Tag: Part-Time Trading

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Forex Forex Education

Transitioning From Your Day Job To Full-Time Forex Trading

It is a huge decision, moving away from your secure day job in order to become a trader full time. It’s something that a lot of people aim for or join forex in order to try and achieve, so if you are at that stage in your trading career, you must be doing something right […]

It is a huge decision, moving away from your secure day job in order to become a trader full time. It’s something that a lot of people aim for or join forex in order to try and achieve, so if you are at that stage in your trading career, you must be doing something right […]

It is a huge decision, moving away from your secure day job in order to become a trader full time. It’s something that a lot of people aim for or join forex in order to try and achieve, so if you are at that stage in your trading career, you must be doing something right and well done so far. It is, however, a huge commitment, it should not be taken lightly and the consequences of it should not be underestimated, there is an awful lot that you need to consider.

As a quick overview, there are many things that will change, most notably will be your lifestyle and your finances, the way you work will need to be adapted to the new situation which could potentially throw your entire lifestyle out of synch. If however, you are coming from a position within the financial world, then you will start off with a little bit of an advantage, but it won’t have taught you everything that you need to know. Even coming from a part-time trading situation, that most likely won’t have prepared you fully for what you are about to undertake. Everyone’s approach to being a full-time trader will be different and everyone will have different abilities and requirements. The first thing that we have to consider is whether or not you are actually ready to become a full-time trader.

In order to work out whether you are actually ready to take the leap into full-time trading, there are a few things that you should consider. Think about a few simple questions, what makes you think that you are ready? Do you have enough capital to go full-time? Are you currently making more than your salary? And are your performances good enough? You

 need to look back over an extended period of time in order to answer these questions, if you made one huge trade that made you more than your salary, it does not mean that you are ready, you need to be consistently making more, not just that once. 

It is important that you get some form of experience before even thinking of going full-time. How long have you been trading part-time? We would not suggest getting involved full-time unless you have been trading part-time for at least six months, and the majority of those six months should be profitable and at a level that is similar to your current salary. You will need to have an understanding of different market conditions and how to trade within them. The markets are always changing, if you only know how to trade within a certain condition, then as soon as it changes, your income will dry up and you will begin to struggle. Be honest with yourself, think about what level you are at, there is no harm in staying part-time for a few more months while you hone your skills, just don’t jump into the decision before you are actually ready.

One of the things that we are all told is that we need to use a demo account before going live, this is certainly the case, but it is simply not enough if you are planning to start trading full time. It is great if you are consistently profitable on a demo account, but the only way that you can be sure that you are ready to go full time is to also be profitable when trading on a live account. The environments differ quite a bit between a demo account and a live account, so being able to trade on one does not mean that you will be able to trade on the other. Ensure that you have experience, and consistently profitable experience with trading on a live account, not just demo.

Next, think about whether you have the appropriate space to trade, if you are planning on doing it full time and to make a living out of it, then you can’t be trading from a laptop while sitting on your living room couch. Get yourself a dedicated space that you can use for trading. A room within our house which is there for nothing but trading, if you do not have the opportunity to do this, then hire out a one-man office somewhere and set that up as your trading room. The space needs to be free from distractions, it needs to only have in it the things that you require to help you trade, and nothing else. When you are in that room, you are there to trade, not to mess about, or watch TV. When you have finished trading for the day, leave that space and do not return to it, keep it completely separate from your family or social life. Also, make sure you have a decent internet connection wherever it is that you are trading, the last thing you want is to lose connection mid-trade.

Routine is vital if you want to be consistently successful, one of the issues with working from home is that it can be very tempting to simply trade and work when you want to work, you are now your own boss, but even bosses need to stick to a routine. Without one, there is a good chance that you could end up becoming a little lazy or spending that extra hour in bed each day. Take a look at your strategy, some strategies have certain periods of time where it is best to trade if yours does, then set your routine and schedule around that, for many strategies, this is around the overlaps of the markets. However you also need to consider where it is you live and the time zone that you are in, do not set a routine to get up in the middle of the night in order to trade, you will begin to despise it and let it slip. Be organized, and be consistent.

