Review the decision, not just the result

fredfinance is a trading journal blog about recording trades, reviewing your process, and finding the patterns in your own decisions.

Write down why you entered before the outcome is known. The rationale is the part of a trade you can actually review.

Log entries, exits, and deviations from your plan as they happen. Clean records make later review honest and specific.

Each week, read across your trades to see where your process held and where it slipped. Patterns show up in the notes, not the P&L.

Market commentary changes by the hour. A journal of your own decisions does not. I started documenting trades because I wanted to understand my own behavior, not predict the next move.

A functional journal captures decision logic and emotional state, not just profit numbers. Reviewing it systematically reveals operational habits that no outside commentary can show you.

Receive a short prompt each week to sharpen your trade notes and review process.