Stocks To Trade
Nov. 18, 202111 min read

Jack + Mariana of Breakouts & Breakdowns: Lessons From a Trading Power Couple

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Jack and Mariana’s Trading Lessons: Key Takeaways

  • 6 crucial lessons from a trading power couple (they’re both millionaires!)…
  • The REAL secret to balancing trading and partnership…
  • Is eating style a predictor of trading style?

Follow Mariana, Jack, and Kyle Every Day In This Chat Room!

Talk about a trading power couple.

Jack and Mariana of Breakouts & Breakdowns are both self-made millionaires and accomplished traders in their own right…

  • It was Jack Kellogg’s 2017 New Year’s resolution to start trading. He stuck to it and as of late 2021, he’s currently up over $8.9 million in profits!
  • Mariana started her trading career in 2018 but spent an entire year learning before she began live trading in 2019. She’s currently up over $1.6 million in profits. 

They’ve both forged successful paths as traders, and both give back to the trading community. 

They share what they’ve learned as mentors through StocksToTrade’s Breakouts & Breakdowns and as co-hosts of the TWIST podcast along with Kyle Williams. 

You can discover many trading gems from both of these traders. Read on for some of the most important lessons they’ve learned so far!

1. Be Your Own Trader

Jack and Mariana sometimes trade side by side. Here’s proof from their recent getaway to Italy with trading friends, including Kyle…

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Jackaroo (@jackkellogg)

However, they maintain individual identities as traders. They each have their own styles, strengths, and go-to strategies. Even when they’re sitting side by side, they’re executing their own trades.

Trading can be a lonely profession, so it’s good to have a partner in crime. But when it comes down to it, you’re always responsible for your own trades. 

2. Know Yourself

Every trader needs an edge. The key to finding yours? You’ve gotta know your strengths and weaknesses. You’ve gotta know yourself and work with yourself.

As Jack and Mariana prove, every trader is different: 

  • Jack trades a number of different patterns and strategies. There are some trades that he’ll hold for days, even weeks. But to differentiate these longer-term trades from day trades, he knows that he needs to compartmentalize. He maintains a separate account so he doesn’t look at it every day. That helps him keep smaller position sizes and approach those stocks differently. 
  • Mariana recognizes trading breakouts and trading listed stocks are not her biggest strengths. She just doesn’t have the patience. So she tends to avoid them unless she really feels confident about the play. 

Wanna get in touch with your strengths and weaknesses? Dig into this episode of the SteadyTrade podcast where the team discusses a book about trading habits: “The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body and Mind” by John Coates. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

3. You Can Tell a Lot About a Trader By How They Eat…

In a recent interview with Jack and Mariana, trading teacher Tim Sykes poses an interesting question: Is eating style a predictor of trading style?

In the case of both Jack and Mariana, yes! 

When Jack likes a particular food, he likes to load up on a big portion. Likewise, when he sees a setup he loves, he takes a big position on the trade. 

Mariana, on the other hand, is a bit more complex. On one hand, she has amazing discipline. If she has a cake in her fridge, she can make it last for weeks, eating it slowly, one spoonful at a time. She’s also patient enough to wait for her trading setups. 

But once she’s actually in the trade she can get trigger-happy.

  • If she’s profitable, she’ll take profits too fast. 
  • If she’s losing, she cuts losses extremely quickly (sometimes too quickly!).

Mariana likes being healthy more than she likes eating a lot of food … and she likes money more than nailing the trade perfectly. 

How about you … Do you see similarities between how you eat and how you trade?

Note: Hungry for more info about position sizing? Check out this video:

4. You’ve Gotta Have a Community

When Jack first started doing Breakouts & Breakdowns, he was so busy teaching that he didn’t feel connected to Mariana. 

However, he got the best of both worlds when she became a moderator. 

Not only has collaborating in the Breakouts & Breakdowns brought them closer, but it’s helped them get more involved with the trading community at large. 

Trading can be a solitary profession — connecting is key!

 
 
 
 
 
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Watch that full TWIST episode here.

5. Learn the Rules First

Both Jack and Mariana logged some serious study hours before they started throwing money at the market.

In Mariana’s case, she spent about a year of her trading career focused on studying. She watched video lessons, webinars, and DVDs — but didn’t trade at all. 

For some traders, this might seem like an impossible feat. But then again, this approach helped Mariana become a millionaire in just a few short years. The time she spent learning was well worth it…

6. Use Alerts the RIGHT Way

Alerts can be an extremely valuable and powerful tool for traders. But only if used correctly.

From the very beginning, Jack understood that alerts could point him in the right direction. But he always did his own research before executing. 

The lesson here? DO watch and learn from alert services like StocksToTrade’s Breaking News Chat and Daily Market Profits. But don’t follow alerts blindly — even if they’re quality alerts. Always do your own research!

Never Stop Learning…

Jack and Mariana are both young traders, but they’ve already learned a lot over the course of their careers. To recap:

  • Always be your own trader.
  • Understand what makes you tick as a trader. It can help give you an edge!
  • Those who eat mindfully are more likely to trade mindfully (or is it the other way around?)
  • Trading is way better with a community.
  • Take the time to learn the rules before you break ‘em (and bust your account!)
  • Don’t blindly follow alerts! Think for yourself as a trader.

Keep your education going! 

Follow Mariana, Jack, and Kyle every day in the Breakouts & Breakdowns chat room.

What’s your favorite knowledge nugget from Jack and Mariana? Drop a comment below!