You also need to set yourself achievable goals, if you are setting yourself goals to make 20% per week, you are simply setting yourself up to fail, the risks that you will be putting yourself and your account under in order to achieve that are not realistic at all. However, if you were to set 20% for the year, that is something that is a lot more achievable. You will be a lot less stressed, but you will need a larger capital to live off. Try not to set your goals too short term, the markets are not always friendly, but over a longer period of time, you should be able to achieve through consistency.

One aspect of your life that will see a lot of changes is your expenses. You are entering a period of your life where you don’t have the job security that you had before. You need to now learn how to manage your money properly and how to cut back and potentially budget. Before you decide to go full time and quit your day job, take note of exactly what you are spending money on, there are bound to be a number of them that you do not actually need, subscriptions that you have set up that you are no longer using, try to remove as many as you can. This will also give you an idea of how much you will be required to earn each month in order to survive. Separate your living expenses from your trading account, you will need a nice capital sum for trading, do not mix up your living balance with your trading balance. When withdrawing, ensure that you are withdrawing what you need to survive, but also ensure that you have enough in your trading account to continue to trade.

Depending on how you have set up your trading space, there may be some additional costs, especially if you have set up an office somewhere away from home, this needs to be covered by the profits from your trading, if you can get it on a 6 months deal, try to pay it all off when you can, this way you can concentrate on the trading without having to withdraw each month or to worry about covering the costs. The same goes for the internet, phone, and anything else that you require within the office. Just remember to try and budget and to cut back on the expenses that you do not actually require.

One thing that people like about working for yourself and working from home is the fact that you are going to have a lot more free time, this does not however mean that you should be spending hat free time going out and having fun, of course, you can do that a bit but you need to be using a lot of your new-found free time to learn. There Is always more to learn, no trader knows everything about what it is that they are doing or what there is to know. Of course, take some extra time away, if you are consistently profitable, then you deserve a little time away, but just don’t take the added free time for granted.

Think about where you are psychologically. How do you feel when you have a loss at the moment? If it bothers you, you need to consider that when you have a loss on an account that you are depending on the money from, it will hit you 100 times harder. The money you are losing will be what you need to live off, this also increases the amount of stress that you are trading under, if you do not deal well with stress then you may struggle here. Also, greed, do you often get the urge to want more or to place larger trades? If you do, then this is not a good place for you, as this is something that you just cannot do when trading full time and trading for a living. Ensure that you are able to deal with these emotions and that you are able to remain calm and focused even when going through hard times. This also goes for accepting losses, when you have one, which you will, accept it and move on, do not let it swap you and do not dwell on it, accept and move on.

You will then begin to find some new friends, your current circle of friends are great, but they probably don’t know much about trading and when you try to talk to them about it, it is most likely a one-way conversation. You will need to find some new friends and a circle of support that understands trading and are traders themselves. This will give you an avenue to communicate, to ask for help, and to see how you are doing with honest feedback from people who know what they are talking about. Join some communities and get involved, the information and knowledge within them can be invaluable to your progress and career.

The last thing that we will talk about is the importance of having a contingency plan, something that you can fall back on should things go wrong. If you were to suddenly lose your capital, what would you do? If you didn’t quite make enough each month, how would you survive? This is something that only you will be able to answer, so you need to be able to consider your own circumstances and come up with a couple of plans on what you would do should things not go right.

Those are some of the things that you will need to consider should you decide to go into the world of full-time trading, it is not an easy thing to do, a lot of people take the plunge and then find that it is not quite right for them. Have plans in place and ensure that you are ready and you will be in a good position to be successful as a full-time trader.

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Forex Basics

How to Become A Successful Part-Time Trader

A lot of people get into trading with the hopes that they will someday trade for a living, there are a lot of fantastic opportunities to make money or to simply supplement your current income. It doesn’t really matter how much you want to be involved in trading forex, there are ways to earn. Many want to be full time, but many also want to do it part-time, to simply do it on the side in their spare time, doing it part-time means you do not need to invest quite as much time, energy, and work into what you would do when doing it full time but hen evolving that part-time trading into a full-time job.

