dispute with a merchant. And be sure to read those documents before you buy; in many instances, I’ve not purchased a product I wanted because I did not like the merchant’s Terms (i.e. s/he can sell my contact info to anybody they want to. So you want me to give you money so that you can sell my contact info to a bazillion bozos who will then fill my Inbox with spam? No, thanks!)
• Shop with a credit card, not a debit card. You have more protection when shopping with a credit card than you do with a debit card. Just ensure that you pay it off every month before the due date; I don’t like debt.
• Sleep before purchasing. Sure, you might buy a $10 ebook without giving it a second thought, but if you are going to buy something that will require you to go without something else, then sleep on the decision. If you still feel strongly about the item the next day and can figure out a way to shuffle the budget to pay for it (remember, I recommend that you never use a credit card to buy anything unless you can pay off the balance in full before the due date), then go ahead and buy it.
• Ask somebody you know, love, and/or trust. Just be a bit cautious here; like Randy wrote about in his article, some people deliberately post bad reviews of a product on the Internet to hurt competitors. And stay away from mud-slinging sites that encourage visitors to leave bad reviews. In many cases, these sites make money by offering to make those reviews disappear in exchange for a sum of money. Blackmail, in other words. But your spouse will probably have some valuable insights that can help you make the right decision.

How I Will Help You Save Money

I’m working on a project that can save you a lot of money if you like to purchase digital products (like ebooks, videos, etc.). I’ve been able to purchase a license to resell (and in some cases, give away) a lot of low priced, useful products and plan on getting that site cranked up and running soon. Keep reading this blog; I’ll announce details as soon as possible.

In the meantime, “enjoy” the ads as they appear (there’s not going to be a sudden flood of ads appearing on this blog overnight!), and as you click on them, know that I do appreciate your support and patronage.

P.S. — If you would like to advertise on this blog, please contact me via my support site, Protector Support. Please give me details about what you want to advertise, where you want the ad to appear, the time frame, and what you’d like to pay. I reserve the right to refuse any and all ads for any reason whatsoever (but you know that’s just “weasel wording” so I can refuse garbage…).

Ebook Cover From The Site

• First, Kindle publishing shows a lot of potential for making a bit (or a lot) of extra cash. While I can’t guarantee anything because I don’t know you, people are making money in Amazon’s Kindle Marketplace. As a new Kindle owner, I can vouch for the fact that I’m always looking for good books and don’t mind paying if the price is right.
• Confidence. People will buy from Amazon because they know that Amazon provides great customer service and that they can get a “no hassles” refund. They buy with confidence, and if the book delivers, they keep it.
• Market Reach. Amazon promotes and sells your book. While these promotion efforts, of course, are subject to their rules and policies, I think I’d rather have them promoting my stuff than try to promote it myself.
• Price. At only $7, this is a very affordable product that will teach you about outsourcing your Kindle book. You can do it all yourself (and many do), but having others doing the writing for you can help you publish many more books in a shorter period of time. This business model works well for some, and even if you don’t plan on outsourcing your books, this is an inexpensive introduction to the world of Kindle publishing outsourcing in case you later change your mind.
• You will be given the opportunity to purchase additional items when you purchase this product (it’s called an “upsell”) but they are optional. The base product stands on its own, in my opinion, but the upsell (which I also purchased) is extremely beneficial. Essentially, it’s training that is intended to be handed off to your outsourcers — but of course you can use it for yourself, too…
• The Author. Rachel Rofe is one of the authors, and she has a lot of experience with outsourcing. She once ran a site that enabled businesses to outsource routine Internet tasks to her team of 100+ workers scattered throughout the world — and learned a lot from it. If a product says “Rachel Rofe”, “Outsourcing”, and “Low Price”, I’ll buy it in most cases! And James Jones — whom I’ve personally met — is one of the most helpful people you’ll ever meet (and a pretty sharp marketer, too!).
• Even if you only plan on publishing your own material, this product could give you several ideas to expand your business — and may convince you to change your mind and try outsourcing…
• Are you a writer? Why not look at your business from “the other end” and see what a potential client is looking for? You’ll then be in a great position to give them exactly what they want and need — and then some.

