When is it safe to trade full time? | Forex Factory

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When is it safe to trade full time?

  • #1
  • First Post: Dec 17, 2006 9:15am Dec 17, 2006 9:15am
Hey everyone....

I am not asking like how much experience I should have, or how long I should of demoed etc etc.

But How much money should I have saved up...or traded up to in my account before I decide to quit my job and trade full time?


Thnx for answering
Nothing is hard, some things just take more time and discipline.
  • #2
  • Dec 17, 2006 9:37am Dec 17, 2006 9:37am
How much money you need depends on several things, including:

1) What type of account you want to open (full, mini, micro).

2) What the minimum account size is for the broker you will be working with.

3) How many lots you want to trade at any one time (keeping in mind good money management principles).

Also, I wouldn't even consider leaving my job and relying solely on my Forex income unless I knew I had enough money to live on and pay my regular expenses (in addition to the money I'll be trading with) for at least 6 months, preferably a year.

That's just my preference, but it covers me in case things go wrong.


Quoting NipthePips
Hey everyone....

I am not asking like how much experience I should have, or how long I should of demoed etc etc.

But How much money should I have saved up...or traded up to in my account before I decide to quit my job and trade full time?


Thnx for answering
  • #3
  • Dec 17, 2006 1:00pm Dec 17, 2006 1:00pm
Hello,

It depends on how consistant you are at achieving sufficient returns and how much income you would need.

Personnaly, i would need a good passive income to cover my living expenses and to avoid too much stress if trades go wrong.
  • #4
  • Dec 17, 2006 1:10pm Dec 17, 2006 1:10pm
Quoting NipthePips
Hey everyone....

I am not asking like how much experience I should have, or how long I should of demoed etc etc.

But How much money should I have saved up...or traded up to in my account before I decide to quit my job and trade full time?


Thnx for answering
If you never tried Live account before and made a good money with it, never quit your job, this is very risky business, almost 90% of retail traders lossing money, trade first with mini or micro, stop demo, demo is nothing Go live and try Micro account first and use this basis and see if you got the good results constantly by your own method, then you can quit your job and go bigger......Good luck
  • #5
  • Dec 17, 2006 2:49pm Dec 17, 2006 2:49pm
I can't agree strongly enough with the members who say "trade real money, even if it's a micro account." Nothing will trigger your fear, greed and stupidity faster and more effectively than trading real money. Nothing is more important for successful trading than to master than your fear, greed and stupidity.

IMHO, it's only safe to go full time only when you feel you have fully mastered your demons. Take however much time you need to be dead certain you have them completely at your mercy. If it takes a year or two years, it's time and money well spent.

In my opinion, nothing will kick your butt like FOREX. You do have more than a sucker's chance of winning, but only if you know and neutralize your demons.

Cheers
AFF
FOREX = 21st century alchemy.
  • #6
  • Dec 17, 2006 9:26pm Dec 17, 2006 9:26pm
Thnx for the replies guys, but I think my question was misunderstood


I originally posted this in the Forex Discussion form not the Forex Beginners forum


Anywho, I know how to trade, I have been trading live for over a year..almost 2 in January. I am far from demo, and mini accounts. I have a standard account, and it has been growing at a presistant percentage monthly. I just wanted to know what do you guys think is a good enough amount to have saved, or be making etc before you would quit yuor stable job.


One person told me I should take how much I make yearly at my job now and multiply it by 20, and then thats when I should quit my job. 20 years of savings seem a bit steep, just wondering what other thoughts were on that
Nothing is hard, some things just take more time and discipline.
  • #7
  • Dec 17, 2006 10:13pm Dec 17, 2006 10:13pm
I think you misunderstood the replies.
Quoting In2Blues
Also, I wouldn't even consider leaving my job and relying solely on my Forex income unless I knew I had enough money to live on and pay my regular expenses (in addition to the money I'll be trading with) for at least 6 months, preferably a year.
Bottom line is, only you can decide when you are ready. I don't know your returns, your balance, your personality, your dedication. I don't expect you to give out any of those either. Only you know all of those factors, and only you can make the decision whether or not to make the leap.

Just always have a plan B.

andersenws
"Youth is the trustee of prosperity." - Benjamin Disraeli
  • #8
  • Dec 17, 2006 10:40pm Dec 17, 2006 10:40pm
Quoting NipthePips
Thnx for the replies guys, but I think my question was misunderstood


I originally posted this in the Forex Discussion form not the Forex Beginners forum


Anywho, I know how to trade, I have been trading live for over a year..almost 2 in January. I am far from demo, and mini accounts. I have a standard account, and it has been growing at a presistant percentage monthly. I just wanted to know what do you guys think is a good enough amount to have saved, or be making etc before you would quit yuor stable job.


One person told me I should take how much I make yearly at my job now and multiply it by 20, and then thats when I should quit my job. 20 years of savings seem a bit steep, just wondering what other thoughts were on that
I am currently a full time trader. I quit my full time job with Uncle Sam after three continuous years of trading the forex and making twice as much trading as I did working for the Justice Dept.

