In my 20s and most of my 30s I read almost entirely nonfiction. Wanted to learn things, optimize things, make more money, sound smart at dinner or parties.

Started reading novels again a few years ago and it's like turning a part of my brain back on. Sometimes the truest thing is a made-up story with a real feeling in it.

Ironically, I dove back in starting with a genre I'd never read before. I always thought fantasy was for kids. Turns out I love a lot of it. Stormlight Archives, if I recall, was the one that got me hooked on fiction again.

Now I browse reddit threads and find other random genres and books I'd never stumble on otherwise. Or my library app shows me something I'd never guess to try.

Now my "want to read" tag list is wayyyy to long. I have a problem. lol. But I guess it's a good one.

I used to love creative writing, and I've finally been getting back into that now. Wouldn't have happened with all these wonderful books and recommendations.

Every rule these firms have exists because a trader like you blew up an account doing exactly that thing. Refusing to take profits - trailing drawdown. Oversizing for windfalls - consistency requirements, position limits, minimum trading days.

If you feel like a rule is fighting you, ask yourself why. Usually it's highlighting a bad habit you haven't fixed yet. The firms didn't invent these to be mean. They invented them because traders kept doing the same dumb thing on repeat and can't be trusted with capital because of it.

Two years ago most firms charged activation fees, most had intraday trailing drawdowns, crazier consistency rules.

Now you have a dozen firms like Tradeify, Lucid, with no activation fees and EOD, and they've forced the other firms to step up with similar offerings. Meanwhile price wars have brought everything down.

Competition has shown up, new firms are coming in at more competitive levels. Up to you whether to take advantage of it or not.

I'd finish a session at breakeven or slightly green and feel like I wasted my time. Like if I didn't make real money, what was the point of sitting there.

Took me a while to realize that a flat day where I followed my rules is worth more than a green day where I got lucky improvising. One builds something, while the other just delays the blowup.

Posted about this in a comment last week but figured it deserves its own post at this point.

When Rise did their system rebuild, they required me to do an RSK recovery and create a passkey. I did exactly that. One phone, one password manager, one passkey.

The passkey doesn't work. Has never worked since I created it.

It's now been over a month since I've been able to withdraw my money, and over 3 weeks since support got involved. In that time I've gotten half a dozen different error messages trying to use the same passkey they told me was good to go. Latest one is just "authorization failed."

According to them, I must be using the wrong passkey. Despite the fact this is impossible, since I only have one.

So maybe their system thinks I have multiple passkeys? They haven't even tried to address that.

Regardless, I don't. I've clearly explained this more than once - what devices I use, what password manager I use, how many passkeys I have. One. The answer is one. Every time.

Today's brilliant suggestion from support: log out and back in again.

I've done that over 50 times since this started. They know this. I tried again anyway. Didn't help. Shocking.

I want to be clear - I'm not getting scam vibes here. I've been paid by them before with no issues. This feels more like they leaned too hard on AI or rushed their rebuild, introduced bugs they don't fully understand, and now they're swamped with tickets and throwing darts. But the end result is the same: my money is sitting there and nobody can figure out how to let me have it.

I've been patient, answered every question clearly, followed every instruction. I'm feeling further away from my money than I was a month ago, given the lack of a clue they seem to have about why it's not working.

If anyone else was stuck in passkey hell with Rise, I'd be curious to hear if you've found a fix. And if you're considering using them for payouts, just know that their system is not in a stable place right now, might wanna use a different provider if you have the option.

I’ve tried view-source”url”

I’ve tried this shortcut, using Make HTML from rich text:

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/3ade5317250847469a7a826960167657

Neither worked. I’m not an Apple dev, just trying to troubleshoot why a mobile menu overlay isn’t rendering properly on the phone while working properly using a mobile-sized viewport.

NQ down over 4% at the lows, then rips back to close down only about 1.2%. Yesterday was a ~2% rally. Friday was a gut-punching 5.5+% drop. That's nearly 13% of range in three sessions.

If you traded all of that perfectly, congratulations. You didn't.

And if you traded all of it, period, there's a decent chance you gave back more than you made. Sure, some picked the right side and held too long and had windfall days. Good for them. Most good traders probably did a lot of sitting on hands.

That's how this kind of volatility works. It feels like opportunity everywhere but most of it is a trap unless you're extremely selective about where you engage.