Rather than bore you with a re-hashing of the sales letter, go read it for yourself (here’s the link if you need itThis is an affiliate link. If you click on it and purchase the product, I will receive an affiliate commission. Using this link to purchase this product enables you to show your appreciation and support for this site at no added expense to you. I am grateful for your support. Be sure to read the rest of this post to see about my bonus for purchasing via this link. Thanks.). If you decide to pick up the product using my link, you’ll have my thanks — and if you take a moment to send me a copy of your receipt (via my contact form at Protector Support), I’ll send you the following at absolutely no charge after I verify your purchase (please allow up to 3 business days for processing):

1. “How to read Kindle books on your PC” — This video shows you how to read Kindle books on your PC. And you can give this to your customers, too — and by giving it away, you may be able to convince customers without a Kindle to purchase your book — thereby increasing sales.
2. “Publish On Amazon’s Kindle Platform” — This multipart video series tells you how to get started with Kindle publishing (NOTE: Large download, over 400 megabytes).
3. “Kindle Cash Success” — Tells you how to easily publish your Kindle book.

And I may add more bonuses later.

Interested? Click Here To Get Your Copy Of “Outsourcing A Kindle Ebook”This is an affiliate link. If you click on it and purchase the product, I will receive an affiliate commission. Using this link to purchase this product enables you to show your appreciation and support for this site at no added expense to you. I am grateful for your support. Be sure to read the rest of this post to see about my bonus for purchasing via this link. Thanks. — and don’t forget to send me a copy of your receipt to claim your bonuses.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

(NOTE: I wrote this post over a period of three days, hence the headers…

What a difference a day makes. That and some not-so-bad dollar news in comparison to the rest of the world.

The equity in my account is once again in four figures. Barely, but it’s there, and it’s definitely better than it was this time yesterday. So it’s time to adjust positions — and it’s not 8:00 PM local.

Yes, it’s a new month, and I have decided to change the time that I adjust my positions. The system rules allow you to do this once a month and I have decided to exercise my option. Here’s why:

First, if I manage my time properly, I can be home from work by the time Brian updates the daily positions. He posts them around 5:00 PM Eastern, which is 3:00 PM Mountain, so with a bit of discipline (i.e. get to work a bit early), I can easily be home on time. And even if I’m a bit late, I still have a two hour “grace period” to adjust positions.

But my other thought is that the position adjustments are “fresh” when they are first posted but tend to drift a bit. In other words, whatever data or system Brian is using for the daily position adjustments spits out a snapshot around 5:00 PM Eastern. He simply (or not so simply; I have no idea…) takes that snapshot and posts it.

So why not strike when the iron is hot, so to speak? Why wait five hours before I adjust?

My thinking is that there’s a lot of “drift” between the time the adjustments are updated and the time I was putting them on, and perhaps that drift is hindering my progress (I’m such an optimist! 20% drawdown and I call it “hindered progress”? ). Sure, the position adjustments are the same whether I do them at 3:00 PM or 8:00 PM, but the prices are different — and it’s possible that waiting is causing me to miss out on some price movement.

That, combined with being “fully into” the system now, may make a difference. Time will tell.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

OK, the dollar continues to be strong (gotta love those European debt woes!) so my portfolio is chugging along nicely. So I’ll just leave a few comments about today’s adjustments.

First, The ABC/XYZ is one of those pairs that weighing down my portfolio. It’s way down — well over $100 — but today’s order calls for putting on two more positions. Of course, by the rules, I’ll only put on one, as much as I want to put on two to fully catch up.

The thing hasn’t been this low since last August / September, so it is a good time to buy. I just might have to hold it for a while, but the instructions are there…

C’mon, people, buy more Karjackistan Krunchers! (OK, that’s not the REAL currency…)

Same thing goes with the DEF/TUV (i.e. add 2 positions, except I’ll only add one today), except I’m not down nearly as much as I am on the ABC/XYZ. And the GHI/QRS has me adding two.

Hmmm… Are we about to see a nice run for the money?

NOTE: I went back and changed the actual currency pairs that I’m trading, replacing them with a fake set of letters, because I think that listing the actual currency pairs could give away too much of Brian’s system.

I had to resist the temptation to start trading the GBP/JPY again (it’s the one I took off a couple of days ago so that I’d have enough free margin to make the other adjustments. And yeah, I’ll give you that pair since I didn’t trade it!). I have plenty of free margin now and could start trading that pair again. The issue is that my account equity hasn’t yet returned to the level where I can put it back on.

And yes, I’m going to try to follow the rules from now on…

My account hasn’t been this good since this time last month. I wonder if FOREX has a monthly cycle?

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Not much action over the past 24 hours. I’m guessing that most traders are waiting for tomorrow’s Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report, due to be announced at 8:30 AM Eastern.

All indicators are that the news will be good; all of the preliminary reports I’ve heard were positive. I’m tempted to enter a trade on a couple of pairs but I’m not going to do it, even though a positive NFP usually results in a spike in the price of the dollar.

