You know what they say; trading Forex is 80% mental and that only 5% of all currency traders make money consistently. If this is so, and I believe it to be, then we are all in an extremely competitive environment. This means that when we trade, we must always be on our “A” game, our peak performance period.
Here are 3 simple tips to prepare you each day for the competitive playing field that is the Forex market:
1. REST
Before we turn on the computer and look at the currency pairs, it is imperative that we have had adequate rest. Proper sleep allows us to recharge our batteries and extend our period of maximum focus. Sometimes we all wake up and things are just not in balance. Issues outside of our trading environment or our physical conditions, or lack thereof, are ruling the roost. This is when all successful traders pull out their Ultimate Weapon of Successful Currency Trading.
They simple don’t trade!
Use this time to review, read or play golf! It’s all about probabilities, and the probability of success in Forex trading multiplies when we are at our best.
2. PLAN and REVIEW
Currency Trading is a business and should be treated accordingly. In the business of trading currencies we all should have a plan, a business trading plan. This plan should consist of 2 components: A Mission Statement which should explain your personal “Why?” Why are you trading Forex? Your mission statement must be compelling enough to overcome the inevitable challenges all traders face.
The second component is your trading plan. The component of the overall plan covers the execution of Forex trading. Your plan should cover the what, how, when and risk components of your trading. Before each trading session review your entire plan and trade it! Make this a habit. Another trick of successful traders is after losing some focus during the trading period, take a break and before returning refocus by reviewing your plan.
3. RELAX
You must sharpen your mental saw before each and every trading session. There are a variety of methods for helping you relax and focus. You can listen to your favorite music, meditate, recite positive wealth building affirmations or listening to a confidence building CD. When it comes to developing a mental edge, play every ace. The correct method is the one that works for you!
After all of your preparation you still find yourself not on top of your game you can once again consider the ultimate weapon of great traders.
Walk away! You do not have to trade today.
Preparing for your trading session is all about placing yourself is the best position possible to take advantage of the myriad of opportunities that makes the Forex market great. When you incorporate mental preparations into your daily trading ritual you have set the stage for handling whatever the currency market can throw at you with confidence, determination and clarity.
Remember, above all the hype, strategies and methodologies lies common sense. Use it and you too will find success.
Resource Box:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Todd Judkins specializes in teaching real people how to trade the Forex market for long term success by focusing on strategic, mental and money skills. He is a currency trader, educator and success coach to traders. To begin training with Todd immediately, live in the Forex market, and learn this lifetime skill, visit: http://www.forexjourney.com
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
3 Simple Tips for Building Wealth in Your Trading Account
Forex traders tend to focus on the strategic aspects of their trading and most Forex education organizations are geared to satisfying this specific need. Have a conversation with a currency trader. Over 90% will speak about indicators, candlestick patterns or the latest combination of technical studies that can get you into trade 2-3 candlesticks before anyone else.
Look for the 10% who speak about not being sure where the market is going and how they manage their stops. I got news for you; these are the successful Forex traders!
Yes, Strategy is important, very important; however, it is only one of the three pillars of successful Forex trading. To achieve success all three pillars must be in place and strong. Knowing yourself is the path to ultimate success, but until one conquers self-mastery, profit can truly be found in money management.
Here are 3 simple, but powerful money management tips that will keep your account size growing while your personal and strategic skills develop:
1. Adhere To Your Reward to Risk Ratio
Maintain at a minimum a 2 to 1 reward to risk ratio. That means that the currency pair’s price target should be twice the amount in pips of the stop-loss. If you have a price target that is 60 pips away from your entry and your stop should be 20 pips away from your entry, this means you have a 3 to 1 reward to risk ratio.
Congratulations, you cleared the first hurdle, but this still does not represent a good trade for money management.
2. Use Stops
Always use a stop-loss! Write this one in stone. I see novice currency traders make 2 huge money management errors with stop-losses;
a.. They simple do not use one.
b. The use a set amount of pips for a stop loss.
Set your stop loss based off of your chart technicals. You must give your trade room to work or it is doomed to stop you out. Establishing your price target and chart stops will allow you to evaluate the reward to risk ratio. Do not use a set 20 or 30 pips stop loss. Let the chart tell you where the stop should be and let step 3 be the final judge!
3. Manage Your Overall Account Risk
Most every expert recommends establishing a 1-5% risk profile. So at any given time you will never risk more than 1-5% of your account that is not already in a trade. That’s right. Not your total account, the portion that is not already leveraged in a trade.
The goal here is to continue to play the Forex game. In order to do this the currency trader must understand the amount of maximum loss prior to ever getting into a trade.
Now a determination can be made on whether a trade is affordable. The trade could have all the technical stars aligned, exceptional reward to risk ratio, but if the risk profile is violated it is ultimately a bad trade. Losing trades are part of doing business in the Forex market; however, bad trades are the quickest way to back to that 9 to 5!
Strong money management techniques are one of the 3 pillars of successful Forex trading (strategy and self-mastery are the others). It is money management that allows the Forex trader to manage their trading business like a casino and give power to their trading edge.
It is better to have a poor trading strategy with solid money management than vice versa. Mastering your money will allow you to stay in the game and compound your account into profit. Again, don’t get caught up in all the hype. Common sense rules the roost! Use these tips and you too will find success in the Forex market.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Todd Judkins specializes in teaching real people how to trade the Forex market for long term success by focusing on strategic, mind and money skills. He is a currency trader, educator and success coach to traders. Are you now ready to take action? To begin training with Todd immediately, online Forex trading visit: http://www.forexjourney.com and sign up for his FREE Video Newsletter.
Look for the 10% who speak about not being sure where the market is going and how they manage their stops. I got news for you; these are the successful Forex traders!
Yes, Strategy is important, very important; however, it is only one of the three pillars of successful Forex trading. To achieve success all three pillars must be in place and strong. Knowing yourself is the path to ultimate success, but until one conquers self-mastery, profit can truly be found in money management.
Here are 3 simple, but powerful money management tips that will keep your account size growing while your personal and strategic skills develop:
1. Adhere To Your Reward to Risk Ratio
Maintain at a minimum a 2 to 1 reward to risk ratio. That means that the currency pair’s price target should be twice the amount in pips of the stop-loss. If you have a price target that is 60 pips away from your entry and your stop should be 20 pips away from your entry, this means you have a 3 to 1 reward to risk ratio.
Congratulations, you cleared the first hurdle, but this still does not represent a good trade for money management.
2. Use Stops
Always use a stop-loss! Write this one in stone. I see novice currency traders make 2 huge money management errors with stop-losses;
a.. They simple do not use one.
b. The use a set amount of pips for a stop loss.
Set your stop loss based off of your chart technicals. You must give your trade room to work or it is doomed to stop you out. Establishing your price target and chart stops will allow you to evaluate the reward to risk ratio. Do not use a set 20 or 30 pips stop loss. Let the chart tell you where the stop should be and let step 3 be the final judge!
3. Manage Your Overall Account Risk
Most every expert recommends establishing a 1-5% risk profile. So at any given time you will never risk more than 1-5% of your account that is not already in a trade. That’s right. Not your total account, the portion that is not already leveraged in a trade.
The goal here is to continue to play the Forex game. In order to do this the currency trader must understand the amount of maximum loss prior to ever getting into a trade.
Now a determination can be made on whether a trade is affordable. The trade could have all the technical stars aligned, exceptional reward to risk ratio, but if the risk profile is violated it is ultimately a bad trade. Losing trades are part of doing business in the Forex market; however, bad trades are the quickest way to back to that 9 to 5!
Strong money management techniques are one of the 3 pillars of successful Forex trading (strategy and self-mastery are the others). It is money management that allows the Forex trader to manage their trading business like a casino and give power to their trading edge.
It is better to have a poor trading strategy with solid money management than vice versa. Mastering your money will allow you to stay in the game and compound your account into profit. Again, don’t get caught up in all the hype. Common sense rules the roost! Use these tips and you too will find success in the Forex market.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Todd Judkins specializes in teaching real people how to trade the Forex market for long term success by focusing on strategic, mind and money skills. He is a currency trader, educator and success coach to traders. Are you now ready to take action? To begin training with Todd immediately, online Forex trading visit: http://www.forexjourney.com and sign up for his FREE Video Newsletter.
Online Currency Trading: Making A Profit By Trading Forex
Yes, learning Forex trading is key, but can anyone really make a business out of trading the Forex market? Or, shall we say, can one make enough of a profit to make a living trading the Forex market? Many would not attempt to answer that question, and realistically, there is no real easy answer. Some people do, in fact, make a living as traders, not only in Forex, but in the stock market, futures market, or other types of investment instrument markets. However, it’s important to understand that making a profit in the Forex market, or any other kind of liquid financial market, takes time and effort. It’s not something that you can suddenly make a decision to do and expect to become successful without Forex education, mentoring and most important your personal desire, dedication and perseverance.
Making a profit in Forex trading requires knowledge of which economic and geo-political news events moves a currency pair and its seasonal fluctuations. You need to know what affects the spot price and how to adjust your trades accordingly. In other words, you need to understand the fundamentals, as well as the technicals.
In order to learn the important things about the Forex market, you need to have experience; it is not something you can learn from simply reading a Forex dummies book, surf currency trading sites on the web and following the global currency trends. The key to making a profit trading the Forex market or any trading in any other market for that matter, is knowing when and how to trade, and equally important, when not to trade, and that comes not from reading the newspapers or a book but from gaining the experience. Trading with a mentor can accelerate the process.
If you are limited on the amount of funds in your Forex trading account, you might want to consider utilizing a mini account or super mini account and compound that account to profit. The Forex Journey trading process, once learned, will have typical deviations built into the methodology. Adjusting to the nuances of currency trading will become inherent and you will learn to process a $5,000 account applying the same principals as you would manage a $500,000 account. The power is truly in the Forex trading process.
Choosing currency pairs that are less volatile (read more liquid) gives you a better chance of making a profit during your early trading transactions. The experience will allow you to gain insight into how the Forex market works and teach you the best way to conduct Forex trading business. Once you gain the experience that you need, you are in a better position to consider some of the more volatile currency pairs since you will be better educated with the knowledge of how certain events affect the price of most currencies.
The most important thing is to remember that not to rush into anything. Do all of your research first so that you will make the right choices in your swing trading activities. Choose a Forex education course and mentor that specializes in swing trading. In the end, you are only in competition with yourself, so there is no need to think you need to make a decision right away on any currency pairs you need to trade. Your goal should be first getting comfortable with the strategic concepts. Second, master money management techniques and finally, learn to trade from your personality.
Happy Trading!!
Making a profit in Forex trading requires knowledge of which economic and geo-political news events moves a currency pair and its seasonal fluctuations. You need to know what affects the spot price and how to adjust your trades accordingly. In other words, you need to understand the fundamentals, as well as the technicals.
In order to learn the important things about the Forex market, you need to have experience; it is not something you can learn from simply reading a Forex dummies book, surf currency trading sites on the web and following the global currency trends. The key to making a profit trading the Forex market or any trading in any other market for that matter, is knowing when and how to trade, and equally important, when not to trade, and that comes not from reading the newspapers or a book but from gaining the experience. Trading with a mentor can accelerate the process.
If you are limited on the amount of funds in your Forex trading account, you might want to consider utilizing a mini account or super mini account and compound that account to profit. The Forex Journey trading process, once learned, will have typical deviations built into the methodology. Adjusting to the nuances of currency trading will become inherent and you will learn to process a $5,000 account applying the same principals as you would manage a $500,000 account. The power is truly in the Forex trading process.
Choosing currency pairs that are less volatile (read more liquid) gives you a better chance of making a profit during your early trading transactions. The experience will allow you to gain insight into how the Forex market works and teach you the best way to conduct Forex trading business. Once you gain the experience that you need, you are in a better position to consider some of the more volatile currency pairs since you will be better educated with the knowledge of how certain events affect the price of most currencies.
The most important thing is to remember that not to rush into anything. Do all of your research first so that you will make the right choices in your swing trading activities. Choose a Forex education course and mentor that specializes in swing trading. In the end, you are only in competition with yourself, so there is no need to think you need to make a decision right away on any currency pairs you need to trade. Your goal should be first getting comfortable with the strategic concepts. Second, master money management techniques and finally, learn to trade from your personality.
Happy Trading!!
Learn Forex Trading: Which Forex Strategy Is Right For Me?
Learning to trade Forex is not an easy task, but by no means is it difficult either. Learning to trade Forex does not require a great intellect or a college degree. Doctors have failed as traders and construction workers have become millionaires. Trading is all about discipline, determination and perseverance.
The key is to understand who you are as a trader and trade to your strength. Leveraging your strength can be magnified by deploying the appropriate Forex trading strategy.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of Forex trading strategies out there. Logic will tell us that there is a currency strategy out there which leverages our strengths. It is not a one-size-fits-all world. To immediately cut to the chase and take away the magic, it all comes down to two basic Forex strategies; trend-following and range-bound.
All Forex trading strategies use a variety of indicators and combinations, MACD, Moving Averages, Stochastic, Chart Patterns, Candlesticks, Pivot Points, Fibonacci ratios, Elliott Wave analysis, Bollinger Bands and the list goes on and on. Let’s take away the magic again. These indicators and studies are merely measuring support and resistance and trend in the Forex market.
But which strategy really works? This is the age old question?
First, we must understand who we are as traders. Does our personality fit the pip sniper mode or does our disposition attract us more towards swing trading. Finding your trading personality will mean studying and experiencing the different time frames and associated Forex trading strategies. Over time you will notice a higher level of success and/or comfort trading one style over others. Pay attention! The market is telling you where your skill is more capable of extract consistent profits for the market. This is why journaling is so important to your Forex trading routine.
Secondly, if you are using someone else’s strategy, a most of us are, deploy this strategy without change until you fully and completely understand all aspect of the strategy through back-testing and actual experience. As I was told; dance the dance you have been taught until you learn a dance of your own!
Don’t fall into the trap of jumping from strategy to strategy or combining different strategies when the one you are using doesn’t yield immediate success. This is only a recipe for disaster. Take the time to really understand the trading strategy. Study the components individually so a deeper understanding of the strategic mechanisms is mastered.
Above all, know when and when not to deploy this strategy. You will not find consistent success implementing a trend following system in a range-bound currency market.
So what’s the right strategy for you? It is simple, the one that works. It doesn’t matter if it is complicated or simple, trend-following or range-bound, uses Fibonacci studies, pivot points or both. If you understand the components, internalize its use, and drive consistent profits into your trading account, then you have your Forex trading strategy.
It doesn’t matter what the experts say, your account balance is the ultimate judge and jury for your Forex trading strategy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Todd Judkins specializes in teaching real people how to trade the Forex market for long term success by focusing on strategic, mind and money skills. He is a currency trader, educator and success coach to traders. Are you now ready to take action? To begin training with Todd for immediate, online Forex trading education visit: http://www.forexjourney.com and sign up for his FREE Video Newsletter.
The key is to understand who you are as a trader and trade to your strength. Leveraging your strength can be magnified by deploying the appropriate Forex trading strategy.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of Forex trading strategies out there. Logic will tell us that there is a currency strategy out there which leverages our strengths. It is not a one-size-fits-all world. To immediately cut to the chase and take away the magic, it all comes down to two basic Forex strategies; trend-following and range-bound.
