Thinking of trading

[NeverMindHever]

Despite never even considering trading until 3 - 4 weeks ago, I'm now feeling seriously tempted to give it a try.

Has anyone else had experience of this (forest, day trading, swing trading, etc), especially as a novice like myself? How did you learn what to do, and how are you getting on? Any top tips to get me started please?

Be aware that most lose money....did you mean Forex ??...that is very high risk, my trader friend has worked in this area for 40 years and still gets it wrong. another friend built up over 100k profits over the years and lost the lot on one big gamble, it is gambling really.

Yes, that should have said Forex 🙄
Thanks.

Oh...my friend lost the 100k pot he built up on Forex, was hoping to make 500k....its not for the beginner, maybe others have ideas......

I know not to use more money than I'd be prepared to lose as I understand the risk element.

The plan would be to learn first: watch webinars and YouTube tuition videos, download pdfs on the subject, etc, before trying it for myself.

How have other novices learnt how to trade? Books? By using a good app? There are lots of trading courses out there but they cost and I'm not sure I want to part with all that cash if I don't need to.

Any advice?

I always get suspicious about these multi millionaire traders that want to make me rich.

You could spend the rest of your life on a yacht eating lobster and just watch more money rolling in and yet, you are desperately trying to flog me a trading course.

It doesn‘t add up.

You can get dummy accounts on trading platforms, learn by investing pretend money.

My point exactly. But, then i wonder which is the bigger risk

• stumping up the cash to use their expertise by following a course they have constructed for beginners (1-to-1 tuition, webinars, live trading sessions where you observe how they do actual live trades, etc), or
• going it alone using other low-cost or free means of learning?

Yes, that was something I was considering doing before using real ££££s.

Everyone I know who has tried day trading has lost money (including my husband). I wouldn’t recommend it.

what he now does is buy and sell small amounts of crypto via a few systems he’s learned (neither of them cheap, a few thousand each but he went halfs with a friend who also does it). He can make a few thousand dollars a month doing this - it was more when crypto was higher. You can still lose money but one of the systems he uses is very low risk.

he’s been doing this a few years now and is pleased with it.

@whirlyhead How did your hubby, and the other people your know who tried it, learn how to trade?

Do you study economics? global currency markets?
The people who actually make money doing this (and they are not the ones selling courses) pay alot of money to have up to the second financial and business information to try and glean any advantage. The also have the means of making fast trades, apps are too slow

I know you dont want to hear it, buy what you want to is gamble and we all know who wins in the end.

Don’t do it, learn to invest instead.

Don't start investing unless or until you’ve saved enough money in an easy access account to cover your living expenses for at least six months. By then you’ll have strong spending and saving habits.

Only invest what you can afford to lose.

It takes a long time to grow real wealth. Invest and leave it to grow. Day trading is not a smart thing to do!

The 'free' courses you find on YouTube are useless and the paid ones little better. The markets are basically chaos and most profitable traders have a very low win rate (it's just their winners are bigger than their losers). It is easier to win in a casino if you aren't from a financial background or work for a trading company who offer proper training. There are some proper accredited courses available but they cost thousands. The advice not to do it is sound advice.

@NeverMindHever Is this same as spread betting? I’ve done this and sometimes I won sometimes opposite … because it’s moving so quickly so it’s extremely stressful !

I ve also done sports trading which is really interesting and if you’re cautious you can’t lose much.. worth looking
good luck

Please don't.

You will either lose money straight away or make money and then lose even more when you think you have mastered it.

Try and get a better job, or sell some stuff on marketplace.

Thanks for your advice all 😊

From the look of things on this, and on other historic threads, there appear to be some methods of trading which provide better yield than others. And some have lower risk. Its a bit of a minefield.

The trading company I was intending to learn with has an extensive 6 month training programme which has won numerous awards which I've checked out and all appear genuine. Its overall rating on an independent online reviews platform is excellent, but I've read the negative reviews first and was disappointed to see that some people felt they had followed their systems to the letter and still made losses. I've checked out other independent review platforms too with similar results.

Anyway, I think I'll hold fire for now and research more thoroughly for a few more months.

I can totally relate to that sudden temptation to dive into trading. It's an exciting world! I started not too long ago too.
To get started, I explored AI trading software like Immediate Edge for some valuable insights. It helped me understand the market better. Also, I read up on forex, day trading, and swing trading. There's so much info out there, but take it step by step.
My top tip: Start with a demo account to practice without real money. It's a great way to learn the ropes and build confidence.
Remember, trading can be a rollercoaster, but stay patient and keep learning.

Sorry I didn’t answer sooner. My other half and a friend signed up to something called the plan (run by Dan hollings). It cost about $5k which they split, but they’ve both been following it for a few years now and have done quite well out of it. You do have to follow what he says though and not panic when values drop. I just asked my partner if he thought it had been worth the investment and he said yes.

he has also just started following a different system by Simon McFadden which is early days but he reckons is quite good too.

Please can I save you time, I traded for about 5 years and was very good at it, but day trading is not a thing. It's gambling and you'll blow up spectacularly, prices don't move enough in a day to make big money unless you bet big, which means the other half of that coin is losing big.

I've watched every course, webinar you can imagine. Anyone who was actually good at it wouldn't sell a course, they'd just trade.

Go for some longer-term investments that you set and forget that earn you a nice 5-10% per year.

Day traders may win big one day but they'll lose it all when the market turns.

I sincerely doubt you will listen to this advice, but here is what you should do -

1. Properly learn how to invest and save.
2. Boost your pensions and ISAs.
3. Whatever amount you are planning to throw at trading, throw at an ETF - an index traded fund - on something cheap like Vanguard and forget about it. Average returns of 7% is good, could be more.

Do not "trade" and gamble.

Go for it OP. Thanks to a thread on here a few months ago I watched Damien Talks Money on YouTube. He's great. I've joined Trading 212 after watching his videos. I just invest £100 a month and I'm enjoying it. I'm in it for the long term so don't stress if it goes up or down as it all builds up over the years. Im having a great time learning and proactively doing something for the long term. If it doesn't reap big rewards its no big loss, I've got various savings accounts, pension and house. Go and have a go...

This isn't what the OP is asking about. They are wanting to trade/day trade so buying and selling several times a day to try and make a profit in each trade. Which ever way they dress it up, it is gambling over such short time frames. Lots of people think that despite them having next to zero knowledge or insight into the markets that they will make a load of cash, sometimes because they have fallen for some sales pitch of someone claiming to teach them how.

Ask your partner again to provide a breakdown of all their gains and losses over the years (if they have kept a record that is).

Its similar to if you ask someone who plays poker or blackjack, everyone over states their wins and underestimates their losses.

First of all, stay away from FX trading.