Episode 173- Learning Swing Trading as a Side Hustle to Pay Off Debt, Save & Reach Your Money Goals (Real Experiences from Real Journeyers)

Jamila Souffrant 0:00

You're listening to the Journey to Launch Podcast: Swing Trading as a Side Hustle so You Can Pay Off Debt Save and Reach your Money Goals.

Recording 0:12

Welcome to the Journey to Launch podcast with your host Jamilla Souffrant. As a money expert who walks her talk, she helps brave jorneyers like you get out of debt, save, invest, and build real wealth. Join her on the journey to launch to financial freedom.

Jamila Souffrant 0:38

Hey, hey, hey Journeyers. Welcome to the Journey to Launch Podcast. I'm really excited as I always am to talk to you. Now in this week's episode, we're almost doing like a continuation part two from last week's episode. So last week on the podcast, we had Teri ijeoma of Trade and Travel. Now if this is your first episode ever, and you haven't listened to any of those previous episodes, I just want to bring you up to speed to how we got to where we are today and what today's episode is all about. So originally, Terry was on episode 154 of the podcast. And Terry came on to share how she went from trading as a side hustle like she didn't even know how to trade, taught herself and got really good at it started to replace her income and then eventually she was able to quit her job, travel the world and she then did teach other people how to do the same thing how to trade as a side hustle to earn money. Now I got such a great response from that episode, that original episode with Teri. You guys had Such great questions about her course, about trading if it was something that you should look into. And so I reached out to Terry, right after that interview aired. And I said, Terry, we need to do a joint class for journeyer. So they can learn more about what you do, because I can't answer all those questions like that you can answer what trading is, and if it's right for some people to take your course. So we did that joint class. And we did that back in June, and it went really, really well. So I signed up to be an affiliate for Terry's course. So it was great, because that meant that now Terry was able to connect directly with you journeyers and give you a resource that I can't honestly teach you. I don't know about swing trading, or trading as a side hustle. It's not something that I'm doing just yet. I actually intend to take her course at some point, but I'm very upfront that I haven't taken her course yet. It's not something that I can manage with everything on my plate right now. But I knowing that that's not something that's in my wheelhouse. felt so just, I felt good being able to introduce you to someone who I believe is legit in teaching the basics and teaching in the right way in which people are actually learning. And I saw that through her results through student testimonials. And now what's even more cool is that since we did that launch, or that class together in June, tons of journeyers, signed up for her course, including my little sister Shaina, which you'll actually hear in this episode, my best friend, like my best friend signed up, and actually a few more people that I know personally, so not just like journeyers, like yourself, who maybe we don't haven't met, but like family members, some of them right, signed up for Terry's course. I even had a group of people from the money launch club. So the money launch club is my membership community. And a bunch of people within the money launch club signed up and we created a subgroup for them so that they could discuss what they were learning. And they even meet on their own in groups to talk about what they're learning and their training. So that they can get better at this. So I was super excited because I knew the next time I spoke to Terry, I would have legit feedback from people that I actually knew who were taking this. I want to show you real life examples of people and how they were able to apply what they learned in Terry's course to their life. Because the thing about Terry's experience, and you'll hear it when you listen to Episode 172, from last week, Terry, obviously she's an expert in this in terms of her results. Now, she is making thousands and thousands of dollars a day on her portfolio because she has a huge portfolio. She's been doing this for years. But what is it like for the average person who has no clue about trading? What is that experience like? Right, because not everyone is going to write off, you know, start off making $1,000 a day. That's the goal for Terry students, but you know, quite honestly, not everyone's going to be able to do that right away. And it depends on how much is in your trading portfolio. So I wanted to know the real deal from people Okay, how did this work in your life? And so you'll hear that from today's guest. So today is going to be a roundtable discussion from three journeyers, who have taken the course trade and travel. And honestly, this is not just about the trade and travel course, you'll hear about that. But I want you to more pick up on the learning process and investing process that they had to go through to be able to take the leap and invest in themselves this way. What I find remarkable is that, you know, even within the roundtable discussion, their results aren't just based on making money. So that's the biggest thing to that. I want to talk about that. This is not a quick get quick money scheme. Terry says it herself in every episode we've done together, um, you hear it in the guest today, that you really have to take the time to learn this. If you're going to jump into this and think, Oh, I'm just gonna make a quick buck. That's not going to happen. You have to really learn the basics and learn it the right way. Or you'll lose money, you know, and it's funny, I hear Feedback from my best friend and Shaina because like I talked to them often. And they're just like, yeah, people who are not maybe following what Terry strategies are in the group because there's a Facebook group that Terry has for her course, like people will come in and say I lost this money. I wasn't following Terry's Terry's path or suggestions. And I thought I could do it my way and I lost money. And let's be clear, even if you're probably following things all the way to a tee, you may lose money. This is investing. There's risk involved in this, right. And so I just thought it'd be really cool to actually show like what it takes really to succeed in something like this. And again, I haven't taken this course personally just yet. I don't have the time. One day, I do want to because I mean, I feel like if I could apply myself and do this and learn it the right way, this would be an excellent second income stream. But for you this is just presenting you an option to learn more about this because my biggest thing is exposure is everything. You can listen to this episode, and even different episodes where I present you may be different options, whether it's real estate investing, you hear someone has a course or someone's doing something and you're interested in it, and you now with the knowledge and information that you have, can make a solid decision on if that's something that you should pursue. And I trust you journeyers that you are actually doing the due diligence to know if something is right for you. Now, again, this is something that you will have to put in some time and effort to do. But I wanted you to hear from real life journeyers from people who have done it, what it's like their experience. Now, if you want to join the next class that Terry and I are doing, it's coming up on September 23 at 8:30pm. Eastern time, it's completely free. I recommend this as a class for someone if you're interested in learning this but you're not sure or you have more questions, and you want to hear more strategies in what Terry's program is all about. This is a great class to come to To learn more, you can sign up by going to journeytolaunch.com/trading class. Again, that's going to be taking place on September. 23rd at 8:30pm Eastern Time, and if you just want to like check out Terry's program, go to journeytolaunch.com/teri By the way, this was one of those interviews that my kids were home and my daughter was not having it. She kept interrupting us, so it was pretty hilarious and overwhelming. At the same time. You can probably see a glimpse of her if you watch this on my YouTube channel. So if you want to check out the video interview for this, go to youtube.com/journeytolaunch or click the link in the episode show notes.