All Forex trading strategies use a variety of indicators and combinations, MACD, Moving Averages, Stochastic, Chart Patterns, Candlesticks, Pivot Points, Fibonacci ratios, Elliott Wave analysis, Bollinger Bands and the list goes on and on. Let’s take away the magic again. These indicators and studies are merely measuring support and resistance and trend in the Forex market.
But which strategy really works? This is the age old question?
First, we must understand who we are as traders. Does our personality fit the pip sniper mode or does our disposition attract us more towards swing trading. Finding your trading personality will mean studying and experiencing the different time frames and associated Forex trading strategies. Over time you will notice a higher level of success and/or comfort trading one style over others. Pay attention! The market is telling you where your skill is more capable of extract consistent profits for the market. This is why journaling is so important to your Forex trading routine.
Secondly, if you are using someone else’s strategy, a most of us are, deploy this strategy without change until you fully and completely understand all aspect of the strategy through back-testing and actual experience. As I was told; dance the dance you have been taught until you learn a dance of your own!
Don’t fall into the trap of jumping from strategy to strategy or combining different strategies when the one you are using doesn’t yield immediate success. This is only a recipe for disaster. Take the time to really understand the trading strategy. Study the components individually so a deeper understanding of the strategic mechanisms is mastered.
Above all, know when and when not to deploy this strategy. You will not find consistent success implementing a trend following system in a range-bound currency market.
So what’s the right strategy for you? It is simple, the one that works. It doesn’t matter if it is complicated or simple, trend-following or range-bound, uses Fibonacci studies, pivot points or both. If you understand the components, internalize its use, and drive consistent profits into your trading account, then you have your Forex trading strategy.
It doesn’t matter what the experts say, your account balance is the ultimate judge and jury for your Forex trading strategy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Todd Judkins specializes in teaching real people how to trade the Forex market for long term success by focusing on strategic, mind and money skills. He is a currency trader, educator and success coach to traders. Are you now ready to take action? To begin training with Todd for immediate, online Forex trading education visit: http://www.forexjourney.com and sign up for his FREE Video Newsletter.
Forex Strategy: Self Awareness
Trading the Forex market I have found to be a great analogy of life. We trade as we live, with our strengths and weaknesses. Our feeling about ourselves, our cultural views on money and abundance, and especially our perception of wealth creep into every aspect of our trading. This is the reason I place such a heavy emphasis on personal self-mastery. Becoming aware of whom we are as an individual, our strengths and weaknesses, and our perspective on life will determine how well we can deploy the correct principals of strategy and risk management and remove the mask of mental poverty in our trading.
Self-mastery is taught within the context of Forex trading, but in reality it is all about identifying who we are as a person. What drives us and what holds us back. Each aspect can help or hinder us from becoming successful traders. Identifying our personal traits is so critical to our trading that it should be brought from the back pages (usually under the last chapters of “trading psychology”) to the first page of our Forex education curriculum.
Mastery of yourself not only will lead to success in the Forex market, but also success in whatever venture one decides to pursue. Forex Journey is my journey and from personal experience I have found that to experience success trading this market you will come to know yourself. This is the primary reason why we teach life and mind skills to our gold and platinum members at Forex Journey. The 90% that don’t succeed fail because they did not acknowledge who they are as a person, which determines who they are as a trader.
Trading currency is hard, but not because of complex strategies or risk management models. Forex is hard because the market is comprised of living, breathing emotional beings that can think and act both independently and as a group. It’s the human element that makes the market what it is. Know the psychology of the market through fundamentals is mandatory, but what most people ignore is that they themselves are the other half of the equation.
It all starts with becoming aware of who you are as a person to fully understand the strength and weakness you will bring to the table as a trader. Becoming aware will lead to an understanding which in turn will lead to overcoming.
Success in the Forex market cannot be borrowed or outsourced. It must be earned piece by piece and the first piece is starts with you.
Happy Trading!!
Self-mastery is taught within the context of Forex trading, but in reality it is all about identifying who we are as a person. What drives us and what holds us back. Each aspect can help or hinder us from becoming successful traders. Identifying our personal traits is so critical to our trading that it should be brought from the back pages (usually under the last chapters of “trading psychology”) to the first page of our Forex education curriculum.
Mastery of yourself not only will lead to success in the Forex market, but also success in whatever venture one decides to pursue. Forex Journey is my journey and from personal experience I have found that to experience success trading this market you will come to know yourself. This is the primary reason why we teach life and mind skills to our gold and platinum members at Forex Journey. The 90% that don’t succeed fail because they did not acknowledge who they are as a person, which determines who they are as a trader.
Trading currency is hard, but not because of complex strategies or risk management models. Forex is hard because the market is comprised of living, breathing emotional beings that can think and act both independently and as a group. It’s the human element that makes the market what it is. Know the psychology of the market through fundamentals is mandatory, but what most people ignore is that they themselves are the other half of the equation.
It all starts with becoming aware of who you are as a person to fully understand the strength and weakness you will bring to the table as a trader. Becoming aware will lead to an understanding which in turn will lead to overcoming.
Success in the Forex market cannot be borrowed or outsourced. It must be earned piece by piece and the first piece is starts with you.
Happy Trading!!
Special Offer - Forex Journey Membership
We are seeking Charter Members!
OK readers, this is the special offer I was telling you about. Now it is up to you to take action!
Join Forex Journey now and enjoy the benefits afforded to Gold Members for the price of Silver Membership. And this benefit is for the life of your membership! That is a $70 savings every month!
Follow the link below to take advantage of this special offer. Action is rewarded and once the memberships fill up this offer will never again be extended.
You can only join with this special rate by clicking on the link below:
Yes, register me for charter membership!
Browse our membership levels and compare benefits:
Compare member benefits!
Sign up and participate in our Forex Forum:
Forex Journey Traders Forum!
Welcome to our community of Forex traders!
OK readers, this is the special offer I was telling you about. Now it is up to you to take action!
Join Forex Journey now and enjoy the benefits afforded to Gold Members for the price of Silver Membership. And this benefit is for the life of your membership! That is a $70 savings every month!
Follow the link below to take advantage of this special offer. Action is rewarded and once the memberships fill up this offer will never again be extended.
You can only join with this special rate by clicking on the link below:
Yes, register me for charter membership!
Browse our membership levels and compare benefits:
Compare member benefits!
Sign up and participate in our Forex Forum:
Forex Journey Traders Forum!
Welcome to our community of Forex traders!
Forex Education for Your Future
Here's a statistic that may shock you.
Of the 77 million Baby Boomers in the United States planning for retirement in the next 10 to 15 years, 75% are hurtling towards unexpected financial difficulties, including having to go back to work. Unfortunately may people won't realize how ill-prepared they are for retirement until it is to late...
Here is my recommendation. Get you financial education now!
And while you're at it, a Forex Education with Forex Journey is the way to go.
Now let's fast forward a few years and you have taken he time to invest in your Forex education, which is truly an investment in yourself. You have learned to control your risk. You have built up your account where it alone can support your retirement needs.
Plus, you can continue to grow your account trading just a few hours per week. Your skills are easily transferable to the stock and futures market. In fact, why even wait until you're retirement age start building your life now and perhaps your dreams are closer than your think!
This is all possible if you take a proactive approach and get educated!
Happy Trading!!
Of the 77 million Baby Boomers in the United States planning for retirement in the next 10 to 15 years, 75% are hurtling towards unexpected financial difficulties, including having to go back to work. Unfortunately may people won't realize how ill-prepared they are for retirement until it is to late...
Here is my recommendation. Get you financial education now!
And while you're at it, a Forex Education with Forex Journey is the way to go.
Now let's fast forward a few years and you have taken he time to invest in your Forex education, which is truly an investment in yourself. You have learned to control your risk. You have built up your account where it alone can support your retirement needs.
Plus, you can continue to grow your account trading just a few hours per week. Your skills are easily transferable to the stock and futures market. In fact, why even wait until you're retirement age start building your life now and perhaps your dreams are closer than your think!
This is all possible if you take a proactive approach and get educated!
Happy Trading!!
A Tip for Accelerating Your Forex Education
I teach a lot of traders and at the beginning they all have the same question...
How long will it take me to learn this? How much time can I expect to spend on my Forex education.
You know there is no answer to this. There are many variables to this answer, but it really comes down to the qualities needed to overcome most obstacle -- patience, determination, persistence and perseverance.
I know, yeah but..
Yeah, we have all those qualities, but we still want to accelerate the process. My recommendation is to live at the razor's edge. If you have traded Forex for any time you will realize that the difference between profit and loss is literally a razor's edge. With experience comes minor tweaking of our trading process until we have found consistency. Consistency gained through Forex training.
It's kind of like baseball (my favorite trading - sports analogy). If you are a .320 batter your baseball career you will most likely be elected to the Hall of Fame and bestowed major accolades. If you hit .280 everyone will tell you that you had a nice career, but no Hall of Fame call will come your way.
The difference between the two is that the .320 hitter got one more hit every 15 at bats .. that's it!
A minor increase in your Forex education is all that it will take for you to gain access into the Hall of Fame for Traders. Commit to yourself that you will read another chapter of the technical analysis book tonight, or spend 30 more minutes in your trading room will lead to astonishing returns down the road.
It is the little things that will ultimately give you the edge.
Happy Trading!!
How long will it take me to learn this? How much time can I expect to spend on my Forex education.
You know there is no answer to this. There are many variables to this answer, but it really comes down to the qualities needed to overcome most obstacle -- patience, determination, persistence and perseverance.
I know, yeah but..
Yeah, we have all those qualities, but we still want to accelerate the process. My recommendation is to live at the razor's edge. If you have traded Forex for any time you will realize that the difference between profit and loss is literally a razor's edge. With experience comes minor tweaking of our trading process until we have found consistency. Consistency gained through Forex training.
It's kind of like baseball (my favorite trading - sports analogy). If you are a .320 batter your baseball career you will most likely be elected to the Hall of Fame and bestowed major accolades. If you hit .280 everyone will tell you that you had a nice career, but no Hall of Fame call will come your way.
The difference between the two is that the .320 hitter got one more hit every 15 at bats .. that's it!
A minor increase in your Forex education is all that it will take for you to gain access into the Hall of Fame for Traders. Commit to yourself that you will read another chapter of the technical analysis book tonight, or spend 30 more minutes in your trading room will lead to astonishing returns down the road.
It is the little things that will ultimately give you the edge.
Happy Trading!!
Forex Education Mastering The Forex Market
Forex Education is always king. That being said, I thought this was pretty interesting...
Investing in the forex, currency market even with small capital is very risky advanture. Before taking on the forex trading market, it's important to be armed with a good understanding of the market itself. This is what makes a good free forex education resource, invaluable to both new and veteran forex traders.
The forex, or Foreign Exchange, market is the largest financial exchange market in the world. Every day, more than 1.8 trillion dollars are traded on the forex market. In the past, it was often difficult for smaller traders to take part in this huge money market, due to a lack of contacts and resources. But that situation has changed. More and more, individuals and smaller banks and companies have the opportunity to invest in the forex market, particularly via the internet, making currency trading an exciting and lucrative enterprise for individual traders as much as for the banking industry. However, it's important to keep in mind that currency trading of even small amounts and modest investments can be risky.
Before taking on the forex trading market, it's important to be armed with a good understanding of the market itself, along with an overview of current market trends and risks. This is what makes a good free forex education resource, like free-forex-education dot com, invaluable to both new and veteran forex traders.
At free-forex-education website, established forex traders as well as those with a burgeoning interest in currency trading can learn everything there is to know about the market. Learn what world currencies are making the most money. Know what the risks are, and when and how to make the most money on a trade. Acquire all the knowledge you need in order to make anywhere from a dollar to a million on this highly liquid market, without leaving the comfort of your computer.
Along with using resources available at free forex education sites like Free-forex-education dot com, it's important to as much research as possible before doing any major forex trading. For a free forex ebook and various information on forex trading please visit. This amazing free resource will provide you with all the information you need to get started trading today.
About Author:Joe Karakas is the owner of the forex online resource found at http://www.free-forex-education.com . Our site help with informations and resources to learn to trade forex online. Check out the website for free forex education more details. Please note that our site is just for information purposes and not an advice whatsoever!Article
Source: http://www.BharatBhasha.comArticle Url: http://www.bharatbhasha.com/finance-and-business.php/62780
Remember the free stuff is a good start, but a Forex Coach will accelerate the process.
Happy Trading!!
Investing in the forex, currency market even with small capital is very risky advanture. Before taking on the forex trading market, it's important to be armed with a good understanding of the market itself. This is what makes a good free forex education resource, invaluable to both new and veteran forex traders.
The forex, or Foreign Exchange, market is the largest financial exchange market in the world. Every day, more than 1.8 trillion dollars are traded on the forex market. In the past, it was often difficult for smaller traders to take part in this huge money market, due to a lack of contacts and resources. But that situation has changed. More and more, individuals and smaller banks and companies have the opportunity to invest in the forex market, particularly via the internet, making currency trading an exciting and lucrative enterprise for individual traders as much as for the banking industry. However, it's important to keep in mind that currency trading of even small amounts and modest investments can be risky.
Before taking on the forex trading market, it's important to be armed with a good understanding of the market itself, along with an overview of current market trends and risks. This is what makes a good free forex education resource, like free-forex-education dot com, invaluable to both new and veteran forex traders.
At free-forex-education website, established forex traders as well as those with a burgeoning interest in currency trading can learn everything there is to know about the market. Learn what world currencies are making the most money. Know what the risks are, and when and how to make the most money on a trade. Acquire all the knowledge you need in order to make anywhere from a dollar to a million on this highly liquid market, without leaving the comfort of your computer.
Along with using resources available at free forex education sites like Free-forex-education dot com, it's important to as much research as possible before doing any major forex trading. For a free forex ebook and various information on forex trading please visit. This amazing free resource will provide you with all the information you need to get started trading today.
About Author:Joe Karakas is the owner of the forex online resource found at http://www.free-forex-education.com . Our site help with informations and resources to learn to trade forex online. Check out the website for free forex education more details. Please note that our site is just for information purposes and not an advice whatsoever!Article
Source: http://www.BharatBhasha.comArticle Url: http://www.bharatbhasha.com/finance-and-business.php/62780
Remember the free stuff is a good start, but a Forex Coach will accelerate the process.
Happy Trading!!
Forex Education - No Pain, No Gain
Forex trading breakthroughs have a lot to do with your ability to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Success usually comes from staying in the here and now, as well as accepting the fact that the market literally can do anything at anytime.
Many of your actions now may seem frustrating - such as designing a trading plan, sticking to just a few currency pairs, learning the intricacies of a strategy. It can seem downright overwhelming too. Just remember that each step you take in the process is adding value to your eventual trading success.
Why is it that so many people are always seeking the easy way out? I guarantee the amount of time searching will be less than just digging in and climbing that learning curve as fast as possible. Just imagine where you're going to be a year from now with a little bit of effort and determination!
Here are some thoughts to get you through that learning curve at lightning speed:
1. Hard Work Now Will Pay Off Later
All the work you do now mastering the process of trading through Forex education will pay off. Will it pay off today or tomorrow? Probably not, however, the small things done consistently in the right places will pay huge dividends later.
