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Beginners Forex Education Forex Basics

Is Forex Trading Taking Over Your Life?

Trading can be an addicting thing, both in a good way but also in quite a negative way, it can be in your head no matter what you are doing and you can wake up in the middle of the night wanting to trade, these are signs that may be trading and forex is taking up just a little too much of your life.

This is quite a common thing, especially for newer traders, so we are going to look at ways that you can tell that trading is taking over your life.

You wake up thinking of trading.

When you wake up in the morning, what do you normally think about, it is normally about needing to use the toilet or something that you have coming up in the day or over the next few days. If you suddenly start waking up and are constantly thinking about the markets, what you can trade, or what a certain currency value may be, then you’re probably getting a little addicted to trading. What is even worse is if you manage to wake up in the middle of the night, for no other reason than to think about trading, not a great sign and not something you will be thanking your brain for.

You dream of trading.

So waking up thinking about trading is bad enough, but when trading starts to invade your dreams too, you know that things may be going a bit too far. You will dream of wins, you will dream of losses and you will dream of different ways that you are able to alter your trading plan and strategy to be a little more successful. When it gets really bad, you may well begin to dream of trading pretty much every night, this is the stage where you need to find something else to think about, surely it can’t be that healthy to think about it every time you dram, but then again, at least it means you are interested and it is actually something that you enjoy. Dreams can also give you an unconscious view of how you are actually feeling about your trading at that point in time.

You start to check the financial sections of a newspaper.

If you are a newspaper reader, there is probably a section of it that just makes you roll your eyes, for most that would be the financial section if you have no interest in it, it doesn’t really mean much, it’s just a bunch of numbers and statistics or news about things that really have no effect on your life. Now that you trade though, you are finding yourself looking through that section for things of significance, things that could give you an idea of what you could be trading next. It still might not be interesting to you, but you will constantly find yourself checking it out whenever you have a newspaper in your hand.

You take note of the exchange rate in a currency exchange shop windows.

No doubt you have walked past hundreds of currency exchange shops, you know the ones on the high street allowing you to change your funds from one currency to another. They always have an electronic board pointing out that shows you the currency exchange rate that they are offering, most of the time you take no notice of it whatsoever, but now that you’re a trader, you take note of the exchange rates being offered. Of course, they aren’t the most accurate considering the shops are adding on quite a hefty spread in order for them to make any money, but you still take note of anything that may look out of the ordinary and can use that to research things once home.

You always think of trading.

The last time you watched a film, what were you thinking of? Probably the film right? Well not anymore, now you will be thinking about trading and thinking about trading no matter what you are doing. Watching a film, cooking dinner, washing the car, no matter what you are doing you will be thinking about what your next trade could be or that you hope that the markets will begin to turn soon. It will begin to creep into your thoughts no matter what you are doing, it can be a little annoying at times, especially when the thoughts just won’t go away. You will need to try and distract yourself with something, but that is far easier said than done.

You overthink your trades.

This one is actually about the trading part of trading when you start out, you probably take a while to place your trades, just because you are being so careful. Then you get a bit quicker at it and each trade only takes a minute or so. What can then start to happen is that you get to learn a lot more in-depth things about trading, and so you start to think a lot more about your trades, you may have the perfect setup but then you think of something and so want to check it out. This can add a lot of additional times

You talk to your friends about trading.

Let’s be honest, the majority of your friends have no interest in trading and the majority of them probably don’t know anything about it either. So now that you have learned a bit and have some experience, it is natural to want to talk to people about it, unfortunately, your friends are not the people to be talking to. They have no interest, so anything you say will go right over their head and it could also create a few awkward periods of silence here and there. You should stick to talking to them about things you all have in common, keep the trading talk to those that actually trade, although we don’t blame you if you keep on trying.

You use your trading rules in other things you do.

When you started trading, you would have created a trading plan and a trading strategy, this would have included a number of different rules. When you have been trading for a while, those rules would have been cemented into your mind, so much so that you start to implement those same rules into different aspects of your life. It can make your decisions a little slower to make and could also have absolutely nothing to do with the decision or choice that is being made. You just seem to naturally think of the same rules that have been burned into the back of your mind.

So those are a few of the things that can show you that trading may well be taking over your life. It is natural to have these thoughts and occurrences when you are really into something, learning new things and generally just enjoy doing something. So if trading is getting a grip on your life, don’t fret, just try and limit the amount of it that you are thinking of.