If you want the episode Show Notes for this episode, go to JourneytoLaunch.com or you can click the description of wherever you're listening to this episode to get the full episode show notes. Now if you are a new listener to the podcast or an OG journeyer I've created a jumpstart guide to help you on your journey to financial freedom. It includes the top episodes to listen to, the stages to go through to reach financial freedom, resources to help you and so much more. Get it for FREE by texting "launch: to 33777 text "launch" to 33777 or go to JourneytoLaunch.com/Jumpstart to get your guide for free right now. Okay, let's hop into the episode.

Okay journeyers I'm really excited. I'm always- I say that every time because I am, come on! I am excited each time that I come on this mic and talk to you but I'm really excited because this time, I get to actually speak to real life true journeyers who are going to kind of talk about their journey in learning something new trading. And so I had Teri on the podcast episode 154 was the first episode she joined me are on Teri Ijeoma, where she talks about her journey to learning how to trade and then starting and having a course and platform that helps people do it. And then I did something very different. I actually joined forces with Teri and did like a joint webinar and class to help introduce more of what she taught to you guys, to my audience. And that was really scary for me because I was like, "I'm here I am, like, kind of, you know, handling or trusting my audience with someone else teaching something that I'm not familiar with." Which you know, like that, that puts off on your reputation about doing something like that. But I knew from having her on the podcast and meeting her a couple of times that she was like, legit, and her like content was good. But I was like, I still want to hear from people who actually went through it. So we had that last round, had people go through her course, Trade and Travel. And then I wanted to actually speak to you guys to get the real tea on what it's like to have gone through it to make the leap. So I want to have everyone introduce themselves. So I want to have you each go around and say your name, where you're from and kind of like how you got introduced to the JJourney to Launch. Crystal you can go first.

Crystal 8:03

Hi, my name is Crystal, I'm from Chicago. I started listening to podcasts probably in 2017 when I started my end of my debt journey, and I started listening to Dave Ramsey and I came across Journey to Launch probably in fall of 2018. And the first episode I saw or listened to, was the one we you talked about quitting your corporate job, your long commute, and all those hours and currently I was in the car at 5am in the morning on my hour plus commute to work. And ever since then, I've been hooked on the podcast. And I'm also part of the Launch Club.

Jamila Souffrant 8:48

Yay. Also a memeber of the Money Launch Club. Okay, great. Thank you for introducing yourself Shamessia. What about you?

Shamessia 8:55

My name is Shamessia and I'm from Olive Branch, Mississippi. I started listening to the podcast very similarly. Like I think we all kind of start the same way because I was listening to you and learning how you kind of started to listen to podcasts on the commute to work and the same exact thing happened to me. I started with Dave Ramsey as well. And then I started listening to your podcast and originally, this journey started with me wanting to become debt free, start to invest. I had just graduated college. So it was just you know, ways to kind of start my my life into investing and learning more about finances. But now you know, it's turned into you know, investing and being financially free and not having to work similar to your story.