2. Every Experience Is A Lesson
Learn from both your mistakes and your success equally. As the question - what lesson am I meant to learn from this and journal it!
3. Focus On The Positive
Losing is a part of trading. Except it and keep your self-talk 100% positive. You will find that at the end of your Forex Journey you were your own worst enemy.
4. Choose The Difficult Action Over The Easy
Doing this will make you a stronger person, not just as a trader. You will find that your characteristics follow you in trading. When you grow as a person you will enhance your ability as a trader. Ask yourself - what action would a profitable trader take and then do it!
Remember this when you get frustrated by learning a new trading technique or in transitioning from demo to live trading -- if you are uncomfortable you're growing as a trader -- and take comfort in being uncomfortable.
Happy Trading!!
Many of your actions now may seem frustrating - such as designing a trading plan, sticking to just a few currency pairs, learning the intricacies of a strategy. It can seem downright overwhelming too. Just remember that each step you take in the process is adding value to your eventual trading success.
Why is it that so many people are always seeking the easy way out? I guarantee the amount of time searching will be less than just digging in and climbing that learning curve as fast as possible. Just imagine where you're going to be a year from now with a little bit of effort and determination!
Here are some thoughts to get you through that learning curve at lightning speed:
1. Hard Work Now Will Pay Off Later
All the work you do now mastering the process of trading through Forex education will pay off. Will it pay off today or tomorrow? Probably not, however, the small things done consistently in the right places will pay huge dividends later.
2. Every Experience Is A Lesson
Learn from both your mistakes and your success equally. As the question - what lesson am I meant to learn from this and journal it!
3. Focus On The Positive
Losing is a part of trading. Except it and keep your self-talk 100% positive. You will find that at the end of your Forex Journey you were your own worst enemy.
4. Choose The Difficult Action Over The Easy
Doing this will make you a stronger person, not just as a trader. You will find that your characteristics follow you in trading. When you grow as a person you will enhance your ability as a trader. Ask yourself - what action would a profitable trader take and then do it!
Remember this when you get frustrated by learning a new trading technique or in transitioning from demo to live trading -- if you are uncomfortable you're growing as a trader -- and take comfort in being uncomfortable.
Happy Trading!!
Forex Education Success Formula
You read about the risk trading the Forex market every day. I talk to many successful traders and investors about the Forex market and it is mind blowing the fear this market produces amongst the conservative investors and daredevil attitude of the aggressive traders. Yes, it is a fact that 95% of traders lose money in Forex. I was taught that if you want a better answer then you have got to ask a better question and my question is why?
The answer is rather simple – most traders seek the path of least resistance and that will inevitably lead to failure. They failed because they didn’t take the time to gain a proper understanding and cheated their Forex Education!
Look, the market is neither for you nor against you. It makes profit opportunity equally available as the chance to take a loss. It will take money from you no matter your age, sex, experience or effort you put into your trading. The Forex market only rewards those who are correct and nothing else. It’s the old saying – work smart and not hard.
That leads to the next question; how can I be correct and smart? The answer is simple – through Forex Education. I have put together my Success Formula for trading the Forex market.
1. Strategy – it’s not a one size fits all world. Different strategies play to us based on our individual trading personalities. Understanding the rules and tools are critical when applying them to the market. This comes with time and experience. Don’t short change your learning curve. It will eventually lead you to profit.
2. Money Management – planning your risk will keep you in the game as you climb the learning curve as well as exploding your account once you’ve gained the experience and knowledge. Mastering this skill is not optional!
3. Self-Mastery - is having the discipline and emotional control to manage your strategy and money management plan. Knowing yourself will be skill that catapults you in to the elite 5%. It takes self-awareness training, accepting full responsibility for all of your trading actions and the ability to go beyond trading and finding your true personality. Talk to any successful trader and you will quickly see the control they exert not only in their trading, but in their lives in general.
Learning to trade Forex isn’t rocket science. Keeping things simple and working smarter will lead you to success in this market and the path forward can only b accomplished by investing in your Forex Education.
Happy Trading!!
The answer is rather simple – most traders seek the path of least resistance and that will inevitably lead to failure. They failed because they didn’t take the time to gain a proper understanding and cheated their Forex Education!
Look, the market is neither for you nor against you. It makes profit opportunity equally available as the chance to take a loss. It will take money from you no matter your age, sex, experience or effort you put into your trading. The Forex market only rewards those who are correct and nothing else. It’s the old saying – work smart and not hard.
That leads to the next question; how can I be correct and smart? The answer is simple – through Forex Education. I have put together my Success Formula for trading the Forex market.
1. Strategy – it’s not a one size fits all world. Different strategies play to us based on our individual trading personalities. Understanding the rules and tools are critical when applying them to the market. This comes with time and experience. Don’t short change your learning curve. It will eventually lead you to profit.
2. Money Management – planning your risk will keep you in the game as you climb the learning curve as well as exploding your account once you’ve gained the experience and knowledge. Mastering this skill is not optional!
3. Self-Mastery - is having the discipline and emotional control to manage your strategy and money management plan. Knowing yourself will be skill that catapults you in to the elite 5%. It takes self-awareness training, accepting full responsibility for all of your trading actions and the ability to go beyond trading and finding your true personality. Talk to any successful trader and you will quickly see the control they exert not only in their trading, but in their lives in general.
Learning to trade Forex isn’t rocket science. Keeping things simple and working smarter will lead you to success in this market and the path forward can only b accomplished by investing in your Forex Education.
Happy Trading!!
Forex Education Mind Set
Here's a forex education blog post I like and thought you might too! You can find the article at:
http://financial-blogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/forex-trading-do-you-have-what-it-takes.html
or below:
Forex Trading - Do You Have What It Takes?
There are some facts that you simply must accept to have a fair chance to be successful at Forex trading. Let's have a look at what these facts are and if you can succeed in the worlds most exciting investment environment.
Trading markets are not scientific
The thought of approaching Forex trading by applying science is appealing. However, Scientific theories dont and never will work, because humans determine the market prices, and doing so, they dont consider scientific criteria.
Most people would prefer to be able to make money without risking anything. Many vendors try to gain from this fact, offering trading systems which are described as a possibility to trade with low risk and make a regular income. The fact you must accept is:
If the reward is big, the risk will be mirrored. Pure and simple, risk and reward walks hand in hand. If you can't accept taking risks, you should look for another small business idea.
So far it has been kind of negative, lets have a look at the bright side
To be successful at Forex trading will not require hard work! Work smart not hard is a perfect expression here, meaning that you don't need to learn just for the sake of learning. You'll only need to learn one system/strategy. It wont take long to learn because...
Simple straight forward systems work best. A simple system in Forex trading will outperform a complicated system, short term and long term. Why is that a indisputable fact?
Because it will always be easier to implement a simple system in a complexed market. A complexed system with a lot of parameters, makes it much harder to find the right trading opportunities. The most reliable currency trading systems all tend to be simple.
You can learn everything about currency trading
If thats a fact, why do so many Forex traders lose? The answer is the lack of mental discipline.
Currency trading is more about mindset rather than just a method. If you dont maintain discipline to follow your method, the method isn't there anymore. The best way to gain the necessary discipline is to develop your own method. You'll be confident in your trading because of full understanding of the method.
If you are able to accept and take calculated risks at the right time, Forex trading can be very profitable, due to the leverage at your disposal. Forex trading is not rocket science. Its a lot simpler than you may believe, and thanks to the Internet it's available for everyone.
The key points:
Education
Learn to accept the risks
Rely on yourself
Trading discipline
http://financial-blogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/forex-trading-do-you-have-what-it-takes.html
or below:
Forex Trading - Do You Have What It Takes?
There are some facts that you simply must accept to have a fair chance to be successful at Forex trading. Let's have a look at what these facts are and if you can succeed in the worlds most exciting investment environment.
Trading markets are not scientific
The thought of approaching Forex trading by applying science is appealing. However, Scientific theories dont and never will work, because humans determine the market prices, and doing so, they dont consider scientific criteria.
Most people would prefer to be able to make money without risking anything. Many vendors try to gain from this fact, offering trading systems which are described as a possibility to trade with low risk and make a regular income. The fact you must accept is:
If the reward is big, the risk will be mirrored. Pure and simple, risk and reward walks hand in hand. If you can't accept taking risks, you should look for another small business idea.
So far it has been kind of negative, lets have a look at the bright side
To be successful at Forex trading will not require hard work! Work smart not hard is a perfect expression here, meaning that you don't need to learn just for the sake of learning. You'll only need to learn one system/strategy. It wont take long to learn because...
Simple straight forward systems work best. A simple system in Forex trading will outperform a complicated system, short term and long term. Why is that a indisputable fact?
Because it will always be easier to implement a simple system in a complexed market. A complexed system with a lot of parameters, makes it much harder to find the right trading opportunities. The most reliable currency trading systems all tend to be simple.
You can learn everything about currency trading
If thats a fact, why do so many Forex traders lose? The answer is the lack of mental discipline.
Currency trading is more about mindset rather than just a method. If you dont maintain discipline to follow your method, the method isn't there anymore. The best way to gain the necessary discipline is to develop your own method. You'll be confident in your trading because of full understanding of the method.
If you are able to accept and take calculated risks at the right time, Forex trading can be very profitable, due to the leverage at your disposal. Forex trading is not rocket science. Its a lot simpler than you may believe, and thanks to the Internet it's available for everyone.
The key points:
Education
Learn to accept the risks
Rely on yourself
Trading discipline
Forex Education - Fully Present
This means rejecting thinking that doesn’t support your current trading objectives, including rejecting non-trading related mental chatter (what’s for dinner, balancing your check book, who’s on American Idol tonight, whatever). Your goal is simple -- to zero in on the trading task in front of you. Enter your personal trading zone. Deny all incoming calls. Don’t check your email and please do not even think about logging into your Instant Messenger account. You’ve got to be in a place and time where you can trade without being disturbed.
Ask yourself – Where Am I? The answer is - Here
Ask yourself – What Time Is it? The answer is – Now
When you become fully present on the task of trading, you are able to achieve peak performance and gain an edge on the other traders in the market at that moment. How many times have you often have you been trading, felt in rhythm with the market, and then you become distracted, surfed the web (OK, you busted me!), checked your email and all of a sudden, your trade fell apart because you overlooked an indicator or failed to see what economic releases where due out during your trading session.
Trading in the here and now is not only powerful, it is extremely profitable! When you can direct your focus on your trading task without distractions you become invigorated and infused with the energy that comes from requiring yourself to be fully present when trading, you’ll find that your trading all of a sudden becomes a little easier and enjoyable. When you reach this state, stop briefly to observe it and how you feel so that you can summon this mental state more easily in the future. And journal it so you can recall all the factors that contributed to your success. That way you’ll be able to set yourself up in a repeatable, successful trading environment. Your journal will become the greatest trading tool you'll ever own!
To not become fully present when trading is to short-change your Forex Education AND you’re your account balance … it’s like not accepting the greatness within your at the time the market provides you with your pip rewards.
Which mental time zones do you what to be in for your trading? There are only three: past (FEAR), future (ANXIETY) and HERE. It’s been said that most traders spend only 1% of their time in the present. Could you imagine what kind of profits your mind can produce when you become fully present when trading?
Carpe Diem and Happy Trading!!
Ask yourself – Where Am I? The answer is - Here
Ask yourself – What Time Is it? The answer is – Now
When you become fully present on the task of trading, you are able to achieve peak performance and gain an edge on the other traders in the market at that moment. How many times have you often have you been trading, felt in rhythm with the market, and then you become distracted, surfed the web (OK, you busted me!), checked your email and all of a sudden, your trade fell apart because you overlooked an indicator or failed to see what economic releases where due out during your trading session.
Trading in the here and now is not only powerful, it is extremely profitable! When you can direct your focus on your trading task without distractions you become invigorated and infused with the energy that comes from requiring yourself to be fully present when trading, you’ll find that your trading all of a sudden becomes a little easier and enjoyable. When you reach this state, stop briefly to observe it and how you feel so that you can summon this mental state more easily in the future. And journal it so you can recall all the factors that contributed to your success. That way you’ll be able to set yourself up in a repeatable, successful trading environment. Your journal will become the greatest trading tool you'll ever own!
To not become fully present when trading is to short-change your Forex Education AND you’re your account balance … it’s like not accepting the greatness within your at the time the market provides you with your pip rewards.
Which mental time zones do you what to be in for your trading? There are only three: past (FEAR), future (ANXIETY) and HERE. It’s been said that most traders spend only 1% of their time in the present. Could you imagine what kind of profits your mind can produce when you become fully present when trading?
Carpe Diem and Happy Trading!!
Forex Education Tips - Overcoming Fear
Have you ever been in a situation where you have evaluated the market, saw your strategy set-up perfectly and then just couldn’t pull the trigger? You become paralyzed, unable to move even though you know your high probability set-up has just triggered.
This fear is very real for many traders and very detrimental to your account. Fear is a powerful emotion, distorting fact from fiction and often creating an emotional response. Many experts tell you to trade without emotion, but is that really practical? We are indeed human. Remember the basis for the reaction is real, but the fear usually is not.
Fear blocks your ability to execute high probability trades and we must find strategies to manage our fear. With time comes experience and for traders it is the ultimate super hero for fear.
In the meantime, if you are struggling with fear-based execution challenges here are some simple tips to get you over the hump.
Embrace the Emotion
Acknowledge your emotions. If you find yourself analyzing a trade to the point of paralysis don’t try to ignore the emotions. Separate yourself from this river of negativity. Visualize yourself on the river bank as these torrents of emotions are flowing by. You will gain great awareness to the triggers and learn a lot about who you are as a trader.
Separate Fear from Fact
If you fear pulling the trigger because of loss (what if I am wrong?), that will stop you from enjoying the profits the market may make available to you at any given time. Don’t avoid the action that might cause the loss, but re-frame the problem as fear itself. You have evaluated the market, figured out your reward –to-risk ration and accepted your potential for loss through your stop-loss and money management plan. At this point loss is not the obstacle – fear is. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback and that will guide you to consistent and profitable trading.
Re-Think the Consequences
If your mind is off to the races with all sorts of possibilities what’s the worst that can happen if Murphy’s Law gets enacted during your trade? You have already addressed this in your trading plan. Plan your trade and trade your plan. Again fear is trumped and the only way it can be realized is if you didn’t follow your plan. Sticking to your plan is the clearest way to distinguish between a losing trade, which is just a part of business, and a bad trade which is a career killer!
Act in Spite of Fear
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Return to your mission statement or your “why?” statement. The reasons you trading should be big enough to overcome any possible obstacle your fear emotion can conjure up. Acknowledge the fear and do it anyway. You may not have a winning trade, but you will have executed your plan and over time probability will pay you back.
What is all comes down to is the intangibles of trading. Why do I and so many others drive home discipline-based Forex Education and Training approaches. You will never get rid of fear, but with practice you can turn it into a manageable obstacle and deploy it to your advantage.
Happy Trading!!
This fear is very real for many traders and very detrimental to your account. Fear is a powerful emotion, distorting fact from fiction and often creating an emotional response. Many experts tell you to trade without emotion, but is that really practical? We are indeed human. Remember the basis for the reaction is real, but the fear usually is not.
Fear blocks your ability to execute high probability trades and we must find strategies to manage our fear. With time comes experience and for traders it is the ultimate super hero for fear.
