Trading For A Living: Can It Really Be Done?

It comes to a point when the old 9 to 5 just doesn’t cut it anymore. For some it comes sooner than others, and for some that means they can’t just retire and enjoy some well-earned downtime. If the itch to do something other than work for the man comes at an early age (or even if it does hit later on, to be fair), and you want to try trading for a living, it really can be done. Honest.

If It was That Easy Everyone Would Be Doing It!

Now we didn’t say it would be easy. Far from it. There is a lot of time, effort and research – not to mention investment – that goes into trading for a living. You can’t just jump in feet first and assume all will be well. But then, there are many careers where you can do that and get away with it. As for everyone doing it, well, that’s up to them – they could if they knew the secrets!

You’ve Got To Love It!

Trading is one of those things that can be terribly exciting at the beginning and then that excitement fades away as the reality – and hard work – kicks in. Not everyone is cut out for trading for a living; it’s only the ones who truly, deeply love trading that get to do it for the long term. It makes sense. After all, why would you want to do a job you don’t like? That’s why you’re giving up the 9 to 5,remember?

Wait For It… Wait For It!

Patience is most definitely a virtue when it comes to trading for a living. Making sure the form is correct, checking that your chart really does match up, waiting, waiting, waiting for the right trades to come along… It can get the best of some people, especially those who don’t have it in them to be in it for the long haul. It’s okay not to have that kind of personality, it can’t be helped, but it’s not okay if you’re trading for a living because you’ll find that you begin to make crazy trades simply to have done something that day. And that’s how the money runs out.

You Must Be Disciplined

Don’t be tempted to stray from your set plan if you’re getting anxious about not trading. Discipline means sticking to the plot no matter what. You’ve spend a lot of time making sure it’s right, and now is not the time to forget all of that hard work and rush headlong into something that will net you a big fat loss.

Take A Risk… But Be Sensible

Trading for a living means constantly taking calculated risks, and, despite everything, there is always a chance that you could lose. Doing your homework beforehand, making sure your chart matches the trade and not picking something that falls short of your target will all help, but sometimes things happen that will be out of your control – and it happens to everyone. The key is only to trade with what you can afford to lose (just in case). Otherwise your ‘living’ won’t be paying the mortgage for very long.