Here's what I've learned the hard way about trading in these conditions.

Size down. I mean actually size down, not "I'll be careful" size down. When NQ is swinging 400+ points in a session, your normal size is not your normal risk. A 20 point stop that felt like nothing two weeks ago now gets run in micro-seconds, and the slippage can make it 30. If your size isn't adjusted for that, you're taking twice the risk you think you are and the math catches up fast.

Pick your spots within the range that matters. On a normal day you might be trading off a 100-150 point range and finding opportunities at levels within that. Days like today the range blows out to 400, 800, 1200 points. The levels that mattered last week don't necessarily matter right now. The ranges that are in play are completely different.

When volatility expands like this, the levels that actually mean something spread way out. The top and bottom of Friday's candle. The previous week's range. Key areas from the last major selloff. Those become the guardrails. Everything between them is just chop moving at twice the speed, and most of it is a crap shoot.

The mistake I see people make is they keep playing the same tight ranges they were trading two weeks ago when the market was grinding 80 points a day. Those levels are getting steamrolled now. The game changed. The ranges expanded. Your playbook needs to match that reality.

So it's less about switching to a weekly chart or whatever and more about recognizing that big days create big ranges, and the spots worth trading are at the edges of those ranges, not in the middle of the mess.

Most of the movement between those key areas is noise. Violent, fast, convincing noise. It'll make you feel like you need to be in. You don't.

The traders who survive weeks like this are usually doing less, not more. They're waiting for price to reach a level that actually matters within the expanded range, taking a shot with reduced size, and walking away if it doesn't work. They're not trying to catch every rotation.

The ones who blow up are the ones matching the market's energy. Market is moving fast so they trade fast. Market is volatile so they swing for the fences. Market gives them a loss so they immediately get back in because "it's moving, there's opportunity everywhere."

There is. There's also landmines everywhere.

This kind of volatility rewards patience more than aggression. I know that sounds wrong when you watch NQ move 100 points in 30 seconds and think about what you could've made. But think about it the other direction too. Think about what you could lose just as fast. Because the market doesn't care which side of that 100 point move you're on.

Slow down. Size down. Let the expanded ranges tell you where the real levels are. Take your shot when price gets to one and sit on your hands when it's wandering in between.

The market will still be volatile tomorrow. Your job is to make sure your account is still there for it.

If you're looking for the best Tradeify discount code right now, here's what's currently available and how to make sure you're getting the lowest price on your account.

Best Tradeify Coupon Code Right Now

The best discount at Tradeify can be up to 30, 40, or 50% off all accounts using code 10150.

For example, the current deal offers:

• 35% off all evaluation accounts
• 35% off Straight-to-Sim-Funded accounts
• Payout frequency is now every 5 days

That 35% applies across the board. There's no separate code for different account sizes - one code covers everything they offer.

This chart compares Tradeify's final price (when code 10150 gives 40$ off) vs other firms' typical pricing. The active 10150 code keeps the best deal for Tradeify, which is currently 35% off.

How to Use the Tradeify Discount Code

1. Go to Tradeify through a current promo link
2. Choose your account size and type
3. Enter code 10150 at checkout
4. Confirm the discount is applied before completing payment

Simple enough. Just double check the code took before you pay.

Some of the details on verified code 10150 for Tradeify

What Accounts Does the Discount Apply To?

The discount applies to all of Tradeify's account options, including:

• Growth evaluation accounts (all sizes)
• Select evaluation accounts (all sizes)
• Lighting accounts (all sizes), which are Straight-to-Sim-Funded accounts (skip the evaluation entirely)

The Straight-to-Sim-Funded option is worth noting. If you don't want to go through an evaluation phase, you can go directly to a funded sim account and start working toward payouts from day one. The discount applies to those as well.

Quick Summary

That's the best deal available right now. No stacking, no hidden tiers. One code, 35% off all accounts.

We've tested and verified that code 10150 works and is offering the best discount. Last verified June 4th, 2026.

What Code 10150 Has Included:

• Works for current max special on all accounts
• No activation fees
• End of Day (EOD) drawdowns on all accounts
• Daily payouts or payouts every 5 days depending on your account choice
• Fair consistency rules, some accounts have no consistency rule
• 24/7 support
• Tradovate Prop, Wealthcarts, or Tradesa platforms

Is Tradeify Worth It?