A lot of people get into trading with the hopes that they will someday trade for a living, there are a lot of fantastic opportunities to make money or to simply supplement your current income. It doesn’t really matter how much you want to be involved in trading forex, there are ways to earn. Many want to be full time, but many also want to do it part-time, to simply do it on the side in their spare time, doing it part-time means you do not need to invest quite as much time, energy, and work into what you would do when doing it full time but hen evolving that part-time trading into a full-time job.

A lot of people get into trading with the hopes that they will someday trade for a living, there are a lot of fantastic opportunities to make money or to simply supplement your current income. It doesn’t really matter how much you want to be involved in trading forex, there are ways to earn. Many want to be full time, but many also want to do it part-time, to simply do it on the side in their spare time, doing it part-time means you do not need to invest quite as much time, energy, and work into what you would do when doing it full time but hen evolving that part-time trading into a full-time job.

Having said that, the majority of people who are trading in the markets today, it is more of a part time job or even a hobby rather than something that they are looking to do full time. One of the best things about forex trading is that you are able to trade when you want and you are also able to scale that trading accordingly, so you do not need to be full time in order to make a little extra on the side, it also allows you to work around your current job should you wish to. Trading forex part-time and trading when you want to allows you to put in enough time in order to make a consistent income to supplement your full-time job.

Trading forex for a living may not be the right route for you, it can be quite the gamble to quit your day job in order to go for this full time with a lot of pitfalls around to tip you up, trading full time is also not a short term plan, it is something a long way down the line as you cannot simply join and become instantly successful. Trading can be an incredibly exciting thing, with adrenaline running with every trade, people often decide to leave their jobs on the back of a good month, but do you really want to give up that guaranteed income from a job for something that is a little more temperamental?

So if you had the opportunity, would you go for a full-time trading position or a part-time one? If you were to ask a bunch of part time traders why they chose to do it part time rather than full time, you will get a whole range of different options.

There is a concept which is known as less is more, this concept is very relatable when it comes to forex trading. When we are trading full time, we want to get every single trading opportunity that presents itself, we are caught up in the emotions of trading and that is where things can start to go wrong when emotions get caught up in our trading. They cause us to make rushed decisions, or to put on trades that we otherwise never would have. Trading part-time gives us the option to step away, we know we won’t be getting every chance, we know we won’t be there 100% of the time and so we can pick and choose the trades that we take with much less if any pressure on us to perform, leading to better overall trading decisions.

One of the other things that part-time traders seem to really like is the fact that you are able to plan and trade around your other daily activities such as work, social interactions, and family life. It’s convenient for those that have a busy life especially at home where you simply won’t have the time to be a full-time trader. In the end, being able to become a successful part-time trader means that you don’t actually need to give anything up (apart from a bit of spare time) while becoming a full-time trader takes a lot of sacrifices, sacrifices that a lot of people do not want to make.

If you do decide to trade as a part-time trader, it is still a  good idea to try and work out a kind of routine, many people try and fit it in either before or after work, an hour or two on either side of work is perfect as you are still in the working mood and will have the energy to put in the time and effort required. Having a routine makes things easier for you in the long run as you begin to get used to the system. Find the right time for you though, it may be different for every trader

Along with this, you also need to have your trading plan setu, this plan will detail many different things about your trading. These include the strategy that you are going to be using, your risk management, your trading rules, and anything else that you can think of, it will dictate how it is that you trade. Talking of strategies, make sure that you have one appropriate to your available time, there is no point using a strategy that requires you to be in front of the computer all day if you are only trading part time.

So let’s imagine that you are now going to be trading as a part time trader, let’s take a look at some example routines that you could be setting yourself.

