Rookie Starting Up

Hi there,
To start off I don't know much about anything in regards to Forex currency trading but would like to enter the business as it seems like an interesting and exciting opportunity to earn some money. However, there have been a number questions that I've had lingering in the back of my mind. Just how risky is this trade?

I'm 19, (does age matter?) a university student and have only managed to save $1000.00AUD. Realistically speaking, do i even have enough to enter this market? If not how much do i need to save? Really, because I'm such a rookie a lot of the things i read on the forex forums and internet articles tend to overwhelm me. In addition to this, how time consuming is this trade? i know it can be a stressing trade however the potential returns seem to more then make up for this. I am willing to put in the hard work and effort but i have other studies and needs that must be taken care of in addition to Forex.

Also, what are some recommended books to learn more about this trade? Money doesn't grow on trees and if i want to make this work, i would really like to do this the right way - the first time. Also, is it possible to actually end up in debt through this trade if i only use money that i own? (No loans, credit cards, etc.)

I also don't mean to be rude but how much on average do you guys manage to pull in? I don't expect to pull in lucrative 6 figure sums anytime soon but i would like to know the reality of the situation. More often then not i find that things tend to be exaggerated and Forex trading often sounds too good to be true. Is it a possiblity to turn my $1000.00AUD into something larger and make it grow?

Additionally, how do i know which brokers offer the best deals? etc? is that even how the system works? How do i go about even starting this trade? How did a lot of you guys enter this field? What were the mistakes you made and what would you have done differently?

I guess because i'm totally new to the field i'd really like to avoid some of the pitfalls that exist in this trade, and who else to ask but the more experienced traders. I'd really appreciate a list of books or similar that are must reads and something of a way to find out how to get started.

Is forex worth the time, effort and resources? ... Feedback would be awesome. I appreciate your time in reading this, thanks!

edit: i live in Australia (AUS) does that matter?

welcome my friend...

Everything is possible but not very probable if you have zero skills and experience. Only trade money you can afford to lose so I'd only take 10% of your money and trade it. Personally I don't think that's a good thing to start with 100$ although you can open account with that and trade micro lots.
I'd adivise you to demo trade untill you have found something that works for you and start with 100$ trading micro lots which will not get you very far but it will show you what it's like to trade real money. Save up some more and practice untill you've saved around 5-10k USD.

Hi Search1ng, I'm 47 and I live in New Zealand - does that matter?

I've been studying forex for almost 3 years now, and I think I'm starting to reach the point where I know what I'm doing. Well, maybe. To be fair, I really only dabble in trading (I'm a semi-retired analyst/programmer). I have winning and losing weeks, however the last few months have started to show some promise. But long-term consistency is what counts, and it's really too early to say yet. As the old saying goes, 7 wins out of 10 is luck, 700 wins out of 1,000 means that you're on to something.

From what I've read, I think the very best forex traders average something like 10%-20% per month, but much depends on their system, how often they trade, what percent of their account they risk per trade (higher means both bigger wins and bigger losses, of course). And by that, I mean average: they might have exceptional months, and possibly even some negative months. There are also folk here who say that 20%-30% per year is a good return. I guess everybody likes to think that nobody else is doing significantly better than what they are themselves.

How to get started? In my post here I attempt to answer the same kind of questions from another newcomer. There are posts on FF that say something like "it takes 5 years of dedicated study to learn how to become a proficient doctor or lawyer, why should forex be any different"? I don't want to sound negative, but remember that forex is a zero sum game, where the highly skilled and experienced minority happily take the money from the unskilled and unsuspecting majority.

Hence, like Tjpld, I would definitely recommend trading in demo to begin with. In my post here I describe my experiences in trading a live account back in 2006.

Anyway, welcome to the forum, and good luck.

David

hey thanks for the quick reply guys, I've been going through babypips.com and just started to get a very vague idea of what forex trading entails. It's quite daunting really, however, i am willing and ready to put in the hard work and effort. After all it's better time spent then killing monsters in some fantasy game or drinking nights away at the bar.

I was just wondering if any of you had previously read some books on Forex that you found to be very informative? I'd like to get my hands on these asap just to broaden my understanding of forex. Also, once i've got a basic idea of what i should be doing i'll definately start a demo account and try out what i've learnt. Are there any broker sites for AUS users or does that not matter? (Also which broker sites have you guys found to be good? I'd appreciate a PM or something if this cannot be discussed on the open boards)

In regards to the 10% trading, i'll definately keep that in mind. How long on average would it take to save 5k-10k via forex? using 100 micro-lots?