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Beginners Forex Education Forex Basics

Start Trading Forex with These 4 Easy Steps

Step #1: Educate Yourself

The first thing you need to do on your journey as an aspiring forex trader is to get educated. The internet is filled with free resources for traders, or you could choose to pay for a training course if you’d prefer. Keep in mind that many failed traders only gave up because they didn’t invest enough time into their education before they got started. Here are a few quick tips that can also help with this step:

  • Start with forex terminology (leverage, spreads, bid/ask price, etc.)
  • Try searching “forex basics
  • Learn about the mechanics of trading
  • Research different strategies
  • Take in information from a variety of sources
  • Learn about the factors that affect prices in the market
Step #2: Develop Your Trading Plan

A trading plan takes several factors into consideration:

  • The time you have to trade
  • Your goals
  • How much you’re willing to risk
  • How you will find and execute trades
  • The size of positions you will take
  • Other rules for when and how you will trade
Step #3: Open a Trading Account

First, you’ll need to choose a good forex broker to trade with. Know that there are many trustworthy brokers out there but remember that scammers are out there as well. This is why it’s important to do research about a broker and to read through their terms & decisions before making a decision. You’ll also want to compare brokers to make sure you find the most attractive conditions available for the deposit you’re willing to make.

Step #4: Start Trading!

Once you’ve made it to this last step, you’re ready to begin trading. Be sure to analyze the markets before entering trades, while keeping your trading plan in mind. Some might prefer technical analysis over fundamental analysis and vice versa. Everyone trades differently, but your trading plan should help guide you when it comes to making trading decisions. If you have any trouble getting started, try looking online for tutorials. Video tutorials can be especially helpful.

Categories
Beginners Forex Education Forex Basics

How to Start Trading Forex with Only $100

If you’re going to become a forex trader, one thing’s for sure: you’re going to have to make an investment. You can’t trade without any funds in your trading account, obviously, and many brokerages don’t even offer accounts for less than $500. While many beginners dream of opening a trading account, the thought of investing such a large amount of money into something that may not be profitable is scary. After all, you can do a lot more with that money. Others simply don’t have that much in disposable funds, so trading seems impossible. The good news is that it is possible to open a trading account and to be successful with a small starting deposit of about $100. Some brokers will even let you get started with around $5 or even $1, but it is best to make a slightly larger investment if you can.

Before you make the decision to start, you’ll want to have realistic expectations. It is highly unlikely that your $100 investment will turn into thousands of dollars quickly. You aren’t going to make the same profits as someone that has invested $20,000 into their account. Beginners need to ease into the market. If you lose your entire investment, it doesn’t mean you should quit. Instead, you need to look more into education and base your trades on more evidence.

Indicators, economic calendars, charts, graphs, and so on can give you more information from a technical and fundamental standpoint. The good thing is that if you lose your $100 investment, it won’t break you, and you can start again. Losing a larger amount of money could scare someone away from trading for good. If you find that you’re well-prepared and you start making money, you could always invest more later.

Here are a few quick tips for opening a trading account and getting started with around $100:

-Try to find a broker that offers some type of bonus. Some even offer $30 welcome bonuses or simple deposit bonuses that would add to what you’re investing. Just make sure that your deposit is large enough to qualify.

-Make sure you sign up with a broker that offers good conditions. You should have access to average spreads and fees with a $100 deposit. Don’t open an account with insane fees just because it is the only option with a certain broker. Look for better options and compare what you can get for what you have.

-Don’t use too high of a leverage! This is important because overleveraging your trades can cause you to lose a lot. Many beginners use too high of a leverage to increase their investment power, but this usually backfires. Start smaller and work your way up over time.

-Never risk much on any one trade. Many professionals recommend risking 1% or less of your total account balance on a single trade. This might lead to slower profits, but it is safer. If you go risking 10% on one trade, 20% on another, and so on, you could quickly blow your account.

Once you get started, you should focus more on trading and less on how much you’re making. Opening a trading account with a small amount of money isn’t going to make you rich overnight. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication before you get there. You can plant the flower by opening a trading account, but you need to water it by doing research, getting an education, taking risk-management precautions, and keeping a trading journal to log your progress. You’ll also need to treat your small account the same way you would a large one. You might not feel as worried about losing $1 compared to how you’d feel if $100 was on the line, but it still matters. Understand that it is normal to lose some money, but every dollar lost adds up.

In conclusion, you should be aware that opening a trading account with as little as $100 (or less) is possible and it can be profitable. If you have realistic expectations, you can be successful with an account that has a low initial investment. Remember some of our tips about finding a good broker that offers bonuses and using risk-management precautions so that you can make the most out of your account. Don’t get discouraged if you’re only making a small amount at first. Every trader must start somewhere, and seeing profits is much better than seeing losses! If you manage to increase your account balance by even a few dollars, then you’re doing better than many others that have tried. As you work your way up, you’ll likely gain access to better accounts and have more money to invest, which will help to grow your account more quickly in the future.