The Investing for Beginners Podcast - Your Path to Financial Freedom · By Andrew Sather, Stephen Morris, and Evan Raidt | Stock Market Guide to Buying Stocks

Why I Quit Swing Trading to Build a Long-Term Portfolio (And a Huge Podcast Announcement!)

·38 min·2 clips

Steven compares trading losses to the gambler's fallacy and describes how doubling down can wipe someone out.

1. The Investing for Beginners Podcast centers this episode on Steven Morris leaving swing trading behind and building a long-term portfolio. 2. Andrew and Steven carry the conversation, while Dave is named as stepping away from the show and Steven is introduced as the new on-mic contributor. 3. The episode asks why Steven moved from day trading and swing trading to research-driven investing that emphasizes compounding and patience. 4. Steven says he retired from the Army, took a corporate job he “sucked,” and started looking on YouTube for another way to make money. 5. He describes finding a day-trading teacher, trying the approach for about nine months, and spending 10 or 11 hours a day in front of a computer screen. 6. A friend named Brian Montez then introduced him to swing trading as a middle ground between long-term investing and day trading. 7. Steven uses Ford as an example, saying he bought when it fell to about $10 a share in 2023 and held it for three or four months before exiting. 8. He says a day trader should not have an open position at the end of the day, while a swing trader may hold for days or weeks. 9. He says the target for many swing traders is no longer than three days, though some trades can close the same day. 10. Steven explains that he often sold too early and then watched trades keep rising, which made the process emotionally stressful. 11. He says trading became a casino-like setup when he ignored signals and kept telling himself a position would turn around. 12. He describes setting aside $150 a month with his wife so he could scratch the itch to trade without risking family money. 13. Andrew connects that urge to sell with his own digital card trading game, where buying low and selling high gives him a similar dopamine hit. 14. Steven says long-term investing feels more scientific because the research covers leadership, industry, competitors, and the company's moat. 15. He points to Caseys as an example of a moat discussion that changed how he saw the business, especially against 7-Eleven, Circle K, and Wawa. 16. Steven also describes buying General Dynamics after doing research through his military connections and noticing drone technology, guided munitions, and overhead displays. 17. He says the biggest lesson from the show has been patience and the phrase “it’s okay,” especially after a stock dropped hard right after he bought it. 18. The tone stays conversational, reflective, and practical, with Andrew prompting and Steven answering in a mix of personal stories and investing examples. 19. Listeners who like behavioral finance, portfolio discipline, and Army-to-market stories would likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a pure stock-picking list or a fast market-news recap may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Investing for Beginners Podcast - Your Path to Financial Freedom