In the meantime, if you are struggling with fear-based execution challenges here are some simple tips to get you over the hump.
Embrace the Emotion
Acknowledge your emotions. If you find yourself analyzing a trade to the point of paralysis don’t try to ignore the emotions. Separate yourself from this river of negativity. Visualize yourself on the river bank as these torrents of emotions are flowing by. You will gain great awareness to the triggers and learn a lot about who you are as a trader.
Separate Fear from Fact
If you fear pulling the trigger because of loss (what if I am wrong?), that will stop you from enjoying the profits the market may make available to you at any given time. Don’t avoid the action that might cause the loss, but re-frame the problem as fear itself. You have evaluated the market, figured out your reward –to-risk ration and accepted your potential for loss through your stop-loss and money management plan. At this point loss is not the obstacle – fear is. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback and that will guide you to consistent and profitable trading.
Re-Think the Consequences
If your mind is off to the races with all sorts of possibilities what’s the worst that can happen if Murphy’s Law gets enacted during your trade? You have already addressed this in your trading plan. Plan your trade and trade your plan. Again fear is trumped and the only way it can be realized is if you didn’t follow your plan. Sticking to your plan is the clearest way to distinguish between a losing trade, which is just a part of business, and a bad trade which is a career killer!
Act in Spite of Fear
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Return to your mission statement or your “why?” statement. The reasons you trading should be big enough to overcome any possible obstacle your fear emotion can conjure up. Acknowledge the fear and do it anyway. You may not have a winning trade, but you will have executed your plan and over time probability will pay you back.
What is all comes down to is the intangibles of trading. Why do I and so many others drive home discipline-based Forex Education and Training approaches. You will never get rid of fear, but with practice you can turn it into a manageable obstacle and deploy it to your advantage.
Happy Trading!!
Is Paid Forex Education Worth It?
I am scanning the internet looking for information about how I can be a better trader just like most people out there. I am on a quest looking for each and every golden nugget of information out there on the web. I have alerts set up so Google can email every keyword topic of choice.
I have been getting fired up recently about the amount of just plain bad Forex advice slewed across the web. It is definitely a “buyers beware” market and every word of advice (including mine) should be taken with a grain of salt. Why? Because everything I say and write is based entirely on my own experiences.
One of the topics gaining some momentum is the fact that everyone pitching a Forex product is not a trader, but a marketer and if they were a trader they would be trading and not trying to sell you something.
What a bunch of BS!
Yes, I do believe all the information that one needs to trade the Forex profitably is available free on the internet. I challenge anyone new to Forex to assemble the information, study and execute without any assistance. I would imagine every trader out there has gathered free information and put it to use, but the truly valuable information often is not free!
Example – I read Steve Nison’s books and DVD’s (highly recommended by the way) to gain the necessary insight into candlestick charting. I also paid a couple of hundred of dollars to attend a live seminar. During that seminar Steve Nison made one comment that allowed all of my previous work in candlesticks to click and take my trading to the next level! Was it worth it? Hell yah! That one comment was the only peice of new information I gathered, however it has paid for the seminar 100 times over. Not only that, the opportunity to network with other traders introduced new ideas and approaches that I hadn't thought of previously.
In the end it's a personal decision. After all it's your money. Trading is a profession just being a pilot, a doctor or an engineer. Each requires dedicated training, personal development and instruction to gain proficiency. You would never go to a dentist that learned how to fill cavities on the internet (this information is available there too!), so treat your Forex account the same way.
I am calling all you freebie seekers out! Stop being cheap. Your Forex Education is an investment and not a cost. Cutting corners will only cost you more money in the long run.
Happy Trading!!
I have been getting fired up recently about the amount of just plain bad Forex advice slewed across the web. It is definitely a “buyers beware” market and every word of advice (including mine) should be taken with a grain of salt. Why? Because everything I say and write is based entirely on my own experiences.
One of the topics gaining some momentum is the fact that everyone pitching a Forex product is not a trader, but a marketer and if they were a trader they would be trading and not trying to sell you something.
What a bunch of BS!
Yes, I do believe all the information that one needs to trade the Forex profitably is available free on the internet. I challenge anyone new to Forex to assemble the information, study and execute without any assistance. I would imagine every trader out there has gathered free information and put it to use, but the truly valuable information often is not free!
Example – I read Steve Nison’s books and DVD’s (highly recommended by the way) to gain the necessary insight into candlestick charting. I also paid a couple of hundred of dollars to attend a live seminar. During that seminar Steve Nison made one comment that allowed all of my previous work in candlesticks to click and take my trading to the next level! Was it worth it? Hell yah! That one comment was the only peice of new information I gathered, however it has paid for the seminar 100 times over. Not only that, the opportunity to network with other traders introduced new ideas and approaches that I hadn't thought of previously.
In the end it's a personal decision. After all it's your money. Trading is a profession just being a pilot, a doctor or an engineer. Each requires dedicated training, personal development and instruction to gain proficiency. You would never go to a dentist that learned how to fill cavities on the internet (this information is available there too!), so treat your Forex account the same way.
I am calling all you freebie seekers out! Stop being cheap. Your Forex Education is an investment and not a cost. Cutting corners will only cost you more money in the long run.
Happy Trading!!
Forex Education Tip - Stops
Let me just give you a quick tip about setting stop losses.
I once took a class where I was instructucted to place my stop loss 30 pips below my entry. Why 30 pips I asked? I was told it was an "acceptable" risk. Based on what? I see a lot ot traders basing their risk management strategy on some pre-defined pip value risk without any consideration for support and resistance.
Don't do this!
Like I say - trading Forex is a process and setting your stops is a key component. Your stop should be placed near support and/or resistance based on the charts and not some pre-defined pip value. Caution: stay away from the herd!
Simply:
1. Locate support and/or resistance for your stop
2. Calculate your target to determine a reward-to-risk ratio
3. Determine whether you can afford the trade
4. If all systems are a go then pull the trigger
Setting a pre-defined stop makes no sense if all you can guarantee is to get stop out of your trade and have it eventually go in your direction. Let the market tell you where to protect your trade and when to take profits. This is why 2 traders can look at the same charts, establish the same trade and one trader pull the trigger an the other traders pass.
Follow YOUR trading plan and begin to take your trading to new heights. Your Forex Education is the path to true Forex profits!
Happy Trading!!
I once took a class where I was instructucted to place my stop loss 30 pips below my entry. Why 30 pips I asked? I was told it was an "acceptable" risk. Based on what? I see a lot ot traders basing their risk management strategy on some pre-defined pip value risk without any consideration for support and resistance.
Don't do this!
Like I say - trading Forex is a process and setting your stops is a key component. Your stop should be placed near support and/or resistance based on the charts and not some pre-defined pip value. Caution: stay away from the herd!
Simply:
1. Locate support and/or resistance for your stop
2. Calculate your target to determine a reward-to-risk ratio
3. Determine whether you can afford the trade
4. If all systems are a go then pull the trigger
Setting a pre-defined stop makes no sense if all you can guarantee is to get stop out of your trade and have it eventually go in your direction. Let the market tell you where to protect your trade and when to take profits. This is why 2 traders can look at the same charts, establish the same trade and one trader pull the trigger an the other traders pass.
Follow YOUR trading plan and begin to take your trading to new heights. Your Forex Education is the path to true Forex profits!
Happy Trading!!
Forex Education Tip – 5 Steps to Successful Forex Trading
Close to 95% of all Forex traders will lose money. We're not just talking about novices, either. Whether you trade Forex for a living, as a hobby or just for fun, odds are against your success. That's a simply astonishing fact. However, the remaining 5% of Forex traders somehow manage to break even and there are those lucky few that actually make money in the currency market – consistently!
Like the TV show says … “How’d they do that, anyway?”
That's the million dollar questions, isn’t it? Countless books, seminars and expos have been hosted to answer this very question. That sad fact is that thousands of books have been written and countless seminars and interviews have been conducted in an attempt to answer the magic questions. The reality of the situation is that there is no magic formula; no one single Holy Grail of Forex trading.
So what do the successful traders do that the rest of us have simple not comprehended. They have mastered a process of winning where they combine and customize several factor to produce consistent results. They have mastered the Process of Trading.
The Process of Trading is:
Strategy > Money Management > Self-Mastery
Here are some simple Forex Education tips to help you master the process of forex trading:
Forex Success Tip #1 – You’ve Got To Have a Plan
You must have a written business plan that will detail all aspects of your trading. When are you going to trade, how much to risk, strategies for entries and exits are just o name a few. To become a consistent (profitable) Forex trader you have to plan your trade sand trade your plan.
Simplicity rules! Don’t make this plan too complicated. One sheet of paper for you mission statement and another for your trading plan should suffice. Anything more is probably too complicated.
Forex Success Tip #2 – Focus on Your Personal Psychology
Knowing yourself will allow you to master the discipline necessary to execute high quality trades with solid money management techniques. Lack of discipline is fatal in Forex trading. Go on a personal journey to identify you attitudes towards risk and money. Get intimate with your strengths and weaknesses as a trader and build in to your trading plan strategies to minimize those weaknesses and maximize your strengths.
Different personalities lend to different trading styles. Get familiar with all the different styles and over time you will begin to gravitate towards one particular style. Don’t fight the urge like I did. I insisted I was a day trader, but had only limited results. I found my winning percentages were much higher when I entered swing trades. Guess what’s my bread and butter strategy now!
Forex Success Tip #3 – Be Realistic About Your Expectations
This is a hard one, I know! I am on the internet every day and the amount of advertising is staggering. Brokers are offering free education (fox in the hen house if you ask me), forums of all different trading styles and points of view. Gurus pushing their system as “the one” that will make you the big bucks. How do you get through all that noise?
Let me tell you loud and clear right now – everyone is right and everyone is wrong. You have to make a personal commitment to become a successful trader, find a trading style that works for you and expect a slow and steady approach to wealth building through Forex.
What works for me may not work for you. Expect to go through an exploratory period where you are learning and at the same time exploring yourself as a trader. Keep an open mind and don’t pay attention to all the noise out there.
Forex Success Tip #4 – Be Patient
Rome was not built in a day and neither will your trading account. In fact, I tell all of my students that while they are studying to become successful Forex traders they should not look solely at their account balance as an indication of success or failure.
By tracking and increasing your percentage of high quality trades you execute is a far better barometer of your progress than your account balance. Cause and effect rule here. Over time when you increase your probabilities through the execution of high quality trades your account balance will respond accordingly.
Keep the focus on the process and with time your results will blow your mind.
Success Tip #5 - Money Management Is Top Priority
I would rather have a shaky strategy and excellent money management techniques than the other way around. This topic warrants its own blog post to do it justice. Limited your exposure (read “risk”) allows for you to stay in the game and allow the laws of probability to work.
Let’s take a casino for an example. They need gamblers to frequent their slot machines to make money. Why? They have a game that has a greater than 50% chance of making money for the house. The more people that play the slots, the greater the casino’s profits.
The casino controls risk by payout tables (always favoring the house!) and increases their probabilities by keeping gamblers at the slot machines (read “free drinks”). As a trader you must limit your risk by committing only 1% - 3% of available capital to a single trade. When you execute enough trades with a high probability strategy you too can clean up like the casinos – but only by staying in the game long term.
In conclusion, Forex trading is not easy. It’s hard work and will test the limits of your patience and perseverance. If anyone tells you otherwise .., buyers beware! It can be a very rewarding and profitable venture if done correctly. In the end it is a profession that requires a learning curve and practical experience, no different than an airline pilot or engineer. Understanding how to approach and learn this game will allow you to reap all the benefits advertised. It is your Forex Education that you will master the Process of Forex Trading.
Happy Trading!!
Like the TV show says … “How’d they do that, anyway?”
That's the million dollar questions, isn’t it? Countless books, seminars and expos have been hosted to answer this very question. That sad fact is that thousands of books have been written and countless seminars and interviews have been conducted in an attempt to answer the magic questions. The reality of the situation is that there is no magic formula; no one single Holy Grail of Forex trading.
So what do the successful traders do that the rest of us have simple not comprehended. They have mastered a process of winning where they combine and customize several factor to produce consistent results. They have mastered the Process of Trading.
The Process of Trading is:
Strategy > Money Management > Self-Mastery
Here are some simple Forex Education tips to help you master the process of forex trading:
Forex Success Tip #1 – You’ve Got To Have a Plan
You must have a written business plan that will detail all aspects of your trading. When are you going to trade, how much to risk, strategies for entries and exits are just o name a few. To become a consistent (profitable) Forex trader you have to plan your trade sand trade your plan.
Simplicity rules! Don’t make this plan too complicated. One sheet of paper for you mission statement and another for your trading plan should suffice. Anything more is probably too complicated.
Forex Success Tip #2 – Focus on Your Personal Psychology
Knowing yourself will allow you to master the discipline necessary to execute high quality trades with solid money management techniques. Lack of discipline is fatal in Forex trading. Go on a personal journey to identify you attitudes towards risk and money. Get intimate with your strengths and weaknesses as a trader and build in to your trading plan strategies to minimize those weaknesses and maximize your strengths.
Different personalities lend to different trading styles. Get familiar with all the different styles and over time you will begin to gravitate towards one particular style. Don’t fight the urge like I did. I insisted I was a day trader, but had only limited results. I found my winning percentages were much higher when I entered swing trades. Guess what’s my bread and butter strategy now!
Forex Success Tip #3 – Be Realistic About Your Expectations
This is a hard one, I know! I am on the internet every day and the amount of advertising is staggering. Brokers are offering free education (fox in the hen house if you ask me), forums of all different trading styles and points of view. Gurus pushing their system as “the one” that will make you the big bucks. How do you get through all that noise?
Let me tell you loud and clear right now – everyone is right and everyone is wrong. You have to make a personal commitment to become a successful trader, find a trading style that works for you and expect a slow and steady approach to wealth building through Forex.
What works for me may not work for you. Expect to go through an exploratory period where you are learning and at the same time exploring yourself as a trader. Keep an open mind and don’t pay attention to all the noise out there.
Forex Success Tip #4 – Be Patient
Rome was not built in a day and neither will your trading account. In fact, I tell all of my students that while they are studying to become successful Forex traders they should not look solely at their account balance as an indication of success or failure.
By tracking and increasing your percentage of high quality trades you execute is a far better barometer of your progress than your account balance. Cause and effect rule here. Over time when you increase your probabilities through the execution of high quality trades your account balance will respond accordingly.
Keep the focus on the process and with time your results will blow your mind.
Success Tip #5 - Money Management Is Top Priority
I would rather have a shaky strategy and excellent money management techniques than the other way around. This topic warrants its own blog post to do it justice. Limited your exposure (read “risk”) allows for you to stay in the game and allow the laws of probability to work.
Let’s take a casino for an example. They need gamblers to frequent their slot machines to make money. Why? They have a game that has a greater than 50% chance of making money for the house. The more people that play the slots, the greater the casino’s profits.
The casino controls risk by payout tables (always favoring the house!) and increases their probabilities by keeping gamblers at the slot machines (read “free drinks”). As a trader you must limit your risk by committing only 1% - 3% of available capital to a single trade. When you execute enough trades with a high probability strategy you too can clean up like the casinos – but only by staying in the game long term.