Jamila Souffrant 9:38

Love it, love it. And then last but not least, we have Shaina. Hi, Shaina.

Shaina 9:43

Hi, my name is Shaina McGregor. I guess I'll just put this out there, I'm Jamila's little sister. So I've known about Journey to Launch from its beginning stages. I remember when you were unsure if you wanted to do it at all. And it started as a blog and then it kind to transitioned into a podcast. So I've been there from day one and it has been so nice to listen and to read. And, you know, I get a lot of my financial advice inspiration from you. So excited to be here.

Jamila Souffrant 10:13

Yes. And so not only are you all journeyers, but you also joined Teri's Trade and Travel course. So as I said, kinda in like the intro, my biggest thing was okay, I wanted to see like results from people who actually like were going through it. And I think I even shouted you out Shaina on the webinar, like, I really wanted you to be a case study too, because I know you personally and you know, your goals in life, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to have you be like one of them. So I'm glad that you were able to join this roundtable discussion. But what I really wanted to do is understand, like, what prompted you to even join Teri's course Trade and Travel because it's an investment. It's not only a money investment is a time investment. And she's very upfront with that, which I love, right? Not just like, "Oh yeah, I'll just help you do this. And it's gonna be quick and easy." But what made you feel like you were ready to learn this and to do this? And Crystal, you can go first.

Crystal 11:09

So I've been debt free, except for my mortgage probably for about two years now. So I have kind of been, "Okay, what's next?" And I toyed with the idea of real estate and realized it was a time commitment. And I still work nine to...nine to nine. So I still work a regular job. So when the Trade and Travel came up, it was a couple of things that happened. When the market went down in March because of the COVID, I already have a lot of assets in the market, but just like in retirement account, and I feel like I don't have that much control of the fluctuation. And I really think because you introduced us to that course, is one of the reasons why I took a chance and did make the financial commitment.

Jamila Souffrant 12:08

Yeah. And actually like that you made that distinction about trying something different because you were in the markets. And yes, you're right when like you're a buy and hold person like similar to myself, it's more like you kind of ride the market wave up and down. But then you hear of this other world. I think the whole point of introducing Trade and Travel to my audience was to give you guys another option of how to do things right? Shamessia, what made you want to like invest to do this thing that's different?

Shamessia 12:35

So I started with uh real estate investing. And it's definitely a hustle and bustle and so you know, with listening to podcasts, listening to your podcast, I was able to discover Teri and I think at one point, she said, "This is a great time, you know, because of COVID This is a great time to start trading!" And I was like, "okay," and she was like, you know, everybody was talking about, well, you know, let's take advantage of this time where have more free time because I've been working from home since March. So I was like, "Okay, I'll try it." And I've always wanted to learn how to invest in the stock market. I think a lot of us want to see that return quickly. So the best way to do that is trading. So I've started to learn with Teri because she just seemed compatible to the way that I want it to be taught. You see a lot about trading like on YouTube and things like that. And it just seemed impossible from the the podcasts that I've listened to and the videos that I've watched, but it just seemed like it will work. So I just went ahead and tried it.

Jamila Souffrant 13:32

Yeah, yeah, I love that too. Because you know, you'll hear there's so many people out there people teaching like this same thing, right, but the style is totally different. And sometimes, you know, it's who you resonate with and some of it is more flashy based. And some of it is more like an aggressive approach to teaching or so I totally get like synching with someone. You're like, wait, I think I can learn from this person. So super cool. What about you Shania?

Shaina 13:55

I agree. Funny story. It was our mom who listened to the your podcast episode with Teri. And she was very adamant that I had to listen to it. And I had to enroll in the course, because she just thought it was something that I would be able to do. And I've had a few long term investments. So I'm mostly buy and hold. And I didn't really put much effort into it, I would just look at it every now and again. But once she said that you can make a livable income and we were in COVID, I'm a dancer and a fitness instructor-lost a lot of my jobs. I was like, this is the best time to jump in. And I fell in love with Teri, I think most of us that's just how it starts. I can tell that she was very knowledgeable. She knew exactly what she was doing. But when you're on a call with her, you could just feel that she's a good person. So after I joined your webinar, I was like that's it. I have to join the course. I have to make it work. I have to find this money for the course somehow and enroll immediately so that's what I did.