The two pairs I considered (EUR/USD and GBP/USD) have trended down strongly over the past three days, which is when the first pre-report came out. I’m wondering if these pre-reports — which generally seem to be accurate — has already affected the price, making tomorrow’s official announcement “old news”, so to speak. If that’s the case, entering a trade doesn’t make much sense.

Time will tell if this analysis is correct. If the dollar spikes at 8:30 Eastern, then I’ll be “gently” kicking myself (but it won’t be all bad because my overall portfolio has benefitted from this trend). If the announcement is good and the dollar stays flat, then I was correct. Either way, I’ve learned a lesson I can use in the future.

Call me whatever you want (“wimp” is fine with me), but when I logged into my account and saw less than $40 worth of free margin, I closed out my last currency pair, bringing me down to 8. I pretty much had to because I had no margin left with which to put on new positions.

In essence, I decided to not wait for the inevitable margin call.

You Were Right, Steve

A commenter who simply identified himself as “Steve” mentioned on a post that I wrote back in February that he experienced a margin call and thought that he had been “screwed”. For Steve and other like you, I just avoided a margin call by closing out positions, so you are not alone in this.

It stinks. If this is such a great system, then why in the world is it doing so poorly? And why is Brian Campbell so silent, even in the members’ area?

But I think I can see how you can end up “short” for the first couple of months using this system. Take, for instance, the GBP/USD currency pair (NOTE: This is meant to be used as an example; it is not meant to be a “trading tip”. In fact, I’ve intentionally altered some of the info to discourage you from entering a trade based on it). Back on March 13, it closed down at 1.56491. At that time, I was supposed to have three open positions on that currency pair.

Today, as I write this, the currency pair is trading at 1.60402, an increase of almost 400 PIPs. During that time, the number of open positions I’m supposed to have for that currency pair has increased to nine. Since the number has gone up gradually as the currency pair has gone up gradually, all of my trades would have been profitable.

Now let’s say that you started today and started moving towards putting your nine positions on for that currency pair. Per the rules, you’d put on one position per day until you had “caught up”. In the interim, let’s say that 1.60000 is some type of resistance point for the GBP/USD and it slowly starts dropping. Instead of slowly putting on positions as the price rises, you’ll be putting on positions as the price drops.

Did the Hedge Report mess up? Probably not. Since I was in earlier, my positions are still showing an overall profit, but you keep putting on “catch-up” positions that all lose money. To make matters worse, as the price drops, we’ll probably get instructions to close out positions. For me, these closures will probably be profitable, but for you, they will most likely be unprofitable.

Hope this makes sense.

Thoughts On Which Position To Close?

Going back to our last hypothetical example, let’s say that the GBP/USD drops to 1.5900 and we receive instructions to close out positions. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I think I’m going to start closing out by these rules:

• If the trade is profitable, I’ll close out the least profitable trade.
• If the trade is losing money, I’ll close out the position that has lost the least.

Again, this is just a hunch and I can’t really explain why I think this is the best way to do things. If I figure out the “why”, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Very Short Post Tonight

I’ve decided to cut this post short. Mondays are always a tiring day for me; I think it takes a day or three before I realize that I need to get to bed at a decent hour since I can’t sleep in…

But I will stay with the Hedge Report for a while longer, at the very least. If the system manages to draw down my account to zero, then this blog will serve as a living reminder that the system “sucks and screws” (to combine metaphors). If it somehow manages to turn things around by the end of April by recovering my equity, then we can all have a good laugh. Or at least those who have gone through the “lean times”!

But so far, this seems to be an exercise in putting on a position, watch it draw down my account, then take it off. Hey, Brian, the goal is to take off profitable positions… While I can say that “this sucks”, it remains to be seen if I got, as Steve called it, “screwed”…

Is Brian Campbell smoking dope — or perhaps feeding it to his Rapid Forex system? Has he failed to ensure the Integrity of his data, allowing somebody to corrupt it? It sure seems as if something isn’t right with the Hedge Report.

It’s not enough that my FOREX account equity is down almost 30% since going “live” with the Hedge Report (AFTER an alleged drawdown, which, by definition, should be a profitable period); today I’m supposed to put on even MORE positions (5 or 6; I can’t stand to count it). With only $155 of free margin, it’ll bring me to “Margin Call” territory.

And take off a GPB/JPY? The one that’s run way away from me? The one that’s almost $75 down on a 10 cent per PIP position?

Yeah, I’m emotional, but other than providing the daily updates, Brian appears to be absent. AWOL. I’m not normally a “WTF?” type of person, but “WTF”???

