Hi there! If you follow me on Facebook and found this article from there, thank you for your support :) If you found this article through Google search or YouTube, welcome! Now onto the topic at hand: "Is Forex Trading Worth It?"
The short answer: Yes. As long as you are committed to the journey required to turn your vision into reality.
The long, descriptive answer: Keep reading.
My Six Months of Experience
To give you some context, I discovered Forex Trading back in December 2016. The following information comes from the 6 months of experience I've had up to this point in time.
- December 2016:
- discovered Forex
- started playing around with demo trading, had my mind blown at the fact that one can make money on their phone
- joined a MLM company called International Markets Live (IML), whose products teach and provide trading signals to its users
- January 2017:
- did some basic studying on www.babypips.com as well as other online resources
- February 2017:
- started my first live account with a $500 investment
- account dropped down to $250 after a couple weeks
- March 2017:
- re-invested $250 to bring account back to $500
- blew my entire account, total loss of $750
- April 2017:
- went back to demo account and learning
- quit International Markets Live in April 2017 out of frustration with their company model
- May 2017:
- re-invested $100 back into account
- created a massive action plan to study, learn, and develop a proper trading strategy and test it before I go live again.
So, math wise, I've invested more than $800 into a live account, and have lost it all. Additionally, the money I paid towards the IML account brings the total amount I'd invested into learning and trading Forex to over $1000.
So, given a total loss of $1000, is Forex trading worth it?
In my opinion, YES. It's worth it. Let me explain.
Be Prepared To Invest Money To Learn
The timeline above is an extremely common experience that most people experience when they decide to try out Forex trading.
I've talked to more than a handful of traders, as well as read the stories of many traders who are now considered professional traders, whose stories all began with something along the lines of, "I blew my account within a month" or "I blew multiple accounts before I became the trader I am today."
Think of the $1000 "loss" as the cost of learning. The good thing is that nobody HAS to lose money before they become profitable. That's why professional traders and coaches advise newcomers to thoroughly test their trading strategies on a demo account before they consider putting real money on the line
The reality of trading Forex for us newcomers is that we need to pay our dues to become successful. It's no different than any other skill in the world.
What You Put In Is What You Get Out
I'm a metaphor guy. So consider these metaphors:
- Kobe Bryant invested over 10,000 hours of playing and practicing basketball in order to be a 5 time NBA Champion.
- Lebron James took 10 years in the league before he got his first NBA Finals Championship ring in 2012, and he lost twice before he got it (once in 2007 and again in 2011).
- Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before he created the light bulb
Point being, it is highly unlikely that a newcomer is going to rake in consistent profits on their first live account. It's just not what history, or reality, predicts for new traders.
That said, the possibility of bringing in hundreds to thousands of dollars per month is something ANY person could learn and develop the skill to do. Like any other skill or craft that generates desired results, it takes time, focus, consistency, and commitment to develop. Trading Forex is no different.
Whether it's making $500 a week, or $500 a day, it's going to take time and energy to make that happen. And you are likely to lose $X dollars before you get to that point. Not to mention you'll likely experience a roller coaster ride of emotional ups and downs along the way.
So! If you're brand new to Forex trading, ask yourself - "Am I willing to put in the work to create the results I desire in Forex trading?"
You'll Suck, You'll Improve, Then You'll Win
Think about something in your life that took you time to achieve.
It could be your ability in a certain sport, or your ability to make sales, or your ability to cook a certain meal. At first, you probably sucked. You couldn't make a basket in the hoop, you couldn't handle rejection, and you often burnt the chicken to a crisp.
Now think of where you are now. You can run a fastbreak with ease and finish with your off hand. You can lead a customer through the sales process with ease. You can cook a roasted garlic chicken without even thinking about it.
A similar journey is what you can expect with trading Forex.
- you're going to suck at first
- you're going to fail a lot
- your results aren't going to match the vision
- you're going to improve
- you're going to improve
- you're going to improve
- you'll reach a point where you vision matches reality
How long it takes you to get to your Forex vision, and the amount of money you lose in the process, is entirely up to you. After all, you are in control of when you open and close a trade. And nobody said you had to risk real money in order to become successful (although I'll admit that the emotional side of trading cannot be replicated on a demo account - so you're likely going to lose SOME money - it's just part of it).
So, like I said in the beginning:
Is Forex trading worth it? Yes. As long as you are committed to the journey required to turn your vision into reality.
Check out the following books to gain an edge in your trading:
- Naked Forex: High-Probability Techniques for Trading Without Indicators
- Trading In the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude
These books are highly recommended by successful traders. Naked Forex teaches you how to understand the market in its raw form. It's all about being able to read the market trends and patterns. This is what gives traders an edge. Without it, trading would be completely random.
Trading in the Zone is all about the internal game when it comes to trading. It's one thing to be able to read the market, it's another thing to execute profitable trading moves. It is imperative to have BOTH skills to be a profitable trader.
I highly recommend reading "Trading in the Zone" FIRST, as it gives true insight into what trading is like from an emotional and psychological stand point. Then read Naked Forex to get the strategies and objective understanding of the market down.
Good luck! And happy trading :)
Next Chapter Incoming!!!