Jamila Souffrant 14:55

Right. And let's be real even though you're my sister, you do not listen to every episode, okay? Like so my mom, our mom had to force her to listen to every episode. But, you know, let's talk about the investment piece of it because, you know, I find that like, I don't know about you guys. While I did not join Teri's course this go round, one day I will. I keep saying I will. Anything that I feel like I invest in, like I definitely pay more attention to and the price point matters. Like if something is like on the cheaper side or you know, it's not that much money that I'm like giving up it's not that I won't take it seriously, but it's a different commitment than when it is something that is you know, okay, this took a little chunk out of this saving or whatever it took. So how did you guys reconcile that because I know Shania, like you said, so you're, you know, in the arts and dancer like for you, you didn't have as much like income coming in. So how was that to invest in Teri's course in that way? What did that feel like and how do you feel about it now?

Shaina 15:57

Well, it was definitely an expense that I wasn't planning for and I do like to plan and prep. But I'm also- I can be a bit spontaneous. And when I'm intrigued, there's something I'm intrigued. So I just waited some time, I saved up a bit. And then once I saw that she had the webinar, I literally joined that night. I think it was more getting my head around the fact that it was something that was amazing to invest in. Because I don't mind making the investment and it's worth my time, especially because I knew that there was going to be a return. I knew that after learning from Teri, one because I paid for the course I was going to learn. So I had a goal by the end of the summer, even if it was just a little bit in my life account to start to make those returns and then eventually even pay for the VIP course.

Jamila Souffrant 16:43

Right oh so we should make a distinction. Teri has like the introduction level and then if you want to learn options, and then to get more one on one time with her, there is a next level the VIP level.

Shaina 16:52

Right? Right. There's a Trade and Travel and then there's a VIP.

Jamila Souffrant 16:57

Okay, cool. All right. What about you, Shamessia, in terms of the investment?

Shamessia 17:01

It wasn't difficult at first, because that was not my first time investing in something that would would return because I did the same thing with real estate. And so I was like, "Okay, well, that worked. I think this may may work as well, especially with the way Teri's vibe where I was like, you know, I'm sold." But what also I did I said, you know, it is right what you said if something is a higher price point, you can tell especially if you feel like that person is very genuine, you can tell that it's for a reason. It's gonna make you more and beyond. And so what I did it's kind of funny I love numbers. I love math. I calculated "Okay, what can I flip this to? If I started with this amount? What can I flip this to in a year, if I really put the time and dedication in in it?" Once I realized that I was like, "Oh, this is a no brainer."

Jamila Souffrant 17:50

I love that. Okay, what about you Crystal?

Crystal 17:53

Well, I will tell you, I'm very conservative. So I think if I was still in debt, and I still do have my mortgage. But if I was still in debt, I may have had a more difficult time making that decision. But just from listening to different podcasts, the message is you have to invest in yourself. So I've been telling myself that but I just hadn't found the right niche. And I also listened to the web webcast that you had with Teri. I listened to her on the podcast, and I was hoping you were going to do something in the launch club. And then you did the webcast. And then that night of the webcast is when I joined.

Jamila Souffrant 18:33

Yeah, you know, I'm glad you brought that up with the deck. Y'all a lot of people i'm joined journeyers actually had joined that go around with Teri and I'm sure people just in general, join Teri's course. And what comes up, I think for people's, the people who still do have debt and things and goals they're trying to reach, right because typically, I would say, like Teri's approach to like the Trade and Travel is based on trying to like trade for income. So like, you're trading to earn money, it's not like trading long term. And to keep it long term, it's like trading to earn money so that you can pay off your debt or trading to earn money so that you can have extra income to save for whatever thing you're saving for or invest more towards retirement, you're literally using that money for income. So for someone who is still in debt, right, how would you help someone decide if they should take that risk? Or if they should continue on their debt payoff path, like "Well, you know what, like, I have credit card debt, maybe this isn't right." Like how does someone make that distinction? Because people who've done that have credit card debt, and they're fine and some people are like, they have credit card debt paid for the course and like, "Oh, I don't know if that was the right thing to do." So how would you whoever wants to take that how would you walk through that thought process?

Shaina 19:42

Well for me before I knew that course I did have a little bit on my credit card. So for me it was important to pay that off first, because I have student debt but I don't I'm ahead of it and I know how much I have. So I don't mind having some student debt with the course. But I made sure-for me, it was important to pay off my credit card before I did the course. Because I just didn't want to have both of them. So that was important for me because I think some debt you can have, as you start to invest in yourself, but it depends on the amount. And you basically you're planning to pay it off. So if you invest in yourself, but it completely takes you behind your plan to pay off your debt, or it's something that's going to continue to improve accrue too much interest per month, then I would say maybe not do it. But right now, student loans do not have interest. So of course, I was like, let me do this course. I can continue to pay off my student loans. Credit Card, not so much. So I think it depends also on the interest rate of your loans that you have.

Jamila Souffrant 20:37

And you, Shamessia, what do, you what are your thoughts?

