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Do full-time forex traders exist or is it just make believe?
- Thread starter zbojnik
- Start date
Quote from SimpleTrades:
Marketsurfer, I believe very strongly in the principle of diversification in both income sources and investment/trading methods. We can all do very well if we are honest and don't try to put all of our eggs in one basket.
Amen, brother. One of my businesses and my trading took off when I was 27. I quit my real job, moved into a 9000sq ft house on a couple of acres in Villanova-- and bought several mercedes and other cool toys to fit in with my old money neighbors. Having come from average lower middle class roots in Pittsburgh , I thought I was the sh#t and the income would never end. Looking back, that was the dumbest thing I ever did--- my ego became huge and any downtime with the income became a life/death type struggle---- I bit off more than I could manage and had a very hard time going back down. Had I just stayed happy with my condo and fun life--- I would be way further ahead of the game---/. Take it as you will. Good luck, surf
Quote from oldtime:
ok, peace, I liked you because you never pretended to be something you are not
good luck with your trading
the spread this Sunday afternnoon at ib has gone as high on eur.usd as 4 pips
I'm short a pretty hefty amount at 3114 with a stop in to ease the pain at 3181
Peace indeed. Let's try and stop this now.
I have a long order at 3035 - the bottom of the down spike that occured after the job report. I expect it to test that bottom again overnight (EST) and then rise throughout the day tomorrow. If not, I'm remaining flat for now.
And please, don't assume I'll only go long. If the conditions change, I'll adjust accordingly.
The spread at Questrade is also high. Still sitting between 2.9 and 3.3, but its early still and will settle down to about 2.1 average. What is the spread you normally get? IB - interactive brokers, right? You also pay a comission as well?
Quote from marketsurfer:
Amen, brother. One of my businesses and my trading took off when I was 27. I quit my real job, moved into a 9000sq ft house on a couple of acres in Villanova-- and bought several mercedes and other cool toys to fit in with my old money neighbors. Having come from average lower middle class roots in Pittsburgh , I thought I was the sh#t and the income would never end. Looking back, that was the dumbest thing I ever did--- my ego became huge and any downtime with the income became a life/death type struggle---- I bit off more than I could manage and had a very hard time going back down. Had I just stayed happy with my condo and fun life--- I would be way further ahead of the game---/. Take it as you will. Good luck, surf
Life likes to humble us, doesn't it. My wife and I were racing forward in our lives after settling down from new baby born in July 2012. Early January 2013, full of confidence, but exhausted from baby, my wife fell asleep at the wheel and totalled the car. Thank God she's ok, but that car was my job. Two weeks later with the modest insurance payout I bought a second hand Toyota Corolla. Bought at reduced price, and hail damaged, it didn't qualify for anything other than the basic insurance required by law. Three days after buying it, someone cut me off and caused $5000 of damage. Fortunately, he was at fault, and his insurance paid for damage, but I spent all of January without any income since I am self-employed and depend on the car. On top of everything else, I am also digging myself out of $10,000 debt, thanks to those accidents and lost income. That will be paid off end of summer.
I say all of this because we both made the choice to reduce living expenses and save money as much as possible. It really helps to keep life simple exactly because of these unpredictable events. Live beneath your means, but spend enough money to enjoy your life!
I was just thinking that I actually don't want to reach the level you did where you could afford to buy all of the fancy toys. I really don't want that kind of lifestyle. I would however like to get out of the city and buy a modest waterfront home. They still exist in Canada for under a million.
Sounds good, man. All the best! surf
I read alot of people saying you they need a 50,000 - $100,000 account to trade forex fulltime.
I don't quite understand that, I think you could easily manage an account with $10,000 - $20,000 dollars in an account considering the leverage. Who wants to make an initial deposit of such a major sum of money to any one broker?
One can easily trade that the sum as mentioned above, as if it was a $50,000 - $100,000 account with an R:R of 1:2 at 2% risk.