In conclusion, Forex trading is not easy. It’s hard work and will test the limits of your patience and perseverance. If anyone tells you otherwise .., buyers beware! It can be a very rewarding and profitable venture if done correctly. In the end it is a profession that requires a learning curve and practical experience, no different than an airline pilot or engineer. Understanding how to approach and learn this game will allow you to reap all the benefits advertised. It is your Forex Education that you will master the Process of Forex Trading.
Happy Trading!!
Forex and the Job
So you live in the western part of North America (I trade from Phoenix, Arizona) and you have discovered the power of trading the Forex market. Your passion runs so deep that almost instantly you are convinced that you want to do this full time. You get your requisite training and are ready to trade your live account. Just one problem … the job is keeps getting in the way!
Those of us who live in the Western part of the United States and Canada have a unique challenge when it comes to currency trading. Our time zones are not conducive to trading the European session and our window is small to trade the New York session before we must pack it up and hit the road. The Asian session is perfect timing, but not very active in the currencies rookies tend to focus on first.
I absolutely love trading the European session, but I am wasted the entire day from lack of sleep. I am very selective when I trade with London, because you ALWAYS want to be focused and on top of your game when trading!
Here are some simple recommendations to help you through your transition period.
1. Do Your Homework! This is valid with any trader, but for those of us who have a small window to trade peak hours need to be prepared to take advantage of any pips the market is offering up. This is really not a disadvantage. This can build and nurture a most profitable habit.
2. Go to Bed Earlier! It is very important to get your rest and trading in the Pacific Time zone requires an early wake up call to trade the London-New York overlap session. I awake 4:00 am pacific time to make sure I am awake and prepared when New York opens.
3. Develop a Solid Exercise Plan! I find when I am in decent condition I can get an additional 2 hours more of focused time out of my day. Those two hours I dedicate to making myself a better trader.
4. Find Your Trading Style! Synergize your trading style with your trading session. If you are like me and primarily trade from the 15-minute, 1-hour and 4-hour charts the European and New York sessions are my bread and butter. I use the Asian session to do my homework. If you are a position trader a whole new set of synergies come into play.
5. Be confident in your analysis. When I first started seriously trading currencies and juggling the job I found I had done my homework, planned an entry only to miss it because it occurred while I was in the middle of my mid-morning meeting. I learned very quickly to get comfortable with entry orders.
As you can see from these simple examples that becoming successful in currency trading requires two key elements…
Persistence will allow you to climb the learning curve and learn from your mistakes!
Change of mindset to not allow life to dictate the level of your currency trading success!
Happy Trading!!
Those of us who live in the Western part of the United States and Canada have a unique challenge when it comes to currency trading. Our time zones are not conducive to trading the European session and our window is small to trade the New York session before we must pack it up and hit the road. The Asian session is perfect timing, but not very active in the currencies rookies tend to focus on first.
I absolutely love trading the European session, but I am wasted the entire day from lack of sleep. I am very selective when I trade with London, because you ALWAYS want to be focused and on top of your game when trading!
Here are some simple recommendations to help you through your transition period.
1. Do Your Homework! This is valid with any trader, but for those of us who have a small window to trade peak hours need to be prepared to take advantage of any pips the market is offering up. This is really not a disadvantage. This can build and nurture a most profitable habit.
2. Go to Bed Earlier! It is very important to get your rest and trading in the Pacific Time zone requires an early wake up call to trade the London-New York overlap session. I awake 4:00 am pacific time to make sure I am awake and prepared when New York opens.
3. Develop a Solid Exercise Plan! I find when I am in decent condition I can get an additional 2 hours more of focused time out of my day. Those two hours I dedicate to making myself a better trader.
4. Find Your Trading Style! Synergize your trading style with your trading session. If you are like me and primarily trade from the 15-minute, 1-hour and 4-hour charts the European and New York sessions are my bread and butter. I use the Asian session to do my homework. If you are a position trader a whole new set of synergies come into play.
5. Be confident in your analysis. When I first started seriously trading currencies and juggling the job I found I had done my homework, planned an entry only to miss it because it occurred while I was in the middle of my mid-morning meeting. I learned very quickly to get comfortable with entry orders.
As you can see from these simple examples that becoming successful in currency trading requires two key elements…
Persistence will allow you to climb the learning curve and learn from your mistakes!
Change of mindset to not allow life to dictate the level of your currency trading success!
Happy Trading!!
CSI Forex
If you trade the Forex market you will inevitably encounter the proverbial down day (or worse yet a series of down days). By bad day I mean when you put on a trade and from 'pip' one just goes against you. Tell me, after this happened have you:
Chased the trade and ended up losing more?
Revenge traded against the trend to recoup your losses and ended up losing more?
Moved your predetermined stop and ended up losing more?
Flipped your position and ended up losing more?
Have you noticed a theme??
Well, when I have a series of losing trades I go into CSI mode!
I actually conduct a crime scene investigation on my trading. First if I suffer a big lost I close my trade station immediately. Experience has taught me that I am susceptible to revenge trading. After a break (could be several minutes or several hours or several days) I take a look at my trade journal and look for clues as to why I suffered a draw down. Keeping a detailed journal allows me to reconstruct my trades to isolate potential errors.
If I am lucky I found that I had sound analysis and execution, but just hit some losers. More likely is that I got away from my style of trading or over-complicated my technique and entered into a bad trade.
Go back to the basics! It works every time!!
Happy Trading!!
Chased the trade and ended up losing more?
Revenge traded against the trend to recoup your losses and ended up losing more?
Moved your predetermined stop and ended up losing more?
Flipped your position and ended up losing more?
Have you noticed a theme??
Well, when I have a series of losing trades I go into CSI mode!
I actually conduct a crime scene investigation on my trading. First if I suffer a big lost I close my trade station immediately. Experience has taught me that I am susceptible to revenge trading. After a break (could be several minutes or several hours or several days) I take a look at my trade journal and look for clues as to why I suffered a draw down. Keeping a detailed journal allows me to reconstruct my trades to isolate potential errors.
If I am lucky I found that I had sound analysis and execution, but just hit some losers. More likely is that I got away from my style of trading or over-complicated my technique and entered into a bad trade.
Go back to the basics! It works every time!!
Happy Trading!!
Find Your Forex Niche
It is important to find the Forex strategy right for you! When I began learning to trade the Forex market I was introduced to intraday trading using 5-minute charts. I gained an understanding of the nuances of market movements and the importance of technicals tools, such as Simple/Exponential Moving Averages and Fibonacci. These proved to be valuable lessons coming from the options world.
OK, truth be told … I hated it!!
This style of trading just did not suit my personality. It was a necessary step, but as soon as I felt comfortable and confident in the 5-minute trading style I dialed my chart right out to the hourly charts and beyond. I know lots of people that like the fast pace, simplicity of this style and are some of the most successful traders I know.
I am just not one of them!
My personality fits a longer term view and I just did not thrive in the faster paced decision making required in the 1-minute and 5-minute styles. My focus is on swing trading on the 240-minute chart and intraday trading on the hour and 15 minute charts. It is important while you are learning to trade FX you maintain an open mind to all Forex strategies, but in the end your personal trading style must recognized and exploited for long term success!
Happy Trading!!
OK, truth be told … I hated it!!
This style of trading just did not suit my personality. It was a necessary step, but as soon as I felt comfortable and confident in the 5-minute trading style I dialed my chart right out to the hourly charts and beyond. I know lots of people that like the fast pace, simplicity of this style and are some of the most successful traders I know.
I am just not one of them!
My personality fits a longer term view and I just did not thrive in the faster paced decision making required in the 1-minute and 5-minute styles. My focus is on swing trading on the 240-minute chart and intraday trading on the hour and 15 minute charts. It is important while you are learning to trade FX you maintain an open mind to all Forex strategies, but in the end your personal trading style must recognized and exploited for long term success!
Happy Trading!!
FX Education & Training
I have been receiving an ever increasing amount of emails for those of you interested in having dialog about Forex trading strategies. Of course you can email me at info@fxtradecentral.com. I have several sites with a different emphasis within the Forex Education and Training umbrella.
FX Trade Central
This is my mother ship Forex Education and Training website. The focus on this site is to provide an approach or methodology for learning to trade currencies. I also provide a running Forex course evaluation for a comprehensive approach to learning opportunities. Click Here now to view this site!
FXT
This is my premiere training site. This is where I learned to trade currencies and am an active participant in the Online Trading Rooms where the real training takes place during active market hours. Click Here now to view this site!
Forex Journey – Blog
Frankly this is where I can talk about anything I want. I try to relay my personal experience is learning the Forex market, as well as tips and tricks along my journey. I will always be a student of currency trading. Don’t click here because you are already there!
Lens
If you missed my posting on what the heck is a Lens just search back in the May/June archives. I have two lenses which are designed to provide more of a focus on my trading (http://www.squidoo.com/forexjourney) and why Forex trading is the next great frontier (http://www.squidoo.com/successinfx). The Forex Journey Lens is the only site I post excerpts from my trading plan and current trade set ups I am evaluating.
Your risk management strategy resides between your ears. Don’t listen to any sales pitch claiming one system is easier than others. It really lies in a simple formula. Dedication and perseverance! It is not as easy as the sales people make out, but it is also not as hard as the naysayer claim either! You education is truly a lifetime financial skill! No matter where you get your forex education, just get it! It is your most important investment.
Keep the emails coming! Your feedback matters!
Happy Trading!!
FX Trade Central
This is my mother ship Forex Education and Training website. The focus on this site is to provide an approach or methodology for learning to trade currencies. I also provide a running Forex course evaluation for a comprehensive approach to learning opportunities. Click Here now to view this site!
FXT
This is my premiere training site. This is where I learned to trade currencies and am an active participant in the Online Trading Rooms where the real training takes place during active market hours. Click Here now to view this site!
Forex Journey – Blog
Frankly this is where I can talk about anything I want. I try to relay my personal experience is learning the Forex market, as well as tips and tricks along my journey. I will always be a student of currency trading. Don’t click here because you are already there!
Lens
If you missed my posting on what the heck is a Lens just search back in the May/June archives. I have two lenses which are designed to provide more of a focus on my trading (http://www.squidoo.com/forexjourney) and why Forex trading is the next great frontier (http://www.squidoo.com/successinfx). The Forex Journey Lens is the only site I post excerpts from my trading plan and current trade set ups I am evaluating.
Your risk management strategy resides between your ears. Don’t listen to any sales pitch claiming one system is easier than others. It really lies in a simple formula. Dedication and perseverance! It is not as easy as the sales people make out, but it is also not as hard as the naysayer claim either! You education is truly a lifetime financial skill! No matter where you get your forex education, just get it! It is your most important investment.
Keep the emails coming! Your feedback matters!
Happy Trading!!
Forex Trading Tools
Hi Forex Nation!
I was discussing with some friends about setting yourself up to begin trading currencies. I found this good article (a little general), but provides a good outline for what do if your are ready to dive in and start learning!
Forex Trading Tools - Trading Computers, Forex Charting Software, Trade Stations, Trading Platforms, Forex Advisories,, Forex News:
"This is a collection of Forex 'Tools of the Trade' -- products and services that we have found to be the best of all we have tried over many years, and additonally selected because the companies behind them have demonstrated reliable service, integrity and value. They are beginner-friendly, yet offering a growing trader lots of support. Look for the Forex-Trader discounts.
To trade Forex successfully you will need the basics:
1. A reliable, reasonably fast computer, preferably with high speed access to the internet (DSL or Cable Modem for example). An Internet dial-up account or the telephone becomes your back-up should your primary access fail.
2. Good foreign currencies 'charting software' with a reliable, accurate data feed so that you can track currency movements in real time and perform the technical analysis necessary to trade effectively.
3. An on-line Forex trading account with a brokerage firm which provides a reliable Trading Platform, fair 'spreads', quick execution of trades, good on-line reporting, and excellent customer service.
4. A subscription to at least one Forex Trading 'Advisory Service' which provides market overviews at least daily. This gives you the context and overall directions of the market and will greatly assist in your own analysis and decision making.
Most importantly, you will need effective training and/or mentoring to master the techniques and discipline which 90 percent of beginning traders lack. This can be home study via cd's or on-line lessons, classes you travel to, or trainer/mentors who come to you. "
My blog is dedicated to helping those on the journey that currency trading has become for me!
Click here to see my recommended currency training courses.
Also I have established a training curriculum to guide the "new" currency traders through their first year of trading the forex market.
Happy Trading!
I was discussing with some friends about setting yourself up to begin trading currencies. I found this good article (a little general), but provides a good outline for what do if your are ready to dive in and start learning!
Forex Trading Tools - Trading Computers, Forex Charting Software, Trade Stations, Trading Platforms, Forex Advisories,, Forex News:
"This is a collection of Forex 'Tools of the Trade' -- products and services that we have found to be the best of all we have tried over many years, and additonally selected because the companies behind them have demonstrated reliable service, integrity and value. They are beginner-friendly, yet offering a growing trader lots of support. Look for the Forex-Trader discounts.
To trade Forex successfully you will need the basics:
1. A reliable, reasonably fast computer, preferably with high speed access to the internet (DSL or Cable Modem for example). An Internet dial-up account or the telephone becomes your back-up should your primary access fail.
2. Good foreign currencies 'charting software' with a reliable, accurate data feed so that you can track currency movements in real time and perform the technical analysis necessary to trade effectively.
3. An on-line Forex trading account with a brokerage firm which provides a reliable Trading Platform, fair 'spreads', quick execution of trades, good on-line reporting, and excellent customer service.
4. A subscription to at least one Forex Trading 'Advisory Service' which provides market overviews at least daily. This gives you the context and overall directions of the market and will greatly assist in your own analysis and decision making.
Most importantly, you will need effective training and/or mentoring to master the techniques and discipline which 90 percent of beginning traders lack. This can be home study via cd's or on-line lessons, classes you travel to, or trainer/mentors who come to you. "
My blog is dedicated to helping those on the journey that currency trading has become for me!
Click here to see my recommended currency training courses.
Also I have established a training curriculum to guide the "new" currency traders through their first year of trading the forex market.
Happy Trading!
New Forex Lenses
Hi Forex Nation!!
On my last posting I mentioned that I was working on setting up a series of Lenses.
What is a Lens?
Well, I have recently come across the concept of a Lens provided by Squidoo. The idea behind it is great as it is like a one stop shop for something that you are passionate about (Forex!!) giving useful information and links. Some examples of a lens could include:
# Your hobby
# Your business / industry
# Favorite celebrity
# Favorite recipes
I am a huge Sopranos fan and there was even a Lens dedicated to the show!
Back to business…
The list really is endless, you talk about what you want to and it is opportunity to educate people! And you know I am all about education! Well I have created two Forex related Lenses. The links are provided below (just clock on the icons) and on the sidebar of this blog. I also have two icons on the side bar and they are linked to the two different FX Lenses.
Check out my lens Forex Journey – The Lens
Check out my lens Success in FX
You can help my ranking by visiting my Lenses and giving them a 5-star ranking!! You have to register, but it is FREE! (Thanks in advance!!)
Keep this in your back pocket, because soon you will be hearing about this concept all over the Internet!!
Happy Trading!
On my last posting I mentioned that I was working on setting up a series of Lenses.
What is a Lens?