Shamessia 20:39

It was very similar. I think it depends on what your your goals are. So if it's to tackle that debt, and you know, you need to be focused on the debt, then take care of that first. But I also think if you have that mindset where I'm trying to, you know, launch myself forward so that I can tackle this debt and do more. I was investing in the course is amazing. For me, I think it's going to help with being able to pay off my debt so much more quicker. Because for me, it's student loan debt. And it's a very small amount. But instead of waiting, you know, 15 years to pay it off, or whatever the case is, or seven years, I can pay it off so much quicker because I invested my money first, and then was able to make more to pay it off in a lump sum.

Jamila Souffrant 21:23

So now ladies, I want to talk about what you're actually able to accomplish right with taking this course. Let's talk about receipts. Let's talk about what has happened, the transformation for yourselves after investing and Crystal if you want to share kind of what you've been able to do.

Crystal 21:43

So I took the Trade and Travel class in June, and I did do practice trading while we were in the course. And then we had a break in July. So because I also I initially signed up for Trade and Travel but then I upgraded to VIP, which is what I'm doing right now. So, during that break in July, I traded in my practice account. And I was able to make $4,000. And I also started trading in my Live account, but I'm using less money. And I was able to make a profit kind of, you know, same percentage wise. So I had a $30,000 practice account and I made $4,000 off that $30,000 in a month.

Jamila Souffrant 22:30

Nice and I want to-ookay, so and there's a difference between your simulator account and the actual account, right? So Teri teaches you first to trade money in the simulation account.

Crystal 22:40

Right. So in June while I was in the class, I was only using my simulation account. And initially, because that's the practice account, I really did okay, in June also, once I got the hang of it, but July I decided, "Okay, we have a break. I'm going to concentrate on the method and see what I can do." And I made $4,000.

Jamila Souffrant 23:05

Wow. And so $4000 was in the simulation account or the real account?

Crystal 23:08

No the simulation account. So I have started my Live account, but I haven't put as much money in there yet.

Jamila Souffrant 23:17

Right. Okay, what about you Shamessia?

Shamessia 23:20

So I started in the sim account as well, I think I did maybe maybe two trades in the sim account. And I was like, "oh, like this is working." So I immediately went into my Live account started in April. So April to August, I was able to almost double the amount of money that I invested. And so my goal with that was to say, you know, let's go for what Teri says is achievable, which is, you know, you're able to increase your account by 20% each month, you know, that 1% a day. And so that's why I'm trying to be consistent in because you know, what I realized it is the power of trading is in compounding the amount that you have. So you can turn a really small investment into something that's paying you more than your your full time job. Or more than, you know, your full time job pays you in the year, which would be amazing. Obviously have not gotten there yet, but that's the goal. So, um, I think when I started the program, my goal was, you know, let's just make some money, but now it's like, let's keep compounding this thing until you're satisfied.

Jamila Souffrant 24:25

Right so to clarify, you are trading now with your real money and making returns. Nice. Okay, what about you Shaina?

Shaina 24:33

Similar. I started in my sim account and basically Teri teaches us the goal is $1,000 in a day, and I hit that, I believe right after graduation. So July 1, I had like my first return and it was about a little over $2,000 so once I realized I could do that, I had the tools. Then I moved into my Live account. It's similar to Crystal I had to before I moved into my Live though I made sure my sim, I brought the $30,000 down to reflect more of what I can actually do in my Live account just to see also, it's just my goals. So I didn't want to have the same goals with $30,000 as I would have with less. So once I realized I can continue to make it with less money, I moved into my Live account. And it's been in my Live account for about two weeks actually have my first profit today from my Live account. So that was literally about 30 minutes before this, and I was like, "look at that.{ And I was very excited. I had my first loss a couple like a week ago, but Teri teaches us risk management. So it honestly it was not too bad. It was more just the fact that it happened that at first I was like, "Oof" but in reality, it truly was not bad because I knew exactly how much I could potentially lose. So it was right in my bracket. And then the, the profit I made today was probably double, triple that so it's really not that bad at all. So I'm really excited. And then same, I just want to continue to let it compound because I'm starting with a small amount Honestly, in reality, the more money you have in your cash amount is the more profit you're going to make. So that's my goal as well.

Jamila Souffrant 26:08

Yeah. And I love that you brought up that you like lost like money and you lost. That was in your real account, right?

Shaina 26:13

That was in my real account. And I was like, "Ooh, here we go. This is happening." I mean, honestly, if I'm just being real was $20. But still, I was like, "Okay, this happened. This is why everything she teaches us is important." Because if I would have just went off of like a whim and bought any amount, it could have been so much worse.