So screw it. I closed out that $75 loser. And I’m real close to closing out the rest and buying lottery tickets. Down 2,820 PIPs on the GBP/JPY, Brian. Friggin’ genius system you got going here. If this “genius” continues to kick in, I’m going to have to close out my positions on my last currency pair and move down a level. What a brilliant strategy! Your “genius” eludes me!

“We shouldn’t encounter a margin call.” That’s a direct quote from inside the member area. It then goes on to say that it’s no big deal if we do; we just put the positions back on based on the remaining equity in our account. Rozpieprzony.

I’m going to stay in this simply because I have rules that I set before I started. But even those rules are starting to wear thin. It’s one thing to establish rules, yet another altogether to actually follow them as you see your hard-earned cash get flushed down the FOREX toilet. But I’ll stick with my rules.

The Real Issue

The real problem here, of course, is that if you have such a magnificent system that’s bound to work, then why is it tanking? I’m down a grand total of 4,401 PIPs for the month of March, Brian Campbell and The Hedge Fund Report!!! I’ve got the spreadsheet and trade journal to prove it, not to mention the positions I was supposed to take every day. I followed the system — and look where I am? Are you happy? I could have gotten better results investing in Mai-Tai futures!

I know that some who are considering the system (at least those who take a few minutes to look it up in the search engines) will find this blog post and other like it. And as I promised in the past, if this thing suddenly takes off running, I’ll come back and update these posts so that you know. I won’t delete them because maybe there’s something weird at the start that causes this, and if that’s the case, then you need to know that before you purchase the system and put your hard-earned cash in a FOREX account (remember, I recommend that you only trade FOEEX with a demo account. EVER.). And you also need to know how somebody like me — calm, staid (not “stoid”!!!, and stoic — responded to this maddening reduction in equity.

Geesh, Happy Monday, world. Wish this was all just a great big April Fools joke.

Housekeeping Item

I’m going to go back through my old posts about the Hedge Report and put those posts into their own category. I’ll also tag them. That should make it easier to find them.

Thought you might like to know what your MetaTrader 4 platform might look like when your available margin starts to get a bit low. Well, mine has dipped under the $200 mark (had to put on a few positions today — more than I took off, plus my trades are down a bit right now), so the little summary at the bottom now has a salmon color background:

Low Margin Warning, MT4

Thrilling, eh? Well, it’s helped me set a limit on how long I’ll let the Hedge Report system trade, and for that, I’m grateful.

Quite simply, I’ve followed the system to a “T”. It’s now dropped my equity by almost $400, or about 30%. That’s ridiculous; I could have done that without Brian Campbell’s help, thank you very much…

So if I get a margin call, I close all positions and the experiment with the Hedge Report is over.

Is The Hedge Report A Scam?

Of course, that begs the question: Is the Hedge Report a scam? In my opinion, absolutely not.

I paid $67 for 3 months of access to the reports, which is really nothing. Sure, I’ve lost money in my FOREX account, but that money didn’t go to Brian. He’s “cool” insofar as I’m concerned.

I would, however, like to have a word to those who took the opposite side of my trades!

So Where To Now?

Quite frankly, I don’t like to see that salmon colored background in my MT4 status bar. I’m hoping that I wake up in the morning to see a nice, white background again with a nice, healthy margin balance. But at this point, I’ve followed the instructions — I don’t have any additional positions on, other than to the level I was supposed to be at when I first started the system — and my portfolio is TANKING.

I am not happy with the system. Prove me wrong, Hedge Report.

I’m trading 9 currency pairs, which is the level I was supposed to be trading at when I first started, based on my starting equity. If I were to start trading today based on the equity in my account, I’d only be trading 6 currency pairs. While you “never move down”, trying to trade 9 currency pairs when you have enough equity for six pairs is patently absurd.

To put it another way, Brian had better prove that he’s an absolute genius fast or he’ll not only lose a customer, lots of people checking out the system will read my blog posts. As I said before, it’s not a scam and Brian’s not getting my money (at least not that much); quite simply, it appears as if the darn thing simply doesn’t work at this point in time.

But do your own research, do your own due diligence — and make your own decision regarding this, or any other, FOREX trading or training system. I’m simply sharing my experiences with you, and for anybody who has read my blog for any length of time knows, I’m not going to “adjust the truth” to make a buck. Nothing gets sugar-coated; either it works or it doesn’t.

Forever An Optimist

Where Did Those Profits Go?

