Can an Average Joe Make a Living from Forex?
What is Forex then, you ask. Forex is simply a trade that happens in a global market within cyberspace. However, in Forex, the items of trade are currencies of different countries. Forex trade is based on the fact that the value a currency can rise and fall against other currencies based on global economic headwinds and tailwinds. In essence, trading forex allows you to buy a currency at a lower exchange rate and then sell it (for profit) at a higher exchange rate.
Most people lose money by trading Forex
Forex-trading forums are filled with sad stories of people that had big dreams on how they would make their first million from forex trades, only to lose all their initial trading capital. In fact, it would appear that the secret to profitable stock trades was reserved for an elite few in the forex trading business. To compound the woes of the traders that are already losing money, some folks are selling forex trading solutions that are not worth the landing pages created to promote them.
You’ll find a thousand and one trading systems developed by self-styled trading experts, gurus, and wizards. The systems are supposedly designed to help you set up a trade and go back to sleep while your account balance continue to soar. Some of these trading systems work, but the sad fact is that most of them do not deliver on half of the promises with which they were sold.
Can an average Joe make a living from forex trades?
Can an average Joe make money by trading forex? That’s one of the frequently asked questions on the top-tier forex forums online. The short answer to the questions is a resounding YES – after all, a number of everyday folks without much trading experience have hopped on the forex bandwagon to success. The long answer however, is that an average Joe can definitely make a living from placing forex trades but:
- It won’t be half as easy as you might have imagined
- You’ll lose some money before you start making consistent profits
- It will take you much longer than you might have envisaged
Here’s what the veterans have to say
If you are still undeterred and you’ll like to make a living by trading forex, below are some quotes from average Joes who have gone on to make a living by trading forex. The quotes are parts of their answers to the question.
Christopher Hinton (creator of Kickboxing Underground) answers the question on Quora. He says, “I started Forex trading in 2008. In my first week, I tripled my account! Then a few days later, only starting with $400, I was able to WITHDRAW, in pure profit, about $1k. Then another $400. Then $800. I kept winning and taking money out.The market must have simply been doing what I expected it to do. I made a big folder to hold all these checks that we’re coming in at least once per week.”
Thomas Miller who styles himself as an economist and Math nerd answers the question with these words, “Making a living from day trading takes a lot of hard work, and it can be very stressful. It can be very exciting too.”
A trader by the name Neil Fuller says, “The short answer is yes. The longer answer is yes you can make a living trading the Forex market but you have to consistently do a lot of things right… However, instead of putting pressure on yourself to make a lot of money really fast, focus on building a consistently profitable track record and self confidence and the money will follow.
James is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.