Jamila Souffrant 26:32

Right. So you got to stick to the plan that's laid out for you. But I do like that we're also talking about there is a chance that you lose money, right? This is investing, there's no reward without some level of risk. But I think the most important thing is teaching you about the risk management part of it, right?

Shaina 26:50

Yeah, hundred percent.

Jamila Souffrant 26:51

Yeah. And so I also want to be real with like people with that too. I think all you ladies you put in the work to like, actually learn what Teri teaches. It's funny because I asked her previously like, what are your students I do the best, right? And she was like the ones that listen to the course like and follow directions and like who relistened to it and really take that time to like learn. And when you're investing in this way and you're serious about it, and I think anyone I hope that invests in this way it's like they're serious, it's not something you just like, "I'm just gonna play around and do this." Like no, this means you've made a commitment to yourself to learn something new. That you are taking the proper precautions because this is... while you are starting in a simulator account and it's not like your real money, eventually the goal is to make back one what you invested in the course and then earn money for your goals and life. So there's going to be a level of risk here that you need to accomplish. You know, the other thing that I think is pretty cool is that I'm sure I have actually my best friend Shelia will hopefully listen to this episode. She also joined when you guys joined, and she's- I don't think started in her real account yet. But I know and she's like getting up to speed right? So I think also it takes people different depending on your life and commitments, right like different timeframes to be ready for the real, real money trading. So do you kind of want to maybe talk about that transition? Because there's, I think it is different between investing in the simulation account and then like, getting ready to invest to real money. So who wants to take that one? Okay, Crystal.

Crystal 28:24

So, I still use both accounts actually. I still use my simulator account and my Live account. I am more conservative in my Live account. So I'm trying to get more comfortable in it. But I am seeing profit. But I mean, Teri always talks about- we are going to have losses, there are days that the market just doesn't do what you expect it to. And you'll have a loss. But in net, you want to come out ahead and or these last couple months. I feel like even if I have a loss, I can make it back. When I saw that market go down in March, and I saw the value of my account go down, the money that I'm using is no comparison to that value that I lost and I had no control over because that's kind of what we've been taught, right? You put in your retirement account, you hold it, you hopefully get a 10 to 20% return. But if I can kind of do 20% per month you're gonna outweigh anything that you're doing in your, in your hold account.

Jamila Souffrant 29:35

Right, right. Now, the other benefit so I remember I was talking to Shaina. Oh, like I was saying, "Oh Shaina, I'm doing this roundtable discussion. You know, do you want to be a part of it?" And she had mentioned like, she was talking and all these this terminology that I didn't even understand. And I was like, "Okay, so even if you never even started yet, in your real trading, like I can already see the growth." But I was just so impressed when Shaina was talking, so the fact that you even know that says to me that like the set point for your understanding of investments are different. So who wants to like talk through what like the learning part of it?

Shaina 30:07

I'll speak on that. I mean one Teri, she's an amazing teacher. So the probe, the course itself is really digestible and easy to follow. And for me like doing long term trades, I kind of just looked at the number but I never really looked at the charts. So even before I started, like, I love math I loved in high school, so I knew that I can do it, but it was definitely a new concept. And she basically teaches you like a couple of things, of course, what companies to look into, what kind of stocks to buy. Risk Management is huge. And then she gets into technical analysis and looking at charts. And when you first look at a chart, like a lot of us I just started with the line graph and like easy to see go up you can see go down and she's like, "no, we're going into candlesticks." And the first time I looked at those I was like, "what is that?" But it's incredible. She's so thorough, and like she teaches us, even if you don't get it within the first week, keep looking back at it. She also has all these bonus calls where she has group calls, and we can look at all of them, even past calls with also other people who are very knowledgeable in trading as well. And by the time she took us through it, even the first week, I was like, I understand this, because she also-I'm also a very visual person. So she has a lot of visuals. She gives stories. She gives analogies. Like I remember I was telling a friend like Teri says, "Don't the way you don't chase men, is the way you don't chase stocks." It's funny, but you remember it. So sometimes when I'm like, "Oh, I missed that stock and I'm like, it's okay, there'll be another one." Like, it's really the mindset also that she teaches you within the course that prepares you to move from your sim to your Live account. Because I am more conservative with my Live account as well. I mean, this our real money is not like $30,000 but in a simulator that okay? If you lose, it's okay. This is our real money that we're working with. But I think that the mindset portion of the course really helped me to be able to make that transition and to feel comfortable and patient. Because you truly do have to be patient. And that's something that I have to work on. But one of the things that I've learned so much and also not to trade with your emotions, so that was one of the biggest things I had to learn being a creative like, I feel like I step out of my emotions all the time. And with trading it's the opposite. She's like, "Base it off the charts not awful how you feel. Don't get too frantic, like I taught you. So trust me." And that was a huge stepping stone for me.