  • Do your major market analysis on the weekends, this way you are able to save time during the weekdays when you will actually be trading. The last thing that you want to happen when trading is to use up all of your time analysing the markets, only to find out that you no longer have any time to actually put on h trade.
  • Ensure that you wake up at the same time each day, try and fit this into the good times for the markets, unfortunately, this is not always possible for everyone, if you are in the UK and on London time, waking up at 8 am will mean that it is 3 am in New York, not the eBay time for trading, but if you are consistent that you will work out the patterns and trends that occur at that time and so you can find some good trades still.
  • Use your free time well, on the toilet? Check out some trading forums or news sites in order to get a little update, it may help you to further analyse or confirm the analysis that you did over the weekends. You don’t need to listen to everyone as it can be a little overwhelming but it is always good to get an idea of what other traders are thinking.

One of the other things that you need to understand is that trading as a part-timer is that it will take time for you to develop our systems and your routines, longer than it would if you were full time, simply due to the fact that you are not doing as much of it and not as often. As a part-timer, you will have a lot of time when you do not have any trades on and that is actually a good thing, this will help you to avoid over-trading, something that can be quite dangerous for a full-time trader.

You also need to set some goals, though you need to ensure that you set them realistically and relevant to what you are doing. As a part-time trader, you are not going to be making $100,000 overnight or each month, you will most likely be making less than your day job. As a part-time trader you should be looking to make a little extra, just ensure that you set them appropriately and that they are actually achievable.

So we will end this article with a few extra tips for you as a trader, you most likely will have heard them before, but it is important to put them down to ensure that you are aware of some of the things that you will need to do.

  • Get yourself a trading style that will match your available schedule, there is no point trading a sculpting method that requires you to be in front of the screen at all times, instead get one that allows you to put on trades and then necessarily b around for the result
  • Keep a trading journal, this is thrown about everywhere, but it is vital that you do it. It is very hard to improve as a trader if you do not have a trading journal to see how your trades are actually doing.
  • Try not to get too focused on the trading, you are doing this part time, most likely because you have other priorities in your life too, do not let the trading take over your life.
  • Pick the right time to trade both for you and the markets, there is no point in choosing a time in the middle of the night where you won’t always have the motivation to get up and trade or if there are literally no movements in the markets at the time you chose.
  • Select a currency based on what you want to really get to know, learn that pair and trade that pair, try not to branch out too much until you really understand the technicals and fundamentals of this first currency pair.
  • Don’t try to over trade in order to compensate for less time, this is the last thing that you want to do, instead take your time and make sure that each trade counts, it is better to be right on one trade than guessing many others.

So that is what it means to be a part-time trader and also a few things that you can do to make the experience a little better for yourself. Take the tips on board, look after yourself, and your other priorities, and then part-time trading could give you a real boost in life.

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Forex Basics

Useful Tips for Part-Time Forex Traders

One of the biggest benefits of becoming a forex trader is flexible hours, which make it possible to trade part-time while working a full-time job, attending school, or dealing with other responsibilities. This can really help bring in some extra income if needed, however, there are unique obstacles that come with being a part-time trader. […]

One of the biggest benefits of becoming a forex trader is flexible hours, which make it possible to trade part-time while working a full-time job, attending school, or dealing with other responsibilities. This can really help bring in some extra income if needed, however, there are unique obstacles that come with being a part-time trader. […]

One of the biggest benefits of becoming a forex trader is flexible hours, which make it possible to trade part-time while working a full-time job, attending school, or dealing with other responsibilities. This can really help bring in some extra income if needed, however, there are unique obstacles that come with being a part-time trader. You also might find that trading strategies and advice online would be time-consuming with your schedule. Fortunately, you can follow our useful tips to make the most of part-time trading. 

Tip #1: Find a Strategy that Fits With your Schedule

If you spend some time considering different strategies, you’ll notice that some just don’t fit in with part-time trading because they require too much time in front of a laptop. Scalping would be one example where you would need to be at your laptop multiple times a day, which could certainly conflict with your work or class schedule. Fortunately, there’s no need to break your neck trying to make time-consuming strategies work because there are many different options that can work better for a part-time trader, like swing trading. This might not be good news if you wanted to be a scalper, but you’ll still be able to find something else that works.

Tip #2: Use your Trading Journal!