Well, I have recently come across the concept of a Lens provided by Squidoo. The idea behind it is great as it is like a one stop shop for something that you are passionate about (Forex!!) giving useful information and links. Some examples of a lens could include:
# Your hobby
# Your business / industry
# Favorite celebrity
# Favorite recipes
I am a huge Sopranos fan and there was even a Lens dedicated to the show!
Back to business…
The list really is endless, you talk about what you want to and it is opportunity to educate people! And you know I am all about education! Well I have created two Forex related Lenses. The links are provided below (just clock on the icons) and on the sidebar of this blog. I also have two icons on the side bar and they are linked to the two different FX Lenses.
Check out my lens Forex Journey – The Lens
Check out my lens Success in FX
You can help my ranking by visiting my Lenses and giving them a 5-star ranking!! You have to register, but it is FREE! (Thanks in advance!!)
Keep this in your back pocket, because soon you will be hearing about this concept all over the Internet!!
Happy Trading!
Forex Going Mainstream
I was thumbing through the April 3rd edition of Business Week and in the Personal Business Investing section there was an article titled “The Currency Game: Home Version” by Adrienne Carter. The article summarized forex trading and then painted a brutal picture of forex. Forex trading can be a brutal business, but is giving your hard earned money over to a money manager just because you have not taken the time to get financially educated is even more brutal!
On first glance I was glad to see forex being introduced in a mainstream business publication. It also reinforced a psychology lesson I had back at my days at Arizona State University …
Think critically about what you read. Know the sources of your information and project yourself into views of the authors. After that form your opinion based on the facts. I think far too many people take things at face value!
The article was sounded a warning signal about trading the forex market. Addressing the symptoms (forex risk) without truly identifying the root cause (lack of investor education) in my opinion does a great disservice to the readers. That is why this blog and my sites (FX Trainer and FX Trade Central) are dedicated to forex education.
It is just like looking at the technicals while having an understanding of the effects of the fundamental. Learning to evaluate information from many angles without over-analyzing is a great skill to utilize in your trading.
Happy Trading!
On first glance I was glad to see forex being introduced in a mainstream business publication. It also reinforced a psychology lesson I had back at my days at Arizona State University …
Think critically about what you read. Know the sources of your information and project yourself into views of the authors. After that form your opinion based on the facts. I think far too many people take things at face value!
The article was sounded a warning signal about trading the forex market. Addressing the symptoms (forex risk) without truly identifying the root cause (lack of investor education) in my opinion does a great disservice to the readers. That is why this blog and my sites (FX Trainer and FX Trade Central) are dedicated to forex education.
It is just like looking at the technicals while having an understanding of the effects of the fundamental. Learning to evaluate information from many angles without over-analyzing is a great skill to utilize in your trading.
Happy Trading!
The Complete Forex Trader
If you have been reading my posting you have recognized that I am an active forex trader, but my posting do not center too much on forex strategy and the like. This is true. Those blogs and sites are a dime a dozen. I like writing about those topics that have made me a well rounded trader. I like to explore topics like critical thinking, forex education and mental focus. These are the intangibles, the little things that can make or break success.
Focusing on the forex educational roadmap will bring together all the aspects of successful forex trading. This approach can be adapted to equity trading, real estate investment and pretty much any entrepreneurial activity you would like to take on!
Also, take a look at my required reading list. These books have been carefully selected to address all of the elements of the forex education roadmap. They are a mixture of classics and new material. FX Trade Central and FX Trainer are your portals to successful currency trading!
Continuous education is the cornerstone of any endeavor!
Keep the comments coming!
Happy Trading!
Focusing on the forex educational roadmap will bring together all the aspects of successful forex trading. This approach can be adapted to equity trading, real estate investment and pretty much any entrepreneurial activity you would like to take on!
Also, take a look at my required reading list. These books have been carefully selected to address all of the elements of the forex education roadmap. They are a mixture of classics and new material. FX Trade Central and FX Trainer are your portals to successful currency trading!
Continuous education is the cornerstone of any endeavor!
Keep the comments coming!
Happy Trading!
Over Trading the Forex Market
One of the "forex deadly sins" we must all be aware of is overtrading. Overtrading can afflict the seasoned currency trader, as well as the "newbie" trader fresh from their first forex education course. We are all guiltyof this sin at sometime in our forex trading career.
In addition to trading the forex market I also have a passion for playing golf. It seems that I continuously work through the same 4 mistakes, so much that I have long since been able to recognize by my ball flight which of these mistakes is creeping up on me again and apply a tested remedy.
I have taken this approach to my forex trading. One of my forex affliction is that I tend to overtrade the market.
To combat this need to be in the market all the time I have developed 2 key strategies:
#1 Take a break from trading when I had a big win or loss.
#2. Set rules for evaluating the market and entering trades.
Here is a sampling of my forex market evaluation rules:
Look at the current price behavior. Determine if the market is oversold or overbought.
Access overall forex market conditions. Look at long term and short term views. Is the market trending or range bound? Is the market trending short term within a long term range.
Determine where your currency price target is located for the respective ranges and time frames.
Determine your criterial for stopping the forex trade on both the profit and loss side.
Determine how much capital your are going to risk.
I have found that one of the most valuable tools is to be a member of a local trading group. This allows you to verbalize your trading actions and will confirm your trading decisions.
If you are evaluating currency trades alone then talk it though out loud.
Yeah, you may sound like a nut to those around you, but you will be a more profitable nut none the less!
For more insight into forex education and trading visit FX Trade Central.
Happy Trading!
In addition to trading the forex market I also have a passion for playing golf. It seems that I continuously work through the same 4 mistakes, so much that I have long since been able to recognize by my ball flight which of these mistakes is creeping up on me again and apply a tested remedy.
I have taken this approach to my forex trading. One of my forex affliction is that I tend to overtrade the market.
To combat this need to be in the market all the time I have developed 2 key strategies:
#1 Take a break from trading when I had a big win or loss.
#2. Set rules for evaluating the market and entering trades.
Here is a sampling of my forex market evaluation rules:
Look at the current price behavior. Determine if the market is oversold or overbought.
Access overall forex market conditions. Look at long term and short term views. Is the market trending or range bound? Is the market trending short term within a long term range.
Determine where your currency price target is located for the respective ranges and time frames.
Determine your criterial for stopping the forex trade on both the profit and loss side.
Determine how much capital your are going to risk.
I have found that one of the most valuable tools is to be a member of a local trading group. This allows you to verbalize your trading actions and will confirm your trading decisions.
If you are evaluating currency trades alone then talk it though out loud.
Yeah, you may sound like a nut to those around you, but you will be a more profitable nut none the less!
For more insight into forex education and trading visit FX Trade Central.
Happy Trading!
Special Forex Education Reports
Special Forex Education Reports
I have just completed 2 special reports that are now available on my website. A lot of you readers seem to enjoy when I am ranting and raving about the global economy and how it relates to forex and trading.
Well I have taken those topics and created 2 FREE editorials.
Special Report #1: The Perfect Economic Storm
About the coming change to the global economy and steps we can take today to be prepared to not only survive, but to prosper!
Special Report #2: Forex and Your Retirement
Discusses why you should consider honing your forex education skills now and deploy FX trading to expand your portfolio well beyond your retirement date.
Just follow the link to FX Trade Central and sign up for our
FREE FOREX NEWSLETTER
and you will be included in the mailing for these revealing reports!
Happy Trading!
I have just completed 2 special reports that are now available on my website. A lot of you readers seem to enjoy when I am ranting and raving about the global economy and how it relates to forex and trading.
Well I have taken those topics and created 2 FREE editorials.
Special Report #1: The Perfect Economic Storm
About the coming change to the global economy and steps we can take today to be prepared to not only survive, but to prosper!
Special Report #2: Forex and Your Retirement
Discusses why you should consider honing your forex education skills now and deploy FX trading to expand your portfolio well beyond your retirement date.
Just follow the link to FX Trade Central and sign up for our
FREE FOREX NEWSLETTER
and you will be included in the mailing for these revealing reports!
Happy Trading!
Reality Check – Baby Boomers Are You Listening?
Well it was time for me to hit the road again. That means a trip down to my local Wal-Mart Super Center to pick up some supplies. As I was standing there at the check out counter I could not help but to notice the Wal-Mart employee placing the purchased items in the bags. This person should have been enjoying those golden years of retirement long ago, but was instead working for minimum wage at this retailer in Arizona. I began to look around and noticed more and more seniors working side-by-side with teenagers earning some extra cash after school.
I was horrified!
It got worse, much worse!
On the drive back home I started reflecting on current events, from the recent jabs between the Unites States and Venezuela to the news that pension fund after pension fund are dissolving, changing the retirement landscape forever. Today, most people are depending upon their 401k savings and what will be left of social security to provide for them during retirement. I actually heard on CNN a financial planner recommend workers consider holding off on retirement longer. As if the average working has not already worked long enough! The US economy has gone through one of the largest peacetime expansions in history. An economic boom supported by our generation, Baby Boomers. We are also paying our share as we support both children in college and aging parents who where left unprepared this ever-changing global economy. What will happen when this generation decides to retire?
BE PREPARED AND STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE!
We are living longer in a global economy that will continue to react to geo-political events with America at the center. Hugo Chavez is socializing Latin America, the Iranians are enriching uranium, China will be an economic force equal to the United States in our lifetime and Iraq is on the verge of civil war. Hot spots have always been apart of the global landscape, but at no time in history has the global economies been as linked as they are today. That is why I share with anyone who would listen, my economic philosophy of personal responsibility.
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO GET FINANCIALLY LITERATE!
Get educated and created a rock solid investment plan. Take personal responsibility for every last cent of your hard earned money. Learn to invest! In no time you will know more than your financial planner. It is possible to increase your portfolio during market downturns. You must have all the tools in your bag because success is when preparation meets opportunity!
NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE AND GET EDUCATED!
I am not an investment diversity junkie. I do believe that being the absolute expert in a few areas is the best risk aversion strategy around. The real risk is being educated in the investment area you are focusing in on, just ask Warren Buffet.
I trade currencies as a tool to take advantage of upside and downside markets. Why? You just read why! Mastering the art of trading now, will allow me to continue to grow my portfolio well into retirement and enjoy the life we are all dreaming of living. I chose FX Trainer as my education partner in forex, because the product set allows for:
1. Classroom or online training.
2. Product mix for all forex ability.
3. The ability to build a community of traders.
4. Increased knowledge through networking with other traders.
5. Ability to further increase your knowledge by mentoring other traders.
I also trade options as well, but the forex market is the only truly global market and this is how I am staying ahead of the curve in this marketplace.
See for yourself why FX Trainer can provide you with the skills necessary to master the forex market.
FX Trade Central specializies in Forex Education and is your source for the latest currency trading education and information.
I was horrified!
It got worse, much worse!
On the drive back home I started reflecting on current events, from the recent jabs between the Unites States and Venezuela to the news that pension fund after pension fund are dissolving, changing the retirement landscape forever. Today, most people are depending upon their 401k savings and what will be left of social security to provide for them during retirement. I actually heard on CNN a financial planner recommend workers consider holding off on retirement longer. As if the average working has not already worked long enough! The US economy has gone through one of the largest peacetime expansions in history. An economic boom supported by our generation, Baby Boomers. We are also paying our share as we support both children in college and aging parents who where left unprepared this ever-changing global economy. What will happen when this generation decides to retire?
BE PREPARED AND STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE!
We are living longer in a global economy that will continue to react to geo-political events with America at the center. Hugo Chavez is socializing Latin America, the Iranians are enriching uranium, China will be an economic force equal to the United States in our lifetime and Iraq is on the verge of civil war. Hot spots have always been apart of the global landscape, but at no time in history has the global economies been as linked as they are today. That is why I share with anyone who would listen, my economic philosophy of personal responsibility.
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO GET FINANCIALLY LITERATE!
Get educated and created a rock solid investment plan. Take personal responsibility for every last cent of your hard earned money. Learn to invest! In no time you will know more than your financial planner. It is possible to increase your portfolio during market downturns. You must have all the tools in your bag because success is when preparation meets opportunity!
NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE AND GET EDUCATED!
I am not an investment diversity junkie. I do believe that being the absolute expert in a few areas is the best risk aversion strategy around. The real risk is being educated in the investment area you are focusing in on, just ask Warren Buffet.
I trade currencies as a tool to take advantage of upside and downside markets. Why? You just read why! Mastering the art of trading now, will allow me to continue to grow my portfolio well into retirement and enjoy the life we are all dreaming of living. I chose FX Trainer as my education partner in forex, because the product set allows for:
1. Classroom or online training.
2. Product mix for all forex ability.
3. The ability to build a community of traders.
4. Increased knowledge through networking with other traders.
5. Ability to further increase your knowledge by mentoring other traders.
I also trade options as well, but the forex market is the only truly global market and this is how I am staying ahead of the curve in this marketplace.
See for yourself why FX Trainer can provide you with the skills necessary to master the forex market.
FX Trade Central specializies in Forex Education and is your source for the latest currency trading education and information.
Are You Kidding Me!!!
Well, as everyone knows by now, I am a forex trader that is on this wonderful journey to freeing myself from a job that I have no passion for and being able to control my time and destiny….
Well I knew there would be bumps along the way and boy did I run into one today! I was speaking to a mentor of mine who is in the real estate business (I have been quietly investing in real estate to build me revenue streams… but that is another topic). My mentor has recently left the rat race world for entrepreneurship. As one that is planning on ‘crossing-over’ soon we began a discussion around medical insurance in the U.S.
Wow! COBRA, carrying your own medical insurance, look back by the medical insurance companies and many more hooks has caused me to rethink the cash reserves I am going to need. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS!
Yes, I am ranting and no this has little to do with forex trading. If you are looking to trade currencies for a living this is definitely going to be on of those ‘challenges’ to plan and know all of your options!
I welcome any and all expert opinion. You can leave me a comment here or on my website FX Trade Central.
Also, do not forget to check out FX Trainer for all your forex education and training needs! You must take the first step!
Well I knew there would be bumps along the way and boy did I run into one today! I was speaking to a mentor of mine who is in the real estate business (I have been quietly investing in real estate to build me revenue streams… but that is another topic). My mentor has recently left the rat race world for entrepreneurship. As one that is planning on ‘crossing-over’ soon we began a discussion around medical insurance in the U.S.
Wow! COBRA, carrying your own medical insurance, look back by the medical insurance companies and many more hooks has caused me to rethink the cash reserves I am going to need. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS!
Yes, I am ranting and no this has little to do with forex trading. If you are looking to trade currencies for a living this is definitely going to be on of those ‘challenges’ to plan and know all of your options!
I welcome any and all expert opinion. You can leave me a comment here or on my website FX Trade Central.
Also, do not forget to check out FX Trainer for all your forex education and training needs! You must take the first step!
FX Trade Central Forex Education Portal
FX Trade Central provides an educational roadmap and portal for forex trading and information. Specifically designed to provide the latest in forex educational news and services for those individuals new to currency trading, as well servicing the needs of the more experienced retail FX traders. FX Trade Central provides recommendation on the top-level educational organizations, such as FX Trainer Financial Services Inc., in the market and a unique approach to developing forex trading athletes.