Jamila Souffrant 32:35

I just came up with the new catchphrase base it on the charts, not your heart. See Teri, you got to pay me for that tagline-base it on the chart, not your heart. Okay. What about you, Shamessia, in terms of like your transformation, whether it's like mentally about understanding this stuff? How's that been?

Shamessia 32:53

Ah yeah, it was a it was a huge transformation. I'm the same way. I started trading on Robin Hood. I'm sure everyone kind of starts there with investing in stocks nowadays. But Teri, she taught us to use, you know, a most more robust platform. And when she started to Yeah, the same show as candlesticks, I was always wondered on Robin Hood, like, "What is this for? Like, what is this feature who looks at this?" But it's just emerging. I've been learning Chinese for five years. And it's the same thing. It's like it's way off the beaten path. As far as stocks, it's a new language. But once you immerse yourself into the curriculum that Teri has, it becomes second nature very quickly. And so for me, I mean, from Day Zero to week one, I was able to understand terms that I would hear on the news and it would be like, you know, what is this what are they talking about? So the transition, It was it was pretty quick for the way that Teri teaches because she's very clear. So it's not something that you you hear one time you're like, "what?" You start to understand because she continues to kind of relay that message of what what trading actually is in the terms that you need to know.

Jamila Souffrant 34:03

Nice. What about you Crystal?

Crystal 34:04

So for someone who has been investing for 20 years, you know, I didn't know what a candlestick was. I think Teri teaches very clear and concise, she makes it, I think in layman's terms, so that you can understand. And the other thing, just not just Teri, but the whole network that you get access to, and the other students who have been there longer or even the ones that you're learning with, you can ask each other questions and people are very receptive and try to explain things that's in the coursework.

Jamila Souffrant 34:40

Okay. I want to talk about what your goals are. What do you want to get from not just Teri's programming, obviously, it's a big part of our conversation, but what you're working towards, like where are you currently on your financial independence journey, and what you're looking to accomplish and... because I think that will actually help other people who like "Yeah, I kind of Yeah, I'm at that place too. And I'm looking to do that too." So Shaina, if you want to talk about that?

Shaina 35:06

Well, based off of your journeyer stages, I'm in the cadet stage. So basically, I'm trying to pay off my debt, pay off my student loans, increase my income, I think that's my biggest goal, and increase my portfolio. But my goal in the course is to basically be able to increase my income and have a livable income that's consistent. Being an artist, I can't always depend on that income, but I love what I do. So I never wanted to go towards a 9-5 and be stuck in a job that I dislike. I'm always about following what's my passions and my purpose. So I feel like one I fell in love with trading. Like I get intrigued about trading. I love the stocks. So I love that I can continue to dance and do fitness, but have on the side, something that I'm very passionate about that actually makes returns that I can, know that I can live off of. So first increasing my portfolio and then be able to have consistent livable income that is much more than I have right now.

Jamila Souffrant 36:10

Okay,what about you, Shamessia?

Shamessia 36:12

My goal originally was just to to make more income. But then when I realized the power of trading, when people started to invest a lot of people, they like to leave the corporate world. So that's the direction that I'm headed and to be able to travel full time. So before I started working corporate, I actually studied abroad and when I got back and I started to work full time, I was like, wait, so I only get, you know, a week to travel. How am I going to do that? So once I realized that trading would allow me to travel but still make income, that kind of became my shift to where now I want to travel full time.

Jamila Souffrant 36:49

Oh, love it, love it. Okay, Crystal.

Crystal 36:52

My current goal is I'm trying to become more flexible. I am currently in corporate America with the long commute, ,not right now because of COVID. So I use this course as an extra stream of income. That's what I'm hoping to use it for. And since I do still have my mortgage, if I can be successful, I'm going to focus on using the extra income to pay off my mortgage to get to that goal.

Jamila Souffrant 37:21

I love that. I feel like I definitely need to have like an updated conversation with you ladies in a year to see and dive more into your individual stories. By the way, no one was paid for this interview. Like everyone's really speaking from the heart of what their experience with Trade and Travel, but what I'm really trying to connect with, hopefully, if you're listening to this or watching this, if trading is something you're interested in, check out Teri's program. If you're not ready, that's fine too. Or so you want something different, that's fine too. What I see as a trend or just something I'm pulling out from each of your experiences so far is that investing in yourself and taking educated and safe risk and you know, in the in the grand scheme of things, right? You're not investing your like mortgage or like your last dollar, but like you're taking a risk to better yourself and invest in yourself, I think, for anyone I've seen like that is the path forward, whether it's Teri's course or just investing time to sit down and like, read a book or buy, buy something else that's gonna help you get to the next level. I feel like that is I hope, what I can impart and people like watching and listening, is that make the time and energy and space in your budget, in your life to invest in yourself? And so with that, I'll just go around, is there any kind of like, last words of encouragement for anyone who is thinking about this course or just thinking about their journey to financial freedom and need some encouragement? What would you say to them? Shaina, you can go first.

