First of all, apologies to everyone who’s been waiting too long for an email reply.

You see, what happened is that the drains underneath my house collapsed, and… you DON’T want to know!

Two men and a van are about to show up and dismantle my office (can’t decide whether I’m more hysterical about loss of broadband for the rest of the week, or the fact that once taken up, I’m sure my fitted carpet will never look the same once they come to put it back down). And tomorrow, a whole gang of Strong Men will tackle the dreadful drains.

Meanwhile, that old saying is definitely true. You know the one: Unlucky at Drains, Lucky at Trading.

Except this time, I think I am entitled to claim I made my own luck.

I went long on Apple September, a couple of days before the iPhone was launched at 50p a point. Figured that if the product lived up to its previews, the price could only go one way. The trade didn’t go my way from the outset, and I was trying to decide whether or not to go back in when the stop loss was hit. But then the price started moving in the right direction…. and it kept going up and Up and UP and UPPP!

The result? A six day trade that netted me almost 1200 points - or £600 in real money, when I cashed in at 13329.8. If I’d stayed in longer, I could have made even more (um, much more… take a look at the price now!) But I was well pleased with my gain, and I’m pretty sure it’s my best ever trade - certainly in terms of the points captured.

On the currency front, Tom T’s Forex Profit Alert is also paying dividends over the past month. Two hugely successful Cable trades - and a couple of losers, but I’m nicely in profit overall. He’s changed the offer… you now get a six week trial without needing to pay any subscription… and if you don’t think it’s any good, you just cancel. Full details are yours for the asking.

Anyway, the man is here to confiscate my computer. All bets are off…. more when the drains are fixed.

I am back from Budapest, where I had an extremely productive time.

Given that I do not speak the language - it seems to consist mostly of the letters j, k and z - I was obliged to concentrate on my work. On the final day, I permitted myself a treat, and decamped from my garret to a place called the Gellert Hotel, which I chose for its world-famous natural spa… it really DOES look like something out of a James Bond film set; check this link and you’ll see what I mean:

http://www.gellertbath.com/

I was fortunate enough to be upgraded to a junior suite (Tottenham fans are everywhere, including the very nice man on the Gellert’s registration desk) and discovered to my delight that they give their posh rooms names: And that the Richard M Nixon Suite is incongruously next door to the Andrew Lloyd Webber Suite.

Anyway,

I got home to discover that the times they are a-changing at Finspreads, which iis my spread betting firm of choice, since they’re always so helpful to novices. One of the things I’ve always liked best is that complete beginners can trade for only 1p a point for the first eight weeks, when you join the Trading Academy - which sends you lots of useful educational stuff.

The minimum trade has now gone up to 10p a point.

“What’s going on?” I asked Very Patient Kunjal, who deals with all my queries.

“Inflation, Sally,” she sighed. “Money’s not what it used to be. We’ve offered penny trading for nine years. And after lots of number crunching, we saw the average stake of everyone in the Trading Academy was actually 12p, so we’ve put up our minimum beginner stake.”

Even at 10p a point, this is a valuable safety net for every novice who wants to give spread betting a try without risking too much, and I thoroughly encourage everyone who’s come to spread betting as a result of Bets and the City and/or this blog to take FULL advantage when you first open an account.

Even as I write that last sentence, I know I’m wasting my words! What happens is that most beginners stick to the minimum for the first few trades…. then they get confident… and suddenly it’s £1 a point. Or more.

Please don’t go too big, too soon. Think money management. i never risk more than 1% of my £15k trading bank on any single trade (except when I trade Apple, which is so volatile that I risk 2%).

I know that’s impractical if you start off with a lot less. So in answer to everyone who’s asked, “How much can I afford to risk per trade?” here’s my opinion:

Suppose there’s £500 in your account. Cap your losses at £25 to £50 per individual trade. At 50p a point, that means you’re looking to place a stop loss 50 to 100 points away - so concentrate on the markets with a usual daily range of 100 points maximum.