I'm not going to give you the full sales pitch here. But briefly - Tradeify is a futures prop firm that's gotten attention for fast payouts, a straightforward rule set, and a relatively clean funding process. They've been gaining ground in the prop firm space for good reason.

If you want more detail on how they actually work, their rules, account structure, and whether they're a good fit, there's a full breakdown here: Tradeify Review 2026

Do Tradeify Discount Codes Change?

Tradeify Code 10150 stays the same and will always offer the max discount. The percentage discount available may change month to month. What's listed above is current as of this writing. Whenever you're ready to start, you can check updated Tradeify deals - they almost always have something running.

I see this a lot in trading subs. Someone posts about blowing an eval or a funded account, and the comments fill up with "prop firms are a scam, they're designed for you to fail, the whole model is built on taking your money."

They're not entirely wrong about the business model, but they're drawing the wrong conclusion from it.

Yes, prop firms make money from selling evaluations to a lot of traders, and most of those traders don't make it. And so the prop firm gets to keep their money and never has to pay them out. But that is just part of the deal.

It's the same way when you go to a casino. A lot of people are losing money, a few people are taking away money, and the house is keeping a nice profit.

The thing with trading is, you have control over whether you are the person who makes the prop firm rich... Or the one who gets them to pay you out on your trading, again and again.

If you're shopping for an Apex Trader Funding account and want the lowest price possible, here's what's currently available and how to make sure you're not overpaying.

Best Apex Trader Funding Coupon Code Right Now

The current best discount at Apex Trader Funding is 90% off new evaluations using code EPICC.

This deal runs through 06/10/2026 at 11:59 PM CT.

90% off. It's a one-time fee, not a recurring subscription, which means you pay once and you're in the evaluation until you pass or fail (30-day limit). No monthly charges stacking up.

https://preview.redd.it/lve21mvipi2h1.png?width=928&format=png&auto=webp&s=b50a8c695f22956f51564389077d8ff5e9108641

What's Included With This Deal

• 90% off all new evaluation accounts (one-time fee)
• New EOD (End of Day) drawdown accounts available
• Pass in as little as ONE day
• 50% consistency rule in funded accounts
• $69 lifetime PA fee on the 50K Intraday account

The one-day-to-pass detail appeals to some more than others. You can technically clear the evaluation in a single trading session if you hit the profit target. Whether you should rush it is a different conversation, but the option is there.

How to Use the Apex Trader Funding Discount Code

1. Go to Apex Trader Funding through a current promo link
2. Select your evaluation account size
3. Enter code EPICC at checkout
4. Confirm the discount is applied before completing payment

Make sure you see the 90% reflected in your total before you submit. Simple process.

Quick Summary

This graphic shows the details for the 50K Intraday Account with Apex Trader Funding code EPICC

We have verified this with code EPICC. That's the best deal running at Apex right now. 90% Off Apex, $69 activation. Last verified 06/03/26

What Account Types Does the Discount Apply To?

The 90% off applies to new evaluation accounts across all sizes Apex offers. They have multiple account options ranging from smaller accounts up to larger ones, and the code works on all of them.

Apex also now offers EOD drawdown accounts in addition to their intraday drawdown options. The EOD accounts calculate your trailing drawdown based on end-of-day balances rather than intraday peaks, which gives you more breathing room during the trading session. Both types are available under this deal.

Is Apex Trader Funding Worth It?

Apex has been one of the bigger names in the futures prop firm space for a while now. They've gone through some changes over the years, and opinions vary. What I'll say is that the all-in cost and the EOD drawdown option (that stays EOD in funded) make them competitive right now.

They've also removed all the rules that people disliked, and they've made some upgrades to their dashboard.

If you want a deeper look at how they work, their rules, payout structure, and what the actual funded experience looks like, there's a full breakdown here: Apex Trader Funding Review 2026

Do Apex Trader Funding Discount Codes Change?

Apex runs promotions frequently and the percentages can vary. 90% off is about as good as it gets with them. The code name and specific terms can shift, but they tend to keep aggressive discounts running most of the time. What's listed above is current as of this writing.

If you're reading this past the expiration date, check the current Apex Trader deal. They often have something active.