Forex trading is tricky business and if you’re just starting out what you really need is a forex trading coach that can answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
That’s why I’ve put together this guide to answer the basic questions you may have and coach you towards trading forex for a living.
How Long Does It Take To Learn Forex Trading?
To better answer this question, we should clarify some assumptions in this question.
Actually learning how to just execute a Forex Trade is not that difficult. If you are able to learn things quickly, you can learn this in a day or two. If you are looking to learn Forex Trading and become competent enough to generate a regular income, that takes much more focused time.
If you are incredibly bright, you may be able to start making profits in as early as a few months.
However, most beginners who do not know the basics of trend and market analysis, have to learn for 6 months to a year before they feel comfortable enough to call themselves a successful trader.
How long it takes to learn Forex Trading is entirely dependent on how much time you are willing to put in, and how focused you are willing to be.
What Is The Best Forex Trading Course?
The best Forex Trading course is different for each person. The only thing you need to remember when you are picking a course is that it has to be material that you can constantly engage with and learn from. If you are not a fan of the user functionality or the instructor, then you should continue to shop until you find a course that fits your exact needs.
Here are five highly rated courses that may be the best Forex Trading course for you.
Forex Trading A-Z” that is hosted by Udemy
Forex Strategies: Kelly Criterion, Larry Williams and More also hosted by Udemy
Bizantra
TradingAcademy.com
Six Figure Capital
Most trading courses have a sample lesson or a FAQ page that tells you exactly what you should be able to accomplish once you finish the course. Remember that each of these courses will try to embellish their results, so keep a keen eye on the reviews and the credibility of each service.
Where Can I Trade Forex For Free?
Making a profit trading Forex or securities can be tough when commissions take a large chunk from every trade that you make.
Unfortunately, because trading Forex (FX) will almost always come with commissions, it is important to minimize these commissions in the interest in increasing profitability.
Although several newer platforms allow you to trade securities without any commissions, these platforms do not yet have the capability to offer free Forex trading.
While the cost differences between some platforms may seem insignificant, these costs can balloon when trades are made in larger quantities. We recommend using one of the following platforms if you are trying to keep trading costs down:
Forex.com – Forex.com is a great platform for beginners with its low minimum account balance and low trading fees. Forex.com is also particularly great for beginners, and provides a large wealth of Forex trading resources.
CMC Markets – CMC Markets is known for its low fees. CMC markets is great for a more experienced trader, and provides tons of useful tools.
Can I Trade Forex Without A Broker?
Yes, it’s possible to trade Forex without a broker. If you think about it, whenever you visit a foreign country for vacation you are exchanging your currency for that nation’s currency. When you do this, you have indulged in a rudimentary form of Forex trading.
If you believe that there is money to be made with a certain currency pair, you are free to head to a bank and convert the currency yourself without a need for a broker.
There are several advantages to trading without a broker, but the biggest advantage is probably the independence. If you execute a trade and make profits, you do not have to part with any of it to your broker.
If you execute a trade and make a loss, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Trading without a broker may seem like a daunting endeavor, but there are many who do it and many who succeed. Consider both alternatives and see if trading without a broker could be the most financially savvy move for your trading strategy.
What Is The Best Forex Broker For Beginners?
The best Forex broker for beginners is tough to pinpoint because there are many things that beginners may need help with. With the high learning curve that comes with Forex trading, beginners probably want a broker that is easy to use and has a low cost. A broker with great customer service and an easy to use interface would probably also greatly benefit a Forex trader who has just started out.
Here is a list of Forex Brokers that have some combination of these features, and you can choose which may be the best broker for you.
Saxo Bank – Comes with a very easy to use platform and is extremely popular.
IG – Arguably one of the most popular and trusted platforms with lots of guides and tutorials online for all of its functionalities.
CMC Markets – A broker that comes with very low costs and is great for the beginner traders who want to trade a lot and learn faster.
TD Ameritrade FX – Another easy to use platform that is popular, but is only available to US residents.
XTB – XTB is an, excellent choice because it offers great customer service and a very simple interface that any beginner can learn to use.
Is Forex Good For Beginners?
There are so many different kinds of trading, that it may be difficult to choose the exact one to start with. To make matters worse, the only trading that is significantly more profitable than others is insider trading (the illegal kind).
So, if you are looking to start with Forex trading, is it good for beginners? Absolutely.
Forex trading has been around for a long time, and there are enough guides and articles online that can teach you everything you need to know to become a skilled trader in a relatively short amount of time. Not only that, Forex trading has an active group of traders that you can continually learn and source new information from.
Forex is good for beginners because it is something that you can pick up with no prior knowledge or intuition and eventually succeed.
Which Trading Platform Is Best For Beginners?
When you get started with trading, the more seamlessly you can interact with your trading platform, the more you will enjoy your time. In theory, you can use any of these platforms to achieve the same results, but having the right tools can lead to a better experience and thus easier to get returns.
Here are a few platforms that may be the best for you
TD Ameritrade – A very popular platform that has great overall functionality.
Fidelity – A powerful platform that you can use to trade as well as learn and research about the future trades that you have planned.
Charles Schwab – A platform that can do anything well, but not anything too spectacularly. Easy to learn and great for beginners.
Robinhood – Robinhood is likely the simplest platform on this list, which is great for beginners who don’t want to be overwhelmed. However, there are virtually no tools on Robinhood, which may hurt you as you become more advanced.
How Do I Get Started In Forex?
Before you make any accounts, make any deposits, or sign up on a trading platform you should start with the very basics.
Do you understand what Forex trading is?
Are you able to understand what you read?
Do you know it well enough to explain it to a friend?
Did you enjoy learning about Forex trading?
Getting started with Forex is a long journey, and knowing yourself and how you enjoy the material is critical.
Next, start planning a few trades. Do the trades on paper and see how well you did over the coming weeks. This way you can see how much you would have made or lost, without actually putting money into the market. Did you enjoy the thrill or did even the paper trading make you anxious?
Once you feel as though you have a basic understanding of Forex and have made at least a few successful trades you can sign up on a trading platform and improve upon your skills.
How Much Do You Need To Start Trading Forex?
You only need a small amount of capital to start Forex trading, but the larger the starting capital the greater returns. One sentiment that is tossed around is that you should only risk around 1% of your capital on every trade. If you only have $100 dollars in your account, even if you make an amazing trade that gives you 400% returns, you wouldn’t even make enough to buy a sandwich.
If you want an honest number on how much you need to start Forex trading, we suggest at least 3 – 5 thousand dollars. If you have more disposable capital, we suggest even higher than that, but with 3 – 5 thousand you can start to generate a sizable income if you start to make profitable trades on a regular basis.
Once again, if you are a beginner to Forex trading then the actual dollar amount in your account does not really matter. Until you can consistently pull off profitable trades and feel as though you have a good understanding of the market you should not be risking a percentage of your capital at all.
Can You Make A Living Trading Forex?
You can absolutely make a living trading Forex. Some of the best Forex traders are able to make millions of dollars a year just by looking at graphs and guessing how the market will react.
In fact, with the ever-increasing number of guides and tutorials online, making a living trading Forex is probably easier than ever.
However, learning to trade properly is an earned skill and does not develop naturally. As with any high-income skill, there is a steep learning curve and only the most dedicated students are rewarded.
We suggest that you try Forex trading for a few weeks and see if you enjoy the thrill of trading. If you can see yourself dedicating hours a day learning to trade, then you have a chance of quitting your day job and making a living trading Forex.
The only questions are, would you enjoy the process, and would you enjoy the outcome?
