There is no market that attracts more investors willing to make a living from Trading than Forex. Like many investors, I ask myself, is it possible to live off Forex?, I imagine that if it is possible, although I do not know if this will be possible directly or indirectly. Let me explain.
Many traders who invest in Forex or in other markets, not only do Trading, they also sell their Trading ideas or their knowledge, to complete their income. That for me is living from Forex, but not living to trade.
Day traders love Forex, simply because Forex is a market that works 5 days a week for 24 hours., For all those who aspire to live from Forex, or live from Trading, this idea sounds like heavenly music: practically uninterrupted possibility of being able to make operations in the market.
There are many Forex traders who claim that it is possible to live on Forex, the problem is that the market tends to devour most of the small investors before they are minimally profitable. After three years, few investors who started are still in trading, this is proof of how difficult it is to achieve profitability.
As an investor, I believe and affirm that you can make money with Forex, or with any other financial asset, but what is really difficult is to live from Forex or Trading in general.
I am skeptical by nature and somewhat distrustful because traders who are supposed to be profitable and have managed to live off forex are the ones who also sell us something: trading courses, trading signals, books, etc.
Come on… I know few traders who claim to be profitable within Forex or day Trading in general and who also do not want to sell me something. It may be that at some point they want to share their knowledge if it is true that many of those who are dedicated to investing in the markets, feel a little indebted to all those who have taught them something, and teaching is part of share some of what you have gained, but… you can share your knowledge for free, right?
Leave a stable job to live off Forex
One of the great motivations for those who want to make a living from Forex is to leave a job that they are not passionate about and in which they are trapped.
Trading offers promises of freedom, which no other activity can give you.
You can trade Forex from anywhere in the world, you only need an Internet connection and an Online Broker to operate with, it’s that simple and easy.
That wonderful life, near a paradisiacal beach, at the edge of a swimming pool or doing cultural tourism around the world, is what the Trading industry really sells us.
It’s true, we could live like this. In theory, everything is possible, but you have to know that reality is much harsher, at least rethink enough, before leaving a stable job.
What do we really need to be able to live from Forex?
If I had to demand two fundamental premises, to be able to live from Forex, I would say that the essential thing would be:
Be profitable on a regular basis
We are going to overlook all that is training. If we want to live from Forex, we must have gone through the knowledge stage, it is necessary to be in possession of the necessary knowledge to operate: technical and fundamental analysis, psychological control, Trading systems, risk management, capital management…
All this Knowledge can and should be had, but knowledge alone is not enough.
You have to be profitable on a recurring basis.
And I’m not referring to one-month making money and another not. Invoices come in every month.
Every month you have to pay for water, electricity, telephone, housing and you have to eat.
You have to be profitable, and this profitability has to be sufficient to cover our needs. And this brings me to the second premise:
Have a suitable trading account
The best investors in the world speak of annualized returns of 20%. How much is an annualized profitability of 20%, translated into profitability-month?
Do not make an effort, if your profitability per month is 2%, you would need to have an account of €100,000, to get €2,000 per month.
I will not go into details, because Forex Trading is a very leveraged Trading. The accounts are margin, and you may be able to achieve higher returns, even starting with smaller accounts. Although the danger of leverage is to force the machinery, and that it ends up exploding in our faces.
Living from Forex is one more job
If you decide to live off Forex, in the end, you will be one more salaryman, but with the problems that all freelancers have.
When you depend on yourself, your effort and profitability, you may find that there are really complicated situations: that you are sick, that you do not have access to the Internet (if you travel), that the market changes and your profitability go down.
There are so many problems that you can find, that I understand those traders who decide to supplement their trading income with additional ones.
Living from Forex can be exciting, but it doesn’t have to be easy at all.
