My Forex trading career has been quite a journey. I have come so far but it has not been easy. I made plenty of mistakes on my road to profitability but there were vital lessons that could only be learnt through making these mistakes.
If I could go back 7-8 years and tell the my younger trader-self a few things, what would I say?
In this post, I will list 5 things I wish I knew when I first started my Forex trading career...
#1 - Trade a Demo Account for Longer
There are certain Forex trading lessons that can only be learnt by trading with live funds. These lessons are mostly to do with the emotional and psychological challenges of Forex trading. I don't wish to give-off the impression that live trading is not beneficial because it is. Instead, I wish to give-off the impression that sticking with a demo account for longer is a wise choice.
There are so many people that have lost small fortunes by trading with live funds too early. I believe that a trader should have a trading plan and be able to make a consistent return on a demo account before going live. If a trader cannot make money on a demo account, how will he or she ever make money on a live account?
- Darwinex offer an unlimited demo account
- If you are interest in learning more about the psychological challenges of Forex trading, please read this post
#2 - Use a STP or ECN Broker
The beginning of my Forex trading career was spent with spread betting and CFD brokers. There is nothing inherently wrong with these brokers but there is a much better trading experience to be had. STP and ECN brokers offer much tighter spreads and a much more professional service. I would tell my younger trader-self to make the transition from market maker to STP/ECN as soon as possible.
- Darwinex are also a STP broker
#3 - It takes Time to become Profitable
There were a number of times during my trading journey that I was either incredibly frustrated or depressed. Things just didn't seem to work out for me and the market nearly always traded against me! I am sure many of you can relate.
If I could speak to my younger-self, I would say "don't worry, you are going to make it! Enjoy the journey and make the most of the opportunities to learn".
#4 - Learn from someone that is already Successful
I am a full-time professional Forex trader. I own my own trading fund (www.smcapitalfund.com) and make the majority of my living via trading and trading related activities. It may surprise you to know that I never bought an on-line course or had a trading mentor! This however was a mistake. I could have saved myself a lot of time, money and mistakes if I had learnt from someone who was already successful. The amount of money I lost through my trading mistakes - including going live too early - would have paid for a great mentor and/or a number of good quality trading courses.
- I offer an exclusive Forex price action course. Learn more here.
- I also offer a Forex mentor program. You can learn from me one-on-one. Learn more here.
#5 - Fit your Trading around your Ideal Lifestyle
Too many traders are system/strategy hoppers and/or time-frame hoppers. They trade the 5 minute chart and can't make money, so they change to the 15 minute chart. Once again, they struggle to make profit so they swap to the daily time-frame. Things are too quiet on the daily and they are still making losses so they then try the 4 hour chart. It goes on and on... I was also one of these traders.
It's best to choose a time-frame that suits the trading lifestyle you want. Do you want to only trade for a few hours and spend the rest of the day at the gym or playing golf? Do you want to trade while working on other projects? Knowing how much time you wish to dedicate to trading will help you identify your time-frame. You can then stick to this tome-frame and develop a strategy to fit the time-frame and ultimately your lifestyle.
I have no regrets
It is important that you know that I have no regrets though. I am extremely satisfied with the progress that I have made and am very proud of my Forex trading journey. The purpose of this post is for you to learn from my mistakes and potentially save yourselves money and time.
What Forex advice would you tell your younger trader-self? Let me know on this Forex trading Forum post.
As always, I wish you all the best in your Forex trading.
Please watch my video below...