It also prevents you from blowing up significant money..
10,000-20,000$ could be 25% of your initial deposit so to say.. If one was to lose that.. somethings not working.....
I don't quite understand that, I think you could easily manage an account with $10,000 - $20,000 dollars in an account considering the leverage. Who wants to make an initial deposit of such a major sum of money to any one broker?
One can easily trade that the sum as mentioned above, as if it was a $50,000 - $100,000 account with an R:R of 1:2 at 2% risk.
It also prevents you from blowing up significant money..
10,000-20,000$ could be 25% of your initial deposit so to say.. If one was to lose that.. somethings not working.....
Quote from maul3d:
I read alot of people saying you they need a 50,000 - $100,000 account to trade forex fulltime.
I don't quite understand that, I think you could easily manage an account with $10,000 - $20,000 dollars in an account considering the leverage. Who wants to make an initial deposit of such a major sum of money to any one broker?
One can easily trade that the sum as mentioned above, as if it was a $50,000 - $100,000 account with an R:R of 1:2 at 2% risk.
It also prevents you from blowing up significant money..
10,000-20,000$ could be 25% of your initial deposit so to say.. If one was to lose that.. somethings not working.....
so you're saying 40-80k is fine?
Quote from maul3d:
I read alot of people saying you they need a 50,000 - $100,000 account to trade forex fulltime.
I don't quite understand that, I think you could easily manage an account with $10,000 - $20,000 dollars in an account considering the leverage. Who wants to make an initial deposit of such a major sum of money to any one broker?
One can easily trade that the sum as mentioned above, as if it was a $50,000 - $100,000 account with an R:R of 1:2 at 2% risk.
It also prevents you from blowing up significant money..
10,000-20,000$ could be 25% of your initial deposit so to say.. If one was to lose that.. somethings not working.....
I really don't find it that hard to pull $200 per month out of $1000. So, do the math. What do you need to live comfortably?
Given my current expenses of about $3000/month, I need $15,000. If I make the rule that I am not willing to trade with more than 5% of my total savings, I need $15,000/.05 = $300,000.
Quote from SimpleTrades:
I really don't find it that hard to pull $200 per month out of $1000. So, do the math. What do you need to live comfortably?
Given my current expenses of about $3000/month, I need $15,000. If I make the rule that I am not willing to trade with more than 5% of my total savings, I need $15,000/.05 = $300,000.
20% a month is not too shabby. not to doubt your ability but I find it hard to believe that someone who can pull these type of returns would word it this way.
One reason to have the money in the account is to diversify more. If you can't trust the broker enough with 100k, then I don't know. Shit can happen I know, it's all risks.
Quote from contra:
20% a month is not too shabby. not to doubt your ability but I find it hard to believe that someone who can pull these type of returns would word it this way.
One reason to have the money in the account is to diversify more. If you can't trust the broker enough with 100k, then I don't know. Shit can happen I know, it's all risks.
20%/mnth is only easy because the $1000 I am risking is only a fraction of the money I have available. I am not risking everything I have got.
Contra, is it really in one's best interest to put everything they've got into forex? We are discussing the option of using forex as your primary income source, right? Forex is therefore your job.
So, what you effectively are saying is that one should work their job exclusively and never set aside a portion of their income in savings, right? Looked at in a different way, it is like having 100% of your savings in shares of the company you work for.
I am suggesting that one is better off if they are "invested" in a variety of diferent things including forex. Depending on your age, you may be better off if you select only a percentage of your savings for a high risk strategy.
Here I am now with a wife and baby. Now, let's assume just for the sake of argument that I am quite good at this trading game. There is still a high risk I will lose everything. So, if I lose everything, not only have I harmed myself, but I have harmed too other people as well.
If over a period of the next 10 years, I manage to accumulate savings totaling $300,000 which I believe is easilly doable, I am not willing to risk all of that money for one high risk strategy.