Forex Swing Trading with Elliott Wave
One of my favorite forex trading strategies involves using the Elliott Wave to trade market swings. Elliott Wave theory is named after Ralph Nelson Elliott, who concluded that the markets moved in a repetitive pattern of waves. Elliott attributed this action to the mass psychology of the market. Elliot Wave patterns follow a rhythm that the markets move up in a series of 3 waves and down in a series of 2 waves which form the base of the 5-wave pattern (the opposite is true in a downtrend).
Elliott Wave Counts
1. Short Covering Wave
2. Pullback
3. Institutional Buying Phase
4. Retracement
5. Retail Buying
I trade using Elliott Wave analysis quite frequently on options and sought to port that strategy to the forex market.
Just like in my option trading I look for the Elliott Oscillator to pull back between 90% and 140% of my wave-3 high to set up the trade. This pullback should correspond to a 38%-62% Fibonacci retracement from the wave-2 extension.
My next step is to look for confirming candle patterns, such as Harami, Tweezers or Harami cross, to trigger the trade. I draw a regression channel and look for a break above or below the channel as confirmation to enter the trade.
I place my stops at the high of the wave-1 advance and trail my stop aggressively once the currency pair has advanced past the wave-3 high. A 3-bar trailing stop is my usual exit strategy.
Look more into Elliott Wave and other strategies on my site as a tool for increasing your forex swing trade opportunities.
Elliott Wave Counts
1. Short Covering Wave
2. Pullback
3. Institutional Buying Phase
4. Retracement
5. Retail Buying
I trade using Elliott Wave analysis quite frequently on options and sought to port that strategy to the forex market.
Just like in my option trading I look for the Elliott Oscillator to pull back between 90% and 140% of my wave-3 high to set up the trade. This pullback should correspond to a 38%-62% Fibonacci retracement from the wave-2 extension.
My next step is to look for confirming candle patterns, such as Harami, Tweezers or Harami cross, to trigger the trade. I draw a regression channel and look for a break above or below the channel as confirmation to enter the trade.
I place my stops at the high of the wave-1 advance and trail my stop aggressively once the currency pair has advanced past the wave-3 high. A 3-bar trailing stop is my usual exit strategy.
Look more into Elliott Wave and other strategies on my site as a tool for increasing your forex swing trade opportunities.
Why Trade the FOREX?
Why Trade the FOREX?
I was searching Google news, just trying to stay current when I came across this article [see above link] from Dr. Walker. She hit it right on the head and is one of the reasons I use the forex market as an income generating machine. Remember your education is king. Don't waste your time playing this market without expert taining!!! Visit FX Trade Central for the latest in forex education.
I was searching Google news, just trying to stay current when I came across this article [see above link] from Dr. Walker. She hit it right on the head and is one of the reasons I use the forex market as an income generating machine. Remember your education is king. Don't waste your time playing this market without expert taining!!! Visit FX Trade Central for the latest in forex education.
My 5 Golden Forex Trading Rules
As a trader in the forex market, I have come to understand the truth about trading and it mostly has to do with myself and my personality. Taking the time to learn the FX market and developing an awareness of yourself as a trader will aid you tremendously on your very own forex journey. To aid you along the way, I have developed my 5 golden forex trading rules.
1. Having an understanding the currency pairs, including which pairs has the most liquidity and volatility in order to decide when and when not to trade them. I want to know the pairs as well as my brother and that is why I trade just a few pairs.
2. Employing technical analysis to determine past price action to set future targets. I was raised a technician and will let technical analysis be my primary mechanism for trade management.
3. Understanding the market’s psychology and my own, and then incorporating this information as part of my forex trading strategy. Understanding the drivers of the market and my own nuances allows me to sleep in when I am too tired to trade the London session and plan my trading activity, including my daily forex education session, at the times of the day when my mental focus is at its sharpest.
4. Awareness of the fundamentals that will cause a currency pair price action. Knowing current events and anticipated news allows me to trade when the market conditions fit my trading style. This is one of the things I absolutely love about the forex market … you never have to wait long for an opportunity!
5. Risk management and trade execution to ensure my trades can achieve the maximum profit. I don’t want to be greedy and I don’t like to leave money on the table either. I will be trying to master this skill for the rest of my life!
Getting your forex education, practicing in a demo account, becoming aware of your own psychology and being persistent will allow you to succeed in the forex market as well.
For information on forex education visit my forex education site or fx educational portal.
1. Having an understanding the currency pairs, including which pairs has the most liquidity and volatility in order to decide when and when not to trade them. I want to know the pairs as well as my brother and that is why I trade just a few pairs.
2. Employing technical analysis to determine past price action to set future targets. I was raised a technician and will let technical analysis be my primary mechanism for trade management.
3. Understanding the market’s psychology and my own, and then incorporating this information as part of my forex trading strategy. Understanding the drivers of the market and my own nuances allows me to sleep in when I am too tired to trade the London session and plan my trading activity, including my daily forex education session, at the times of the day when my mental focus is at its sharpest.
4. Awareness of the fundamentals that will cause a currency pair price action. Knowing current events and anticipated news allows me to trade when the market conditions fit my trading style. This is one of the things I absolutely love about the forex market … you never have to wait long for an opportunity!
5. Risk management and trade execution to ensure my trades can achieve the maximum profit. I don’t want to be greedy and I don’t like to leave money on the table either. I will be trying to master this skill for the rest of my life!
Getting your forex education, practicing in a demo account, becoming aware of your own psychology and being persistent will allow you to succeed in the forex market as well.
For information on forex education visit my forex education site or fx educational portal.
Trading the News
I just don’t do it! I am a technical forex trader, but I do incorporate fundamentals into my trading strategy. Whether I take a contrarian view point or use the fundamentals as a catalyst to impending technical developments I am always aware on how news events affect the forex market.
In my trade journal (if you are not keeping a record of your trade and the events surrounding your trades you are just plan wrong!) I note the upcoming events and plan for actions around any scheduled news release. If I don’t want to play I will close my position and wait for 30 minutes and trade the trend. I will treat the price before the news as support or resistance and wait for the overriding trend to continue.
Unexpected news often spikes the market, but beware of unsustainable news as it is unlikely top change the long term trend. I never enter a trade without a stop-loss period!
Like I said, the fundamentals are the catalyst but technicals are the roadmap! You can find more forex strategies at FX Trade Central.
Visit FX Trainer to fulfill your forex educational needs.
In my trade journal (if you are not keeping a record of your trade and the events surrounding your trades you are just plan wrong!) I note the upcoming events and plan for actions around any scheduled news release. If I don’t want to play I will close my position and wait for 30 minutes and trade the trend. I will treat the price before the news as support or resistance and wait for the overriding trend to continue.
Unexpected news often spikes the market, but beware of unsustainable news as it is unlikely top change the long term trend. I never enter a trade without a stop-loss period!
Like I said, the fundamentals are the catalyst but technicals are the roadmap! You can find more forex strategies at FX Trade Central.
Visit FX Trainer to fulfill your forex educational needs.
The Perfect Storm
Forex is too risky! You are going to loose all of your money!
I hear gallery now. Don’t listen to the neigh Sayers, listen to your inner voice! I am often asked why I chose to trade the currencies. I have been a student of the economy and money for several years now. I am not an alarmist, but the tides of change are not far from us. I chose to trade forex as a tool to ensure my families financial well being during these times of change. Take charge! That is really all I am doing is taking charge.
The perfect economic storm is forming and I just want to have the shelter to ride out the storm. Will that storm ever arrive and with the ferocity the economist are predicting? You can never be sure, but I definitely have my opinions!
Let’s take a look at some facts. According to the Census Bureau less than 2% of Americans earn more than $100,000 per year. 87% of American will retire broke! By the age of 65 45% of Americans will be dependent upon family and friends 28% of Americans will be dependent upon government welfare 22% of Americans will still be working 4% of Americans will have enough savings to meet their needs 1% of American will be financially independent In other words, only 5% of the population will be able to retire at the age of 65 and still be independent. All this as our national debt continues to grow and more and more responsibility gets deferred to our future generations.
The “real” perfect storm occurred when 3 independent weather systems merged to form the perfect meteorological storm during the 1990s. The economic equivalent is beginning to take shape. The patterns are forming now. Pension plans are being phased out and employees are required to take on more and more the responsibility of their financial planning. Schools have not adapted their curriculum to include investor education.
For 10 straight years my medical contributions have risen. The largest generation in U.S. history will begin retiring in 2 years drawing a massive amount of liquidity from the financial markets and Generation X does not have the size to act as a counterbalance. And the final ingredient is the world economic balance is changing with the emergence of China as an economic powerhouse.
And to my Canadian friends, your export economy is tied to the U.S. by a factor of 85%!
I am investing now, not so much in a 401k or an IRA, but in my financial education, one that can profit in an ever changing global economy.
I have cash flow vehicles and wealth building vehicles. Forex is my dominant cash flow vehicle. I am also educating myself in the real estate market; internet marketing and I trade options as well. Like all storms this one will pass.
Looking forward to my “golden years” and being a later “Boomer” I want to increase my odds and have chosen education as the base for my defense! For more forex edcuational information please vist FX Trade Central and for your FREE forex education demo visit my other site at FX Trainer.
I hear gallery now. Don’t listen to the neigh Sayers, listen to your inner voice! I am often asked why I chose to trade the currencies. I have been a student of the economy and money for several years now. I am not an alarmist, but the tides of change are not far from us. I chose to trade forex as a tool to ensure my families financial well being during these times of change. Take charge! That is really all I am doing is taking charge.
The perfect economic storm is forming and I just want to have the shelter to ride out the storm. Will that storm ever arrive and with the ferocity the economist are predicting? You can never be sure, but I definitely have my opinions!
Let’s take a look at some facts. According to the Census Bureau less than 2% of Americans earn more than $100,000 per year. 87% of American will retire broke! By the age of 65 45% of Americans will be dependent upon family and friends 28% of Americans will be dependent upon government welfare 22% of Americans will still be working 4% of Americans will have enough savings to meet their needs 1% of American will be financially independent In other words, only 5% of the population will be able to retire at the age of 65 and still be independent. All this as our national debt continues to grow and more and more responsibility gets deferred to our future generations.
The “real” perfect storm occurred when 3 independent weather systems merged to form the perfect meteorological storm during the 1990s. The economic equivalent is beginning to take shape. The patterns are forming now. Pension plans are being phased out and employees are required to take on more and more the responsibility of their financial planning. Schools have not adapted their curriculum to include investor education.
For 10 straight years my medical contributions have risen. The largest generation in U.S. history will begin retiring in 2 years drawing a massive amount of liquidity from the financial markets and Generation X does not have the size to act as a counterbalance. And the final ingredient is the world economic balance is changing with the emergence of China as an economic powerhouse.
And to my Canadian friends, your export economy is tied to the U.S. by a factor of 85%!
I am investing now, not so much in a 401k or an IRA, but in my financial education, one that can profit in an ever changing global economy.
I have cash flow vehicles and wealth building vehicles. Forex is my dominant cash flow vehicle. I am also educating myself in the real estate market; internet marketing and I trade options as well. Like all storms this one will pass.
Looking forward to my “golden years” and being a later “Boomer” I want to increase my odds and have chosen education as the base for my defense! For more forex edcuational information please vist FX Trade Central and for your FREE forex education demo visit my other site at FX Trainer.
FEAR and FOCUS
Is fear preventing your from achieving forex success? By now I know everyone has heard of the acronym for F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real). Sometimes to get over the hump and put fear in our rear view mirror only requires an attitude check! Adjusting our attitude can build our confidence and basically get our heads out of the way and journey on to forex success!
Author’s Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (both from the famous Chicken Soup series of bestsellers) has another overlooked book on the market called The Power of Focus. In the nook they discuss strategies to combat fear and build confidence. Some of these strategies include;
* Remind yourself that you did some things well in your trading everyday.
* Read inspiring biographies and autobiographies. These can fall outside of the trading world.
* Be thankful. You are taking massive action to take control of your financial future!
* Build a support network around you. Use the mastermind principal to build a support team of traders and non-traders.Chunk it down! Take your long term goals and plans and chunk them down into smaller bits like mastering trading channels in your demo account.
* Celebrate your success! If you can’t do this than repeat the first step (and do not collect $200!!!).
You can find this book and my entire mandatory reading list of my forex educational site, FX Trade Central.
Author’s Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (both from the famous Chicken Soup series of bestsellers) has another overlooked book on the market called The Power of Focus. In the nook they discuss strategies to combat fear and build confidence. Some of these strategies include;
* Remind yourself that you did some things well in your trading everyday.
* Read inspiring biographies and autobiographies. These can fall outside of the trading world.
* Be thankful. You are taking massive action to take control of your financial future!
* Build a support network around you. Use the mastermind principal to build a support team of traders and non-traders.Chunk it down! Take your long term goals and plans and chunk them down into smaller bits like mastering trading channels in your demo account.
* Celebrate your success! If you can’t do this than repeat the first step (and do not collect $200!!!).
You can find this book and my entire mandatory reading list of my forex educational site, FX Trade Central.
Forex Money Management
This may be my quick version of forex money management, but there is nothing more important. As I have been told over and over again, any one can get into a currency trade, but those who are profitable forex traders know when to exit a trade.
This is for profits as well as loses!
I find that the best forex trades I put on are those trades where my emotions are not a factor in the currency trade to begin with. To do this there are some basic principals I follow regardless of the strategy or time period I am trading.
* I set a pip goal for the trade based on my trade plan and technicals. If you do not have a trade plan where you have outlined your currency trading goals and objectives then stop reading this blog and create one now!
* I never risk more than 5% of my account on any given trading opportunity. To calculate the amount I will risk I divide my trading account principal by 0.05 and then divide that by my stop loss (dictated by the strategy I employ) to give me the number of lots I will place on the forex trade. This is the number I am personally comfortable losing. Yes, I said losing! I always approach risk management in forex trading from a “what if I am wrong” point of view.
* I always trade with a stop loss and limit order! This takes the emotions right out of the equation. I have learned with experience to employ trailing stops and fine tuning of my technicals to lock in profit and provide ever increasing better entry and exit points. Over time I have been able to let more winners run and cut loses shorter than when I first began trading.
* Here is my forex money management “golden nugget!” If take pause after a draw down of 25% AND after a run up of 25%. During this 2-5 day period I trade in my demo account, practicing new strategies or reviewing the basics. This keeps me grounded when I am too down or too up.
These are my rules. By keeping a good forex trade journal you will be able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and employ them in your money management plan.
Join my community of traders at FX Trainer for your forex training needs and visit my forex education portal FX Trade Central for more currency information and education.
This is for profits as well as loses!
I find that the best forex trades I put on are those trades where my emotions are not a factor in the currency trade to begin with. To do this there are some basic principals I follow regardless of the strategy or time period I am trading.
* I set a pip goal for the trade based on my trade plan and technicals. If you do not have a trade plan where you have outlined your currency trading goals and objectives then stop reading this blog and create one now!
* I never risk more than 5% of my account on any given trading opportunity. To calculate the amount I will risk I divide my trading account principal by 0.05 and then divide that by my stop loss (dictated by the strategy I employ) to give me the number of lots I will place on the forex trade. This is the number I am personally comfortable losing. Yes, I said losing! I always approach risk management in forex trading from a “what if I am wrong” point of view.