You’ll find advice that suggests keeping a trading journal quite a lot if you spend time online looking for trading tips. This is because logging your experiences in a trading journal is a great way to track your progress and it can easily be used to back-track if you need to. If something goes wrong, you can look at your journal to see if you’ve been doing anything differently or to find out if your strategy simply isn’t working. Trust us – don’t go the lazy route with this one and journal each trade, even though your time is limited. 

Tip #3: Get your Priorities Straight

Chances are that you have other things going on in your life if you’ve decided to trade part-time. Rather it’s a job, school, caring for children, or something else, you’ll have to figure out how to balance your time so that you can get to everything important. You don’t want to miss work because you’re trading, for example, because then you’ll lose out on money that you probably need to survive. If you find yourself struggling to complete all of your daily tasks, try considering where you can make cuts that will have the least impact. If you have to, you could adopt a less time-consuming strategy like swing trading or consider using a forex robot to trade for you when you just don’t have the time. 

Tip #4: Use Your Time Wisely 

The best part-time traders maximize the time that they have set aside for trading. If the market is slow for the day, don’t sit around daydreaming or dedicate your trading time to something else. Instead, you could review your charts, spend time researching, journaling, or doing any task that is related to trading. Since your time is limited, you should really put in an effort to stay updated on what’s happening with the market, news releases, important events, and other factors that could affect the market. 

 

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Beginners Forex Education Forex Basics

How to Successfully Trade Forex Part-Time

Forex trading can be a lucrative investment with knowledge and dedication, however, it’s no secret that you actually have to invest time into learning and trading if you want to make money doing it. For many of us working 9-5 jobs, taking care of children, or dealing with other responsibilities, it might seem like we’d […]

Forex trading can be a lucrative investment with knowledge and dedication, however, it’s no secret that you actually have to invest time into learning and trading if you want to make money doing it. For many of us working 9-5 jobs, taking care of children, or dealing with other responsibilities, it might seem like we’d […]

Forex trading can be a lucrative investment with knowledge and dedication, however, it’s no secret that you actually have to invest time into learning and trading if you want to make money doing it. For many of us working 9-5 jobs, taking care of children, or dealing with other responsibilities, it might seem like we’d never really find the time. This keeps a lot of people from even trying to trade because they have already decided that they wouldn’t be able to keep up. Fortunately, there is a possible solution for those that don’t have the time, or who may not want to spend hours trading every day. The solution would be trading part-time, rather than full-time. 

The great thing about forex trading is that you can set your own schedule, so there’s no reason why you couldn’t check your account in the morning, during a lunch break, or even in the evening after work. Even if you don’t work or attend school on an average 9-5 schedule, it’s possible to work trading around your daily agenda. This is the best solution for those that want to make a smart investment without quitting their regular jobs. After all, it takes a lot of experience and a significant investment to make enough money trading that you could quit your job. Part-time trading is like a middle-ground, where you can continue to bring in your guaranteed income while adding to it.

To take up forex trading, you’ll need to model your trading plan around the amount of time you have to trade and choose a strategy that doesn’t require constant attention. Swing trading is a good example of a low-maintenance strategy because traders typically place a medium or large trade and leave it open for days or even weeks to accumulate. One plus to using this type of strategy is that it fits in with the “less is more” mindset that many experts bring up about trading. It’s been said that trading less often is less dangerous and can actually make you more money in the long run. 

Those that are interested in part-time trading do need to understand ahead of time that it may take longer to actually get started if you have less time to invest in your education. Opening a trading account without being well-educated about trading is actually one of the top mistakes that beginners make. If you can, try to devote time on the weekends or spend more time in the evenings learning until you’re ready to open your trading account and make that first investment. Devising your trading plan and strategy will also take some time, but you shouldn’t let this dissuade you from trading. Once you’ve completed these tasks, you won’t have to devote as much time to trading and you’ll be able to sit back more and collect the profits from your efforts. 

In conclusion, those that are interested in part-time trading should take up the opportunity. It does require some time invested in learning beforehand, however, part-time traders can really take advantage of the flexible schedule that forex trading offers. This is one of the best ways to invest your money and to receive quick returns on that investment. We’ve often said that beginners shouldn’t rush to quit their day jobs to take up trading full-time, but part-time trading is a great middle-ground that allows you to keep your life the same while making money. Who could argue with that!

