5 Trading Secrets Every Aspiring Trader Needs to Know

As we have talked about previously, whether you are an employee or a self-employed entrepreneur, it is not safe to rely on a single income stream. Diversification is key if you want to secure your own and your family’s financial future.

If you happen to have a passion for finance and investing, what better way is there than being able to generate an extra income by trading forex from the comfort of your own home? With forex trading, it is certainly possible and there are many examples of Filipinos who have successfully learned this skill that are now profitably trading the forex markets. In fact, forex trading is considered to be one of the top ways to earn money online in the Philippines.

Before you throw yourself into trading, it is very important to seek out all the knowledge you can get. Being a trader can be compared to any other highly skilled job like a lawyer or a pilot. Everyone understands that you cannot go out and practice law before first having studied it extensively. It is just the same with trading. Do your homework before you jump into it!

Luckily, there are many ways you can learn forex trading in the Philippines. A few companies actually offers forex trading courses regularly in Manila, while many other reputable forex educators based in the US and Europe will teach you the basics of forex trading online.

The most important thing is to choose an educator with a good reputation and a proven process for teaching new traders. Try to speak with former students and hear their opinions about the program before you make your decision. Forex trading courses in the Philippines may not always be cheap, but if you get the most out of it, it will be worth more to you than you could ever dream of!

5 secrets every trader needs to know

Nobody should tell you that learning how to trade and becoming a successful forex trader is easy, because it’s not. In fact, this is probably the main reason why so many people fail as traders. We have therefore put together this list of 5 forex trading secrets that all professionals know, but beginners often don’t learn before it’s too late. So, let’s jump right into it:

1. Keep a trading journal

Recording down all your trades in a trading journal is critical for your long-term success as a trader. Sure, you can be lucky and score a few wins in the market without it, but over the long term you need to be able to go over all details of your trades in hindsight so you can learn from your mistakes and optimize your trading and decision-making process. You can easily find a trading journal template for download online, or you can create your own in Excel. Make sure to include all relevant details regarding your trade, such as instrument traded, strategy used, entry & exit criteria for the trade, your own thoughts about the trade, and a snapshot of the chart.

2. Follow the news closely

You may have heard that you shouldn’t pay attention to the news, and that all it does is distract you from thinking straight about your trading. However, you should know that most professional traders actually do follow market fundamentals in addition to using technical analysis for finding good entries and exits in the market. Since most retail traders get caught up in the belief that technical analysis alone can make them successful, there is more potential upside for traders who also learn to base their trading on what is actually going on in the world. As a pro trader, you simply cannot afford to lose this opportunity.

3. Follow a trading plan

As a serious trader who is in it to make money in the long-term, you need to make sure each and every trade you make follows a plan. And I then mean a written-down plan. For the sake of efficiency, follow a trading plan template like the one available for download here. Doing this will greatly reduce the chances of you making silly mistakes that could have easily been avoided. It also prevents you from placing random trades when you get bored while sitting in front of your screens. Placing trades randomly based on your gut feel is a recipe to disaster in the forex market.

4. Stick with your strategy

Many beginning traders get caught up in ‘strategy hopping.’ They realize that they are losing money in the markets, and then conclude that there must be something wrong with the strategy they are following. This is usually NOT the case! Instead, try to think critically about the way you implement your trading strategy. Are you following all of your pre-determined rules for money and risk management, trade entries & exits, as well as taking the overall market condition into consideration? Chances are that this is where the problem lies, rather than the strategy itself. Keep in mind that you need to record down a large number of trades (preferably 50 to 100) before you can say with statistical certainty whether the strategy is profitable or not.

5. Reward yourself

Finally, when you have made some good money in the forex market as a result of your hard work, it is important to reward yourself. This helps you in staying motivated and maintaining a positive attitude towards trading. The importance of this last step should not be underestimated, because without your continued passion and motivation, you will quickly fail in the markets and your bank account will suffer the consequences.