Anyway, i'm off to read some more on forex, really appreciate the help. If any experienced traders would like to mentor me i'd really appreciate that as well.

Welcome to the jungle

haha yeah, I'm getting dizzy and i'll i've done is start taking notes from babypips.com. I just wanted to ask, without being rude or anything, have many of you guys managed to create a living from forex? The rewards seem limitless but the risk, timing and luck seems like something of a gamble. How do people actually manage to create an income of 5 figures per month on such an unstable trading platform... just incredible..

Spend some time at baby pips, they will help you build a foundation, look at the systems they are using, then research for a broker, there are some good ons and some a lot of very bad ones so do your due diligence.
Once you have found a broker open a demo account and get used to there trading platform till you are comfortable with it, then open a small funded account and trade the smallest sizes possible, you will be amazed at the difference in your emotions between a demo and a funded account.... and don't for a moment think or say No really I will treat the demo just like a funded account because it just is NOT the same, trust me on this one.
I have been in the FX market for over 4 years now 3 years studying it and blowing up demo account after demo account.... I think I blew up 8 demo accounts....LOL,
Good fortune in your trading future.
johnedoe

Great advice johndoe, I know its not the case but just like playing poker, when you have money on the line you usually fold more often than gamble. But if you are in a poker game on line or something without money, its very probable that you play out a pair of deuces just because, so yes your emotions do have a lot to do. Ill keep that in mind when opening a real account. So what brokers do you recommend?

I have been with Oanda since the beginning of my forex journey, I checked all the brokers out very carefully (at least as carefully as I could) through the NFA , and the two that stood out were Oanda, No claims filed against them .. even to date. and Interactive brokers.
Advantage to Oanda is small opening balances to get started with and a trade size that is completely adjustable, trade as little as 1 unit, ( not practical but possible) 100 units equates to 1 cent per pip.
They have a demo account that does not expire.
People say thir charts are crappy...... they don't have a ton of indicators, but everything you need to trade profitably is there.
Well enough said for now, if you have additional questions feel free to PM me.
johnedoe

That's not what I wanted to say.
With saving money I mean selling old stuff getting a mini job.
Otherwise you'd have to get a 5000% return on your 100$ which is not
very likely to happen.


Easy if you have a 6 figure account you don't need that much of Return of Investment in order to live from it.
No one here is making a living with his 100-1000$ account.

true words. Either way talking about it isn't going to do much so i'll keep researching and hit you guys back for any critical questions i have luring around. Thanks for the tips and advice, appreciate it.

ie: Eat or be Eaten. This game is not for the fient of heart OR Unprepared. Know your Stuff 'Before' you Click it.

·Hi, it happens to be my first experience with Forex and I’m really excited about this because it seems to be a really interesting way of earning money. I’ve just seen so many posts talking about trading systems that I don’t even have a clue on how to start on this. I need some advice, and I am also looking for information about Meta trader demo platforms….Thx in advance.

Hey I need the sites of some brokers I want to open a demo account but I don’t know where I need some advices please.

first one i came across was IBFX, i've opened a demo account with them and things have been really interesting. Easy enough to learn as well. They have a small introduction to their platform on their site and its a MT4 platform as well!

i would suggest starting a micro account through IBFx at a .01 per pip to get your feet wet. Also, before that blow out a few hundred demo accounts to get a feel for your strategy. It take a long , long time and a lot of hard work to get all the kinks worked out.
I believe that one persons fib retracement is anothers trend. Markets move up, down, sideways and zigzags and any thing that you can think of. Yes, it looks easy and pretty on the screen but you will soon find out that its welcome to the jungle.!

Baby! I can give you a very good advice. Devour every article, every forum thread, and pick your trading platform and practice! I already have few months learning after seeing my husband spending hours a day trading. I can tell you that Forex world is awsome, and the more you get in to it...the more you'll love it. But do not waste your AUD yet!

Have fun!

Kittykat

im in the exact same situation, aussie , 20 and at uni.... im reading every book i can get my hand on, not necessarily forex related, forward testing everyday and just saving up some cash.... im gonna start with 5grand and leave 5 grand on the side, but if i drawdown to 4grand on the intial 5 grand im gonna stop for another 3 months.... so everytime i drawdown a grand or (20%) ill take 3 months off to refine

I never heard about a strategy like that, sounds interesting. I guess the time you take off you’ll still practice with you demo. Stop practicing is mortal for a trader