And remember: Brian Campbell isn’t a villian or a scam artist. My “spidey sense” tells me that he’s a decent guy. Hopefully we’ll be knocking back Mai-Tais and fruit smoothies someday soon — paid for by Hedge Report FOREX profits. And those of you who are going through the initial “fun” that I’m experiencing can read this and know you’re not too terribly crazy — and we’ll keep the drinks cool for when you join us. Yee-haw!

OK, I tell you the bad, so it wouldn’t be fair to not tell you the good. Yes, I’m talking about the Hedge Report again.

So here’s the word: Don’t get into this thing unless you have nerves of steel.

I initially wrote this post last week but forgot to publish it, so I have done some editing… Again, gotta be honest.

I’ve seen about a $100 recovery in my account since I last wrote. I was literally sitting at my computer a couple of nights ago when suddenly the Australian dollar started sinking like a rock. I’m talking a few dozen PIPs in the space of a minute or two. Of course, I want to figure out what caused it (and monitor that source in the future)! It’s weird when that happens, but if I can open a trade in the right direction just before it happens… (actually, the world would beat a path to my door if I could figure that out!)

But in the meantime, things are looking better. It’s as if “whatever news was announced” caused things to start going right again. Even my wonky GPB/JPY trade is doing better (plus I’m down to one position; I cut my losses, as instructed). Sure, it’s not profitable yet by a long shot, but I took another short position near the top — and that one IS profitable and helps offset some of the loss.

So “worry wart Tom” will stay with the system and will continue to report. Ooof! But we’re still a good $270 or so from breaking even, so the jury is still out.

New Demo Account Tweaks

As I reported last week, I just blindly opened positions on the demo account last week to bring me in line with the Hedge Report, then let them go. Surprisingly, they made about $38 (about 1% of the account value). So I’m going to close out those positions and do the same thing this week (using the levels published last Friday), then let it ride until this time next Sunday, when the markets open. Should be interesting.

Once I get my account built up, I’ll take 1% a week. And I might keep doing this for a while. Then again, I might change my mind. That’s the beauty of a demo account; you can play like this without putting your own money at risk.

OK, I can’t resist playing…! I’m only going to close the profitable trades; the ones with a loss will continue to run until they show a profit (which could take years in some cases, right?). And for the trades I close today (because they are profitable), I’ll open a new trade using last Friday’s published levels. As the old trades (from last week) become profitable (and I’m at my computer to notice it), I’ll close them out, then open new ones using the current day’s levels (i.e. the most recent levels when the old trade is closed), regardless of when they are closed out.

Playing with fire, perhaps… But at least it’s not my money!

Daily Routine

I download a copy of the daily update (it’s in JPG format), then open it using Irfanview (it’s a free download and is a superb graphics tool). I then open the Paint dialog (Edit –> Show Paint Dialog) and “mark it up”, as follows:

• I select the line tool from the Paint Dialog.
• I draw a solid line from one side of the graphic to the other just below the last pair I’m currently trading. Right now, I’m trading 9 pairs, so it goes below the 9th pair. This serves as a reminder not to mess with the rest of the pairs (when I was trading this on the demo account and was already doubling some positions, it served as a reminder of where to stop doubling position amounts).
• Once I perform maintenance on a given currency pair for the day, I draw a short line through the name of the currency pair so I don’t have to mess with it again.
• Once all of the currency pairs have lines through them, I grab a good book and read.

If you decide to try the Hedge Report (and have the nerves to handle the swings in equity), you’ll develop your own little tricks for doing this. But I thought that sharing my trick might not be a bad idea.

Incidentally, I’d love to show you a sample of how I do this, but doing so would show one of Brian’s daily updates, which would not be fair to him (since he makes a living selling access to them and I can’t find a sample that I can freely post).

Probation Count

After this week, the Hedge Report has until the end of April to make at least $67 of profit so that it will pay for the first three months. If it makes that much, I’ll try it for another 3 months. Basically, it has to at least pay its way for the first two 3 month periods or it’s gone.

If it passes that test, I expect it to not only pay for itself — I expect it to start putting some cash in my pocket. So here are the deadlines:

* Monday, April 30, 2012: Account equity must be at least $1,433 ($1,366 plus $67 to pay for the first 3 months of the Hedge Report)

* Tuesday, July 31, 2012: Account equity must be at least $1,501 ($1,433 plus $67 to pay for the next 3 months of the Hedge Report, plus an extra dollar in my pocket).

After that, my account equity must grow by at least $69 every 3 months for me to consider continuing. After the first six month, I’m going to demand an extra dollar of equity growth (to pay for the stamp when I mail the check to Brian!). And if my demo account tests find another system that works better, let’s just say that I’d rather put that $67 into my trading account…

Have a great week, and thanks again for reading.