Do you scalp the ES? I spread ftse against fesx too. I don't think many can make money trading part time, I do it full time and it's still difficult. Fair play if you're not in the red. Do you use any spreading software?
Yes. No software, I just pay attention to the volume. I always let the set-ups come to me. I realized what was going on with the housing/lenders in 2006/07 long before it was the news and I was very short. Initially I lost a bunch on margin calls because I was early (as usual). I almost blew up my account up, but I made it all back +800% (shorting/puts housing stocks, builders and small/mid-size banks) after the housing bubble finally burst and Lehman Brothers blew up. Some of my trading buddies in San Diego made 2500% gains during that time, one guy retired at 40 years old.
Trading while living on the West coast is great because you're done by 1pm... plenty of time left in the day to train and do other things. Another market crash is coming soon... get ready.