* I always trade with a stop loss and limit order! This takes the emotions right out of the equation. I have learned with experience to employ trailing stops and fine tuning of my technicals to lock in profit and provide ever increasing better entry and exit points. Over time I have been able to let more winners run and cut loses shorter than when I first began trading.
* Here is my forex money management “golden nugget!” If take pause after a draw down of 25% AND after a run up of 25%. During this 2-5 day period I trade in my demo account, practicing new strategies or reviewing the basics. This keeps me grounded when I am too down or too up.
These are my rules. By keeping a good forex trade journal you will be able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and employ them in your money management plan.
Join my community of traders at FX Trainer for your forex training needs and visit my forex education portal FX Trade Central for more currency information and education.
Forex Discipline
When it comes down to it, all successful traders have learned to mastery one important skill … discipline! As I progress as a trader, whether it is on my home court (the forex market) or on a road trip (trading options), discipline has been the skill that has made me more profits and lack of it has been the major contributor of all of my losses!
Living in the western portion of the United States requires local forex traders to either stay up late to trade the London session or wake up early to trade with the east coast. I am a morning person, so it is no brainer that I do the majority of my FX trading during the London-New York overlap period. A good nights sleep and a fresh morning coffee and I am ready to go hunting PIPS! Well I broke my rule last night and after tackling receipts going into tax season and looking at some option positions I had on, I took a look at my forex charts for a swing trade opportunity. I saw a nice opportunity for the euro to move up over the next several days. A long story short, I was yawning and could hear my bed calling. I shut down the computer and patted myself on the back for not placing any trades while I was so tired. I was disciplined in recognizing that I just do not trade well during the late evenings.
What happened today?
The euro was strong all day, and as of the writing of this post, had moved up 123 pips!!! Not the ending you were expecting!
My point is, discipline made me aware I was at my low point mentally and should not be placing forex trades in my current state of mind. I bring this up because this will happen to all traders a one point or another. 99 times out of 100 this would have been a losing trade!
Know yourself, establish your style and stay true to your plan. If you follow this simple formula success will just be a matter of time. Forex education is the key to developing a solid discipline trading approach.
Visit FX Trade Central for forex educational opportunities.
Living in the western portion of the United States requires local forex traders to either stay up late to trade the London session or wake up early to trade with the east coast. I am a morning person, so it is no brainer that I do the majority of my FX trading during the London-New York overlap period. A good nights sleep and a fresh morning coffee and I am ready to go hunting PIPS! Well I broke my rule last night and after tackling receipts going into tax season and looking at some option positions I had on, I took a look at my forex charts for a swing trade opportunity. I saw a nice opportunity for the euro to move up over the next several days. A long story short, I was yawning and could hear my bed calling. I shut down the computer and patted myself on the back for not placing any trades while I was so tired. I was disciplined in recognizing that I just do not trade well during the late evenings.
What happened today?
The euro was strong all day, and as of the writing of this post, had moved up 123 pips!!! Not the ending you were expecting!
My point is, discipline made me aware I was at my low point mentally and should not be placing forex trades in my current state of mind. I bring this up because this will happen to all traders a one point or another. 99 times out of 100 this would have been a losing trade!
Know yourself, establish your style and stay true to your plan. If you follow this simple formula success will just be a matter of time. Forex education is the key to developing a solid discipline trading approach.
Visit FX Trade Central for forex educational opportunities.
The Forex Educational Roadmap
The roadmap to successful forex trading is, in many ways, a parallel road to success in life in general. To balance one’s life also requires a balance of often overlooked skills. These skills include mental, physical and spiritual balance and renewal. In forex trading seminar, after seminar, the so-called “soft-skills” gets mentioned only after slugging it out for 8 hours hearing discussion around ascending triangles and FOMC monetary policy. In the end, one can overcome the technical and fundamental challenges greeting new traders with time, patience and dedication. Unless one also commits to self-mastery over the mental side of trading and develops strategies to gain mental control, long-term success will be unlikely no matter what financial vehicle you chose to trade.
To Roadmap to Successful Forex Training is broken down into 4 sequential destinations:
1. Education
Education is the key to understanding the forex market and mastery of the necessary skills to become successful. There is no substitute for hard work and dedication here and no short cuts as well. The best site by far is FX Trainer. I have found no other organziation that can so effectively grow and continue to provide igh quality training as you grow as a forex trader. Their community of traders are unmatched. You get to meet traders from all levels and gain from their experiences. That is an asset no trader should be without!
2. Personal Self-Mastery
Personal mastery is bringing balance into all aspects of your life to achieve the necessary harmony which will heighten your education and bring a razor sharp mental focus to all your trading activities. Personal mastery will go a long way in developing your FX trading psychology and philosophy. Two books are must reads in this category; Think and Grow Rich and The Power of Full Engagement!
3. Forex Systems and Tools
One could be the best ditch digger, but if you only had a spoon to dig with your ditch would not be nearly as successful as another one with a back-hoe. Developing a comprehensive trading plan and philosophy will be a critical step on this portion of your journey.
4. Live Forex Trading
Demo accounts and simulated trading is good, but nothing is a substitute for live trading. It is only through live trading that you can accurately assess your skill and balance in mastery of your previous roadmap destinations. Remember, there is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback! This is a personal preference. Open as manay demo accounts as possible and go witht the broker you feel most comfortable with. Just make sure the broker is regulated by CFTC and NFA.
5. Continuous Education and Training
In forex trading, as in many aspects of life, many individuals quite before achieving their desired level of success. It has been said that, like a flower, if an individual stops growing and learning, the dying process has begun. Having a true thirst for knowledge is a guarantee formula for success.
I have dedicated my website FX Trade Central to provide a holistic approach to forex trading education. This site highlights my roadmap to Successful Forex Trading!
To Roadmap to Successful Forex Training is broken down into 4 sequential destinations:
1. Education
Education is the key to understanding the forex market and mastery of the necessary skills to become successful. There is no substitute for hard work and dedication here and no short cuts as well. The best site by far is FX Trainer. I have found no other organziation that can so effectively grow and continue to provide igh quality training as you grow as a forex trader. Their community of traders are unmatched. You get to meet traders from all levels and gain from their experiences. That is an asset no trader should be without!
2. Personal Self-Mastery
Personal mastery is bringing balance into all aspects of your life to achieve the necessary harmony which will heighten your education and bring a razor sharp mental focus to all your trading activities. Personal mastery will go a long way in developing your FX trading psychology and philosophy. Two books are must reads in this category; Think and Grow Rich and The Power of Full Engagement!
3. Forex Systems and Tools
One could be the best ditch digger, but if you only had a spoon to dig with your ditch would not be nearly as successful as another one with a back-hoe. Developing a comprehensive trading plan and philosophy will be a critical step on this portion of your journey.
4. Live Forex Trading
Demo accounts and simulated trading is good, but nothing is a substitute for live trading. It is only through live trading that you can accurately assess your skill and balance in mastery of your previous roadmap destinations. Remember, there is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback! This is a personal preference. Open as manay demo accounts as possible and go witht the broker you feel most comfortable with. Just make sure the broker is regulated by CFTC and NFA.
5. Continuous Education and Training
In forex trading, as in many aspects of life, many individuals quite before achieving their desired level of success. It has been said that, like a flower, if an individual stops growing and learning, the dying process has begun. Having a true thirst for knowledge is a guarantee formula for success.
I have dedicated my website FX Trade Central to provide a holistic approach to forex trading education. This site highlights my roadmap to Successful Forex Trading!
Forex Trading as a Business
We all have our personality quirks. My quirk is collecting quotes. I have quotes in my trading log, in my success notebook (I will discuss this in another post) and even in my golf bag. One of my favorite quotes is “Act as if!” Act as if means that while you are in training to be a successful currency trader (my definition is one that makes consistent profits no matter the lots size being traded) you have to act as if you were already a successful forex trader.
So I began following and speaking with successful retail spot currency traders to gleam some insight into the characteristics of successful forex trading. Unlike those dentist commercial were 9 out of 10 recommends a product, 100% of all the forex traders I have spoken with said treating their forex trading as if it were a business was a key component of there success formula. In addition to merely treating their activities as a business, that their trading was done through a legal business structure. Businesses have plans, projections, profits target and capital spending; and so should your trading. All the FX traders I emulate trade through corporate entities, and now so do I!. If that is the path to success, then I am going down that road also and TRADE as if I were a business with all the planning aspects and legal framework associated with that action.
The tax code in the United States is generally established to collect tax from the employees of businesses and not the business themselves. Case in point, we as individual tax payers pay our taxes THEN expenses with after tax dollars. The business pays for expenses and THEN is taxed on the remaining amount (if any). Forex trading through a business entity makes sense from a tax standpoint; after all it is my business!
I am not a legal or tax professional, but I discovered that of the many structures to becoming a legal entity that there was one that fit the bill of turning my forex trading into a business perfectly; the Limited Liability Company, as a matter of fact I trade with my broker and educational company, FX TRAINER, as an LLC.
There are essentially 4 main business frameworks:
Sole Proprietorship
Partnerships (General and Limited)
Corporations (C- and S-Corporation)
Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
LLCs offer many advantages including:
# Flexibility in structuring
# Pass-through taxation
# May distribute profits and loses in any manner that is desired without regard to each member’s ownership in the business
# Different classes of ownership and may own 80% or more of another corporation
# Avoids most legal complexities and rules found in corporations
# Participation in management affairs does not result in loss of liability protection as it does in partnerships
# No double taxation unless members opt for corporate taxation rules
No lists of advantages are complete without a corresponding list of disadvantages including:
# LLC are relatively new so there is very little legal precedence available.
# Tax liabilities pass to members even if there is no distribution.
# Different states have different laws regarding the continuity of LLCs.
All in all, there is never any substitution for seeking professional legal and tax advice in forming a business entity. There are many factors associated with developing a sound business framework such as; location, estate planning and other assets, but one thing is for sure, forming a business plan and trading currencies as a business is another directional sign on the road to successful forex trading.
For more information please visit FX TRADE CENTRAL as well as the following links:
Anderson Law Group http://www.alglaw.com/
Success DNA www.successdna.com
Nolo http://www.nolo.com/
Inc, Guides www.inc.com/guides/start_biz/20676.html
Happy Trading!
So I began following and speaking with successful retail spot currency traders to gleam some insight into the characteristics of successful forex trading. Unlike those dentist commercial were 9 out of 10 recommends a product, 100% of all the forex traders I have spoken with said treating their forex trading as if it were a business was a key component of there success formula. In addition to merely treating their activities as a business, that their trading was done through a legal business structure. Businesses have plans, projections, profits target and capital spending; and so should your trading. All the FX traders I emulate trade through corporate entities, and now so do I!. If that is the path to success, then I am going down that road also and TRADE as if I were a business with all the planning aspects and legal framework associated with that action.
The tax code in the United States is generally established to collect tax from the employees of businesses and not the business themselves. Case in point, we as individual tax payers pay our taxes THEN expenses with after tax dollars. The business pays for expenses and THEN is taxed on the remaining amount (if any). Forex trading through a business entity makes sense from a tax standpoint; after all it is my business!
I am not a legal or tax professional, but I discovered that of the many structures to becoming a legal entity that there was one that fit the bill of turning my forex trading into a business perfectly; the Limited Liability Company, as a matter of fact I trade with my broker and educational company, FX TRAINER, as an LLC.
There are essentially 4 main business frameworks:
Sole Proprietorship
Partnerships (General and Limited)
Corporations (C- and S-Corporation)
Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
LLCs offer many advantages including:
# Flexibility in structuring
# Pass-through taxation
# May distribute profits and loses in any manner that is desired without regard to each member’s ownership in the business
# Different classes of ownership and may own 80% or more of another corporation
# Avoids most legal complexities and rules found in corporations
# Participation in management affairs does not result in loss of liability protection as it does in partnerships
# No double taxation unless members opt for corporate taxation rules
No lists of advantages are complete without a corresponding list of disadvantages including:
# LLC are relatively new so there is very little legal precedence available.
# Tax liabilities pass to members even if there is no distribution.
# Different states have different laws regarding the continuity of LLCs.
All in all, there is never any substitution for seeking professional legal and tax advice in forming a business entity. There are many factors associated with developing a sound business framework such as; location, estate planning and other assets, but one thing is for sure, forming a business plan and trading currencies as a business is another directional sign on the road to successful forex trading.
For more information please visit FX TRADE CENTRAL as well as the following links:
Anderson Law Group http://www.alglaw.com/
Success DNA www.successdna.com
Nolo http://www.nolo.com/
Inc, Guides www.inc.com/guides/start_biz/20676.html
Happy Trading!
Make Forex Education Your Top Priority
I have been doing a ton of reading this summer. This is not atypical for me. Reading is a way to continue my education and renew my focus on the task at hand. I have recently been exposed to several Forex training evaluation sites, as well attended some of those FREE Forex workshops you see on TV (some of them are still calling me!). It got me thinking
… “What advice can I provide to all those who are eager to learn the currency market with all that information out there without getting burned?”
I have come up with 3 Golden Rules to follow when evaluating currency training opportunities.
1. Know Thy Self – This is probably the most important advice I can provide. There is good training and bad training. Often the worst training has the best marketing plans. First figure out how you best learn information. Are you the type of person that can read a manual on rocket science and build a spaceship or are you a person that needs to be shown things through personal instruction and repetition? Figure out how you receive and process information and align Forex training source that fits your method of learning.
2. Don’t Believe the Hype – There is no golden system and it will take considerable effort to trade currencies successfully. Accepting these realities before embarking on your Forex Journey can save you tons of money and more importantly time spent climbing up the learning curve! If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. This should be no surprise! It is buyers beware market out there. Look for a Forex education company that can provide you with some solid aftercare resources.
3. Be Realistic – It is a journey and all good journeys take time to develop and flourish. This can be a remarkable journey, but one where you are apt to lose your account a few times before you surrender to the market and learn to take what the market is offering for profits that day. Listen to recommendations, but make decisions based on your own criteria, because in the Forex market this skill will serve you well!!
When reading internet-based sales letters or infomercial or forums, just remember that everyone has an opinion, but in the end the only one that matters is your!!
Happy Trading!!
… “What advice can I provide to all those who are eager to learn the currency market with all that information out there without getting burned?”
I have come up with 3 Golden Rules to follow when evaluating currency training opportunities.
1. Know Thy Self – This is probably the most important advice I can provide. There is good training and bad training. Often the worst training has the best marketing plans. First figure out how you best learn information. Are you the type of person that can read a manual on rocket science and build a spaceship or are you a person that needs to be shown things through personal instruction and repetition? Figure out how you receive and process information and align Forex training source that fits your method of learning.
2. Don’t Believe the Hype – There is no golden system and it will take considerable effort to trade currencies successfully. Accepting these realities before embarking on your Forex Journey can save you tons of money and more importantly time spent climbing up the learning curve! If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. This should be no surprise! It is buyers beware market out there. Look for a Forex education company that can provide you with some solid aftercare resources.
3. Be Realistic – It is a journey and all good journeys take time to develop and flourish. This can be a remarkable journey, but one where you are apt to lose your account a few times before you surrender to the market and learn to take what the market is offering for profits that day. Listen to recommendations, but make decisions based on your own criteria, because in the Forex market this skill will serve you well!!
When reading internet-based sales letters or infomercial or forums, just remember that everyone has an opinion, but in the end the only one that matters is your!!
Happy Trading!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)