The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Encore)

Hey, everyone. Darien Woods here. Happy holidays. For the next week, we are running some of our favorite shows from this year. Today's episode is about gambling addiction and the stock market. NPR. Chris Garver got interested in the stock market around 2010. I had some savings, and I thought there's no point in them being in, you know, savings accounts because the interest was so bad. Chris started with what he describes as a sensible investment strategy. He bought shares in a range of large companies listed on the main British Stock exchange. But the deeper I got into it, you start going into forums and people start recommending stocks, and then you see some of the returns that were happening. And then that kind of opened up another world. It was a world of buying smaller, more volatile companies or using special trading contracts in ways that magnify your gains or losses. Chris remembers investing in one company prospecting for oil. News hit over a new discovery, and, in two days, I'd I'd made over £80,000. And I thought, alright, you know, I can make some serious money here. £80,000 is about a 100,000 US dollars. And Chris saw what he was doing as investing, an intellectual hobby on the side of his day job in digital media. What he didn't think was that his trading could be gambling. This is an indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong. And I'm Darren Woods. Buying and selling quickly on the stock market is known as day trading. And with the dawn of apps like Robinhood and Webull, winning or losing fortunes is easier than ever. So is day trading gambling? Today on the show, we hear Chris's story, and we speak with a neuroeconomist about the human brain on day trading. Support for NPR and the following message come from Edward Jones. What does it mean to live a rich life? Maybe it's full of brave first leaps, tearful goodbyes, and everything in between. And with over a hundred years of experience, your Edward Jones financial adviser can help. Edward Jones, member SIPC. This message comes from NPR sponsor, Capella University. Learning doesn't have to get in the way of life. With Capella's game changing flex path learning format, you can set your own deadlines and learn on your own schedule. That means you don't have to put your life on hold to earn your degree. Instead, enjoy learning your way and pursue your educational and career goals without missing a beat. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella.edu. This message comes from Amnesty International. When the world is breaking apart, but you refuse to look away, Amnesty International is the place to start. Donate today to defend human rights, and your gift will be matched at amnestyusa.org/podcast. After his big win, Chris Garver started to lose money on his investments. He would sometimes win back money. But over the next …