Shaina 38:45

I feel like if you have that inner voice inside of you telling you that you want to try something new, especially if it is this trading course or something else I say go for it. There's always going to be a little bit of a financial burden per se. I say that with air quotes because you can surpass that you can get past that. But you have to invest in yourself first. And then once you do that, whether you get exactly what you thought you wanted, you've grown by taking that jump. And I think that's the biggest thing is to get out of our comfort zones and try something new. And you never know what is at the other side of just going for it. It can be that you're staying in trading for five plus years or you meet someone, you do something completely new because of it. So I would just say go for it.

Jamila Souffrant 39:29

Right. Shamessia?

Shamessia 39:30

Whatever you work on can come to fruition. I think that there's always a lot of doubt and "will something work?" But I will say if you put the work in, it will work. And trading is a great way to do that. If it's been something that you're looking into because it's not a lot of time involved with swing trading. I'll say there's not a lot of time involved, but there's a big reward. So I would say go for it.

Jamila Souffrant 39:53

What about you Crystal?

Crystal 39:54

And I will say, this is a skill that you can use whenever you want to. If you don't have the time now if you learn it, you don't have to do it consistently you could do it when you decide you have more time to invest, but it's definitely a skill that I never thought I would learn. I wasn't necessarily interested in trading. But now that I've started I've fallen in love with it. I love it.

Jamila Souffrant 40:21

Yes, love it. Okay, well thank you so much, ladies for taking the time to share your experiences. I'm so glad to actually see your faces. I know like it's always kind of cool when I have people I'm always talking to myself usually I mean what I have interviewing guests right? But like, listeners, actual people who listen like I know you're out there but it's nice to like see your face and connect with you in this manner. I know not all you may be on like social and like public. But if you are and you want kind of like other journeyers to root for you, if you do share your journey. I'll give you the opportunity to like share that now. So Shaina, I know. Shaina's building her brand. She's building her brand so she can make some money off of that. So what is your Instagram Shaina?

Shaina 40:58

Absolutely, you know it. So, my Instagram is @Shaina.McGregor.

Jamila Souffrant 41:04

And what are you talking about? You're talking about inspirational stuff on your and hair, right? That's like your niche right now.

Shaina 41:10

I do. So I basically I share dance fitness and inspiration, I eventually want to get into life coaching. So that's something that's also been a passion of mine. So I've been slowly starting to integrate that within my Instagram.

Jamila Souffrant 41:25

Awesome. I'll link that in the show notes. Does anyone else want to share any social handles?

Shamessia 41:29

My Instagram is @MemeLee_underscore. And yeah, I'm here to talk about trading. I'm not too comfortable with sharing my journey yet, but I think I'll get there because it is important. But if you want to hit me in the DMs we can we can talk about trading because I love it.

Jamila Souffrant 41:48

Awesome, awesome. And Crystal, you want to share or you good?

Crystal 41:52

I'm not a social.

Jamila Souffrant 41:54

Okay, listen, that is totally fine. Listen, everyone's journey is not meant to be the same, but I want to give you got the opportunity to share in case people wanted to, you know, hit you up or just follow you and support you on your journey. So once again, ladies, I really thank you for taking the time to do this.

Shaina 42:10

Thank you.

Shamessia 42:11

Thank you.

Jamila Souffrant 42:17

Okay, I really hope you enjoyed listening to that episode. You can also watch it by the way. So if you wanted to watch that roundtable discussion, you can go to my YouTube channel@youtube.com/JourneytoLaunch. I'll also probably be posting clips of it on my social media. But like I said, even if trading is like not your jam, you have no desire to learn how to swing trade. I hope that you've got from this episode that you can really literally learn anything you want to as long as you put your mind to it, you set some time aside and you invest in yourself. And then if you are interested in learning more or joining Teri's course go to JourneytoLaunch.com/Teri or if you want to learn more in our free class that we're doing on September 23, join us at JourneytoLaunch.com/TradingClass, there you can enroll and meet us.

If you want to check out the episode shownotes that's where you can get links to anything that's mentioned, find out more about our guests, and even get a transcribed version of this episode that you can read, go to JourneytoLaunch.com or click the description of wherever you're listening to this episode. Now you can also still grab your free Journeyer Jumpstart Guide by texting, "launch" to 33777 or go to JourneytoLaunch.com/Jumpstart.

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Transcribed by https://otter.ai