# Trading Roadmap — Bill & Colette

## Target Outcome
Pass a prop firm challenge and trade a firm account for income.

## Timeline (estimated)

```
Month 1    [Phase 1] Foundations + TradingView setup
Month 2    [Phase 2] Technical Analysis
Month 3-4  [Phase 3] Strategy Development + Backtesting
Month 5-6  [Phase 4] Paper Trading (live simulation)
Month 7    [Phase 5] Prop Challenge Prep
Month 8+   [Phase 6] Challenge Attempt
```

This is a realistic timeline if you put in 5–10 hours/week.
Rushing phases 3–5 is the most common mistake — a strategy needs real testing time.

## Prop Firm Options (to decide by end of Sprint 01)

| Firm | Challenge Cost | Account Size | Rules |
|------|---------------|--------------|-------|
| Apex Trader Funding | $167 | $50K sim | Popular for futures |
| TopStep | $165 | $50K sim | Futures focused |
| FTMO | ~$155 | $10K | Forex/stocks |
| MyFundedFutures | varies | varies | Futures |

## Key Principles

1. **Never risk more than 1% per trade** during paper trading — practice the habit now
2. **Journal every trade** — no journal = no improvement
3. **Backtest before you trust** — a strategy that "feels right" is not a strategy
4. **Paper trading results are optimistic** — live will be harder
5. **Pass 2 simulated challenges before paying for a real one**

## Current Sprints
→ Bill: [bill/sprints/sprint-01.md](../bill/sprints/sprint-01.md) — Market Data Infrastructure
→ Colette: [colette/sprints/sprint-01.md](../colette/sprints/sprint-01.md) — Chart Literacy

## Completed Sprints
_(none yet)_