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Forex Basics

Is Part-Time Trading Really Worth It?

Something that a lot of people tell you when you start out or let them know that you are thinking of reading is the amount of time that it is going to take, and it is true that to become a successful trader does takes a long time, but what we want to look at is whether or not you can become a successful trader if you are doing it on a part-time basis.

Something that a lot of people tell you when you start out or let them know that you are thinking of reading is the amount of time that it is going to take, and it is true that to become a successful trader does takes a long time, but what we want to look at is whether or not you can become a successful trader if you are doing it on a part-time basis.

Something that a lot of people tell you when you start out or let them know that you are thinking of reading is the amount of time that it is going to take, and it is true that to become a successful trader does takes a long time, but what we want to look at is whether or not you can become a successful trader if you are doing it on a part-time basis.

Most people look to get into trading as a part-time thing, something to do after work to make a little extra money on the site. Doing a little bit before work, after work, or just before bed, or maybe you just have not done enough to have the knowledge or the confidence needed to get rid of your job to trade full time, and that is perfectly understandable as it is a huge step.

The problem is that it can be incredibly hard to fit all of this around your job, not many people will want to get up early before heading out to work, or to get home from work and then immediately start working on your trading, you need a break and you will be tired. Most people also have a certain routine before bed that they probably do not want to interrupt with a bit of trading. Your family, your job, and education are all things that take up a lot of your time and would also take time away from any potential trading activities.

A lot of people who work spend a lot of their time sitting down, of course, this depends on the job that you do, but if you do, then it probably isn’t the first thing on your mind to want to come back home and then sit down in another chair for an extended period of time. Instead, you probably want to do something that is as far away from a computer and a desk as [possible, this is where the additional motivation and discipline needs to come in. Are you able to sit down again and are you able to motivate yourself to do it, this is something that a lot of part-time traders can struggle with.

The next thing that you need to consider is your time, we briefly touched on it above, but do you feel that you have enough time to put into trading. You do not need to spend the hours and hours every day in order to learn, something that you often hear from people telling you how hard and time-consuming trading is. In fact, there have been plenty of people who have been trading and started trading by just studying an hour a day or even an hour every two days. You won’t learn as much as quickly, that much is obvious, but there is nothing saying that you aren’t able to learn just as much as anyone else, it will just be over a longer period of time.

One real positive to trading part-time is that there is no expectation or necessity to make money, if you were to be trading full time, there would be a lot of pressure and stresses that come with the trading. When trading part-time, you are doing it as a hobby or to earn a little bit extra, you are not relying on the money to pay your bills or to pay your mortgage, so the real pressure of being successful is not here. This allows you to concentrate on learning and improving and will not have your mind focused on the profits and nothing but the profits. It will also help you get over loose, as that is not taking food out of your mouth, any loss as a part-time trade is more likely a learning experience rather than something that could potentially hurt you.

One thing you need to consider with trading is that when you are doing it part-time, you are needing to make some sacrifices, we mean this in regards to spending time with your friends. If after work you are used to hanging out with friends or going to the pub, you won’t be able to do that at the same time as trading, you will need to make some sacrifices in regards to how you spend your time and this could potentially increase the risk of you being in a form of isolation. While not total isolation this can have a negative effect on your well being and mental health, so having that balance between trading, social life and work life is vital.

Try and think back to the last time that you wanted to try something new, how did it go? Did you manage to fit it around your life, or was it too much for you to fit in, many people take up hobbies and then subsequently find out that you do not have enough time for it, or it is too much work to handle, this is fine, trying is the first step, but understanding what it is possible a vital part of starting and understanding the limitations of what you are doing.

If you are thinking of trading part-time, you really need to consider whether you are able to make the sacrifices that are needed, whether you are able to fit in around the other things that you are doing in your life. It will take time to work, it will take a lot of dedication and discipline, but you can certainly be successful when trading and learning part-time. So if you are up for it, go for it, take that first step, the worst thing that can happen is that you work out what it is not for you, but you may find that it is perfect, you won’t know until you try.