Trading attracts us with its promise of freedom. If you can trade, you can live and work anywhere in the world, be independent from the routine, and not answer to anybody. You can trade from a beach bungalow or a mountaintop chalet, as long as you have a good Inter net connection. You have no boss, no customers, no alarm clock. You are your own person.

People pay lip service to their dreams of freedom, but many feel frightened by it. If I stop making money for any reason whatsoever, no corporate parent will take care of me. This a frightening thought for most people. No wonder so many of us have grown used to the secu rity of our corporate cages.

Caged animals develop all sorts of neurotic behaviors. A common neurosis is an addiction to the earn-and-spend cycle. We are taught since childhood that our place in society is defined by what we consume. If you drive a $50,000 car, you are a better, more successful person than someone who drives a $15,000 auto, whereas a neighbor who drives a $120,000 car is a very special winner altogether. The man who dresses at an Armani boutique is a more refined individual than someone who buys his pants and shirts at the corner store. Society waves countless carrots in our faces. The ads sell not food, shelter, or transportation, but a boost of self-esteem. An addict feels revived by a fix for only a short time. People spend their entire lives straining to keep up with the Joneses. Those dastardly Joneses do not have the decency to stay in place, and as they climb the ladder, we must climb also.

Freedom begins in our minds, not in our bank accounts. To liberate yourself, start becoming conscious of your spending. You are likely to see that you need much less than you thought, making freedom that much closer.

There was a Wall Street analyst by the name of Joe Dominguez who saved enough money to retire at 31. He spent the rest of his life enjoy ing himself, doing volunteer work, and writing a book called Your Money or Your Life.

We aren't making a living, we are making a dying. Consider the average American worker. The alarm rings at 6:45 and our working man or woman is up and running. Shower. Dress in the professional uniform-suits or dresses for some, overalls for others, whites for the medical professionals, jeans and flannel shirts for construction workers. Breakfast, if there's time. Grab commuter mug and briefcase (or lunch box) and hop in the car for the daily punishment called rush hour. On the job from nine to five. Deal with the boss. Deal with the coworker sent by the devil to rub you the wrong way. Deal with suppliers. Deal with clients/customers/patients. Act busy. Hide mistakes. Smile when handed impossible deadlines. Give a sigh of relief when the ax known as \'restructuring' or \'downsizing'-or just plain getting laid off-falls on other heads. Shoulder the added workload. Watch the clock. Argue with your conscience but agree with the boss. Smile again. Five o'clock. Back in the car and onto the freeway for the evening commute. Home. Act human with mates, kids or roommates. Eat. Watch TV. Bed. Eight hours of blessed oblivion.

And they call this making a living? Think about it. How many

people have you seen who are more alive at the end of the work day than they were at the beginning? . . . Aren't we killing ourselves-our health, our relationships, our sense of joy and wonder-for our jobs? We are sacrificing our lives for money-but it's happening so slowly that we barely notice.

Pull out your old tax returns or cash income books and add up all earnings since your first job. You're likely to find that even a moderately successful person has earned a million dollars or more. And spent it! Have you ever seen hamsters racing on a treadmill? Wouldn't it be nice to hop off, go for a walk, stop by some flowers and inhale? Most people cannot relax because they are hooked on spending. When they begin to trade, they set impossible goals. Fifty percent in the first year is not enough when you crave a downpayment on a Ferrari.

There is nothing wrong with owning a Ferrari or any other luxury, provided you have given it a lot of thought and are buying it for a true

personal need rather than responding to advertising propaganda. People keep buying things to shut out their feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction. A person who uses money to stuff up his sense of emptiness can hardly focus on finding the best quality trades.

Find the minimal level of spending which feels comfortable to you. To quote Dominguez again,

You have enough for your survival, enough for your comforts, and even some special luxuries, with no excess to burden you un necessarily. Enough is a powerful and free place. A confident and flexible place.

Become conscious of your expenditures. Use cash instead of plastic whenever possible. Stop trying to impress people with your possessions. They are not paying attention because they are too busy trying to impress you. Pay off all your debts, including your mortgage. That's not too hard once you reduce your expenses. Set aside enough money to live for 6 to 12 months and loosen the link between work and income. Trading should be a high-paying, high-integrity self-employment. Once your living expenses are covered, start putting extra prof-its into tax-free bonds so that eventually you'll have enough income to take care of your normal needs in perpetuity. If tax-free municipals yield 5%, then $1 million worth of them will bring you $50,000 a year, free and clear. Will that be enough? Will you need twice that much? Three times? Five? The sooner you lower your expenses, the sooner you'll reach the moment of liberation. Rationally managing your personal finances prepares you to rationally manage your trading account.

You probably did not expect a discussion of personal spending in a book on trading. If it has caught your attention, follow up by reading the Dominguez book. The key idea for traders is to approach the market in a sober and rational manner, maximizing gains, minimizing losses, and being accountable for every step that they take.