The bottom line is when you feel as though your a seasoned trader and feel like you can do it full time, and get your familys approval, then take the big leap. Also, trade as a LLC and have a great tax accountant.
  • #9
  • Dec 18, 2006 11:01am Dec 18, 2006 11:01am
Would any experience trader suggest to set-up a LLC or trade under your own personal credentials? As far a Taxes are concern try this website www.greencompany.com they seem to be pretty good regarding taxation for commodity trading and Forex.
  • #10
  • Dec 18, 2006 12:32pm Dec 18, 2006 12:32pm
Why would you need someone else's opinion when to quit your job? Don't let others dictate your life. Some people do fine with 30k/year. Others can't survive unless they have 100k. So it depends how much you need from forex,.So it's really up to you..
  • #11
  • Dec 18, 2006 12:59pm Dec 18, 2006 12:59pm
I have to admit, I was thinking the same thing...

you are ready when you are ready.

Quoting hilmy83
Why would you need someone else's opinion when to quit your job?
  • #12
  • Dec 21, 2006 9:13pm Dec 21, 2006 9:13pm
Quoting hilmy83
Why would you need someone else's opinion when to quit your job? Don't let others dictate your life. Some people do fine with 30k/year. Others can't survive unless they have 100k. So it depends how much you need from forex,.So it's really up to you..
exactly. Some of the numbers I seen thrown out there are rediculously high in my opinion.
I would say just have a decent cushion. You never know what comes up sometimes. I personally wouldn't mind if I didn't make enough and have to work temp for a month or so....but then again, for that kind of pay, I should make it quicker and easier in the various markets if I had a clue.
  • #13
  • Dec 21, 2006 11:12pm Dec 21, 2006 11:12pm
I smell BS.
How you act is more important than how you feel.
  • #14
  • Jan 2, 2007 6:12am Jan 2, 2007 6:12am
Hi Nipthepips,
Very simple, my mentor gave me some good advice that was once you have tripled your normal monthly income you should look at retiring if you have no more out standing debts. For example if your monthly income was $2000 per month wait until you make $6000 per month with your trades.
I personnelly waited until I was making 10 times my monthly income per day but I lean towards safety first.
The other thing is you need to be comfortable with your trading edge, if you are getting good returns and your trading system is giving you 8 out 10 trades correct then you have a reasonable probability of success and always remember to put money aside as back up in case something does go pear shape.
Hope this helps Go Getter
Go Getter When Trading Its All About "WHO YOU ARE BEING"
  • #15
  • Oct 9, 2011 5:07am Oct 9, 2011 5:07am
even if you have a perfect strategy ,but your mentality control will affect your make profits
  • #16
  • Oct 9, 2011 10:08am Oct 9, 2011 10:08am
Quoting NipthePips

One person told me I should take how much I make yearly at my job now and multiply it by 20, and then thats when I should quit my job. 20 years of savings seem a bit steep, just wondering what other thoughts were on that
I think it depends on your living standard and risk tolerance. The job market is tough as nails, the last thing you would want to do is quit your job only to really need a job a year later.

There could be alot of things your job provides that you don't think about such as health insurance, dental, vision etc. If you get injured, get sick or whatever this could drain any savings fairly quick.

As a rule most experts have said in the past to have a 6 month emergency stash that will cover all your expenses for 6 months... but this was before record unemployment... some of these people have been on unemployment for 2 yrs and still no job.

You may not be in the same category, but if you're trading FX and knocking down a salary at a job it shouldn't take you that long. Better to be safe than sorry... 20yrs does seem steep so maybe go for 10yrs worth.

If you carry no debts at all... own your own home that is paid off etc. Then maybe go for 7-8years or so.
  • #17
  • Oct 12, 2011 9:28am Oct 12, 2011 9:28am
The time to quit your job will be in direct comparison to how you trade (as a rough guide) as has already been mentioned - for example a high risk trader, will probably be quite happy quitting their job and jumping straight into full time trading, with very little safety net.

Personally, that is not for me!

My idea would be to have at least 6 months wages in a seperate account for a start.

Next, I woudl want to have consistency in my trading. This can only be achieved by being activley in the market and seeing consistent returns.

Then, it would be a case of how much would I be willing to take out of my trading account each month (as a salary).

For example:

If I had a 50k account, I would be expecting to increase my account by 10% per month... (this would be credible due to past performance). That would be 5K to play with... pay myself 3K and keep the 2K in the account to help the account grow... but saying that, I think the account is still too small. I would rather have 100K in there, and take out 5K as a salary, and put 1k aside into savings as a buffer.

Each is to their own, but there is no way I would go pro with anything less than 100K... But that is just me!
  • #18
  • Oct 13, 2011 3:21pm Oct 13, 2011 3:21pm
Yeah, the "pull" can be hard to resist after a few rounds with a demo and account in the green. However, you need to rethink on what kind of account you're looking for, retail vs ECN and whether you will be able to access the net at some of the prime trading time zones..
And on the money front, it again depends on you. You can start with a micro [would recommend this] and after a while, move on to bigger accounts based on the profit you make.
In other words, seed your account with a small amount, kick start it and move from there. Trading full time is not easy, if that were the case, everyone would be doing it instead of purchasing idiots guide to Fx in the form of EA's, which BTW, hardly lives up to the high expectation..
  • #19
  • Last Post: Oct 24, 2011 8:01am Oct 24, 2011 8:01am
it really depends on your way of living,.. your costs of living and the maximum amount of money that you have to invest... The realisic profit expactations that you need to have are the other importantant thing... Don't play the high ball.. If you look for 4-5% per month and you have enough capital in your account to make your living and put somethig aside from it then you can start trading real time, but there is bad months always, so be prepared. I hope that helps.
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