Doing full-time Forex trading is a dream for many. In full-time Forex trading, you enjoy complete freedom. As a full-time trader, you can be your own boss; you can decide when to trade and when to be away from your desk. Who wouldn’t want that? But moving from being a part-time trader to being a full-time trader is like taking a giant leap. What was once a part-time work has to now become the only source of income. This is too risky if you are not ready for full-time Forex trading. In this article, we will see some of the important things to consider before going full time.
1. Consider Forex as a passion
Unless you like the work you do, you can’t perform well in any type of work that you do full-time. And so, passion is crucial for success. You need to remember that in full-time Forex trading, analyzing and observing Forex charts to place successful trades is going to be something you will do for 7-8 hours a day. Unless you love all aspects of trading, you won’t have the interest and inspiration to continue as a full-time trader. So before going full-time, ask if trading is really what you want to do in life. Do you really have the interest, patience, and inclination to take up trading for full-time? Will you be still interested in trading after a decade? Does going through economic reports seem more interesting to you than watching NBA finals? If your answer to these questions is a ‘yes’, then you can go for full-time trading.
2. Have Financial backup
Once you switch to full-time trading, you still need to pay your bills, pay the rent and buy groceries. But you don’t have your old job anymore. Now your only source of income is trading. Since you are going to trade full-time for the first time, there is no guarantee that you will make enough to cover your monthly expenses. It may be necessary to go without profit for the first couple of months before you get used to full-time Forex trading. Unless you have some huge savings in your bank account, managing your expenses with no or less profit is not possible. So make sure that you save enough money.
3. Build enough capital
While you are trading part-time, having a low capital is not a big issue. Even though low capital only allows you to risk less and gain less profit, it doesn’t affect your financial status. Because you have your main job which still pays you. But when you get into full-time Forex trading, a low capital is not going to give you reasonable profit. So it is not going to fetch you enough income that is equal to what you got in your day job. To ensure that you are earning as much as it is necessary, having a good capital is very important. Higher capital allows you to trade higher trade volumes and helps you to make enough money.
4. Have your strategies and tools ready
Do you already have good strategies to meet all kinds of trading situations in Forex trading? Have you tried and tested multiple strategies? Do these strategies have good success rate in your experience? Trading is not just about having enough funds and having a passion. You also need to have the necessary skills and tools to trade successfully. Without a good strategy and trading plan, you may lose your capital no matter how high it is. So, if you don’t have multiple strategies for all kinds of market situations, you need to work on it first. You also need to work on your skillset, like technical and fundamental analytical skills. These skills and strategies are the contents of your Forex toolbox. Just like you need a sharpened saw to cut the wood, you need to have good skillset and powerful strategies to perform well in Forex.
5. Set up your workspace
Before you start your full-time Forex trading, you also need to work on setting up your workplace. You can’t have your television and trading work station in the same room if you want to focus on your work. You need to avoid all kinds of distractions. Since you are going to spend the major part of your day in this room, make sure you have everything you need close to you. Before you set up the workplace, prepare a list of things you would need in the room and a list of things to be avoided. You can choose the room that is well-ventilated, attached to a restroom and away from the noises of traffic or a loud television set. Make sure you have drinking water with you so that you don’t have to walk when you feel thirsty. When distractions are minimized, you can concentrate on your work easily.
