Does Forex Make Money?

May 18, 2007 – 1:01 am

With a daily turnover estimated at around $1.8 trillion the answer to the question “Does the Forex make money?” is pretty obvious.

The bigger questions is: “For whom?”

With the opportunity for anybody and everybody with a computer and an internet connection to participate in the Forex to make money in recent years, thousands of individuals have had some exposure to the challenges of Forex trading.

Is The Forex A Fool’s Game?

According to some estimates, the vast majority, perhaps as high as 95%, lose money.

Is it a fool’s game, just an elusive dream to trade the Forex to make money to try and achieve financial security?

In view of the high failure rate, it is prudent for anyone who is contemplating entering Forex trading to do their homework first. While the majority fail to make consistent profits from the Forex, a minority do, and some of them make huge profits from the Forex.

The Realistic Mindset

What is the key? A realistic mindset when approaching the Forex, a commitment to learn and get a proper education, and then, application of the knowledge learned in a disciplined way backed up by perseverance!

For an individual who has already had experience trading stocks, or futures, the learning curve may only involve a few months when switching to the foreign exchange market.

For the complete novice the learning period will probably run into years, anywhere from 1 to 3 years according to some estimates.

During this time the novice will have to first get acquainted with the workings of the Forex, learning the terminology, and working with a demo account on a trading platform supplied by an online broker.

Months will need to be spent sitting in front of a computer screen studying candlestick charts, getting acquainted with specific patterns, learning to recognize high probability setups. There is no shortcut for this part of the educational process if you want the Forex to make money for you.

The Most Critical Factor

Then comes the most critical part of all: developing the mental discipline and emotional control necessary for safe trading.

The Forex can be a minefield for anyone who is not in control of their emotions. For a person who has a gambling instinct, the Forex will suck their account dry in a very short time. The Forex is not a game of chance.

Successful trades are the product of careful market analysis, an understanding of how the market moves acquired from months and years of experience, and a strict control of equity management.

Even with all that input, the successful trader will still regularly lose trades. As long as there are a greater number of trades that are successful, the Forex will make money for you.

Make An Informed Decision

If all this sounds overwhelming and a little foreboding, you are getting the picture of what is involved once you start down the road as a Forex trader.

On the other hand, this is a job that can be done from home, with as many hours committed to it as you wish to allow, and in the long term, once the skills have been acquired, the Forex can provide a substantial form of income.

Will the Forex make money for you? That is an individual question and will depend on all the variables discussed above. Do your homework, check out educational materials, examine your current workload and circumstances, be honest about your personality style, and then make an informed decision.

  1. 4 Responses to “Does Forex Make Money?”

  2. I am currently nearing retirement(next three to four years) and would like to get involved in Forex trading. From the articles that I am reading from this site it looks like I will need time and commitment to get the education that is required to be successful.What i need currently is a starting point and direction to get started . If anyone would be able to help me with information on getting started it would be much appreciated. I live in Toronto Ontario Canada so information on brokers schools and software in Canada would be helpful

    By Steve Driver on Jan 7, 2008

  3. Forex trading is not as easy as one would think off.
    I have been trying to learn it over a year and am still not confident.
    There are trade brokers who will through light on this subject.
    Honestly you can put the money that you can afford to risk only on this.
    One lesson is that never ever go near the hyip programmes they are all scams and never ever pay you.
    go to the practise session as far as possible and get the necessary forex practise.
    there are two good sites that with give you nice practise they are
    pip trader.com which is the easiest wway to learn no graphs to frighten you.
    I trade fx is another very good platform.
    also there are some min trade paractise session which you essentially have to go through.
    you will have to spend atleast a few hours by way of research on this.
    always if you done with the practise, you can win the battle when the market is either falling or raising, never when it is stable dont trade on that.
    read the graphs and get some analogy.
    thre are a couple of software less than 100 dollars dont spend more than that.. which will healp you.
    most important never use more than 100 dollars real money. you may win but there are great chances to loose…
    forex is live and may be kicking…

    By srisailapathy on Jan 14, 2008

  4. Dear sir,

    i am zaheer baig from karachi,pakistan.
    I read you commnets about the forex. This is very nice. I am trading in currency forex since 4 or 5 years. I have lost very little fund in the forex currency trading, but i am not unhappy for that. This is game of gain of loss but very very interesting i sit 18hours in front of plateform or market. I like it very much i don’t why, but i like it very much and trade in every session.
    When i have the fund i restart the forex and now i will gain in the forex because i have many practice (5 years) in trading.

    ok thanks zaheer baig from karachi, pakistan.

    By zaheer on Jan 17, 2008

  5. HI!!Do you think you have learnt about forex alot?Can you make money?

    By mustak on Feb 4, 2008

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