Forex trading is becoming a trendy skill as many people from different spheres of life are getting involved in it. Many people have been trading before it even became more accessible through technology. People ask questions about learning forex, making money through forex, and using the best strategies in learning forex. This article seeks to address such questions and help beginners getting into the business.
Learning forex on your own vs learning forex through a mentor
To be an effective trader, you have to get the proper education. Getting the education yourself (without a mentor) is possible, but this process is often uneasy, frustrating, and leads to losses. Many people give up before mastering forex trading. A person who has a finance background or has worked in a financial trading company might choose to continue learning forex independently. You can know and master forex trading on your own as a beginner; having a background in it might also be a plus, but it is not an easy journey. If you can put in the work and do not give up, you might be perfect in a couple of years.
Importance of learning forex trading yourself
- It saves you money
- You get to learn at your own pace.
- You can avoid the potential of getting scammed by illegitimate mentors.
- It allows you to form your systems.
It saves you money
There are many free materials you can use to learn forex online. They are easily accessible. They have the information you need to know about the market. The free knowledge allows you to save up or keep the money you would have paid a mentor till you are ready for a live account.
You get to learn at your own pace.
Mentors might have a course outline and a fixed lecture time, requiring you to read and practice things before the next class. Learning at your pace allows you to take your time and practice as long as you want before taking the next step.
Many scammers disguise themselves as mentors or forex gurus. Most times, they post flashy and exotic items to attract people to their platforms, and they claim to have gotten the expensive items through forex trading. Learning to trade on your own rids you off the stress of trying to distinguish between who is a real forex mentor or who is a scammer. It also helps you to avoid being scammed.
It allows you to form your systems.
Learning forex on your own allows you to form your systems and routine without worrying about outside influences. The process gives you the space to figure many things out on your own. Some of them include: which currencies to trade, trading specific confluences to increase your hedge, and many more. The process will take you through many trials and errors, and it might become a futile journey.
The process of learning to trade yourself usually follows a cycle of losses for most traders. Commonly, a trader who tries to learn forex trading himself goes through a pattern of moving back and forth; this is popularly known as the cycle of doom. The cycle of doom is a process in which a trader starts making money through a strategy but then makes losses which consequently affects his psychology, leading him to abandon his approach eventually. In response to this, he starts to search for another trading strategy. When he finds one, the cycle repeats and most times never end till he gives up.
The reason you are in the forex market is to make money, but you won't be constantly profitable if you keep moving from one strategy when you have losses. To have smooth profitability, you need to create a strategy and stick to it. To stick to your strategy, you have to have confidence in such a strategy. To have faith in such a strategy, you should have fully back-tested it over time, putting it through historical data to see how it works. You should also test it in a demo account to check its consistency over a period. Understand that there is no perfect trading strategy; there will be times when you will have losing trades. So it would help if you understood that losses are part of the market. A successful trading system is a mixture of profits and losses; what is essential is that you should have earnings in the long run, such as quarterly and annual periods.
You can learn forex on your own, but this is often a futile journey for most people because learning forex on your own involves many trials and errors. Most of those who go through this process have significant losses and do not master forex trading. The few of them that get to master forex trading spend a long time doing it than those who have mentors.
Statistics have it that 90% of traders lose their money, and more than 90% of those who learn to trade give up in less than one year. Most of the people in this category stumble into forex trading with the mind of getting wealthy in a short time. They get some knowledge from online materials, practice with a demo account, and then move to a live account. They keep struggling, trying different strategies, and often have no one to guide them. Shortening this curve requires submitting to a mentor who is experienced in the business of forex trading.
A forex mentor is a forex trader with a proven track record of trading and making money in the forex market. Someone who is a forex mentor must have had years of trading profitably and consistently. In simple terms, a mentor can help you reduce a journey that should take five years of (stress and hard work) to just one year (of hard work and consistency).
Importance of a forex mentor
- Someone to guide you and point you in the right direction
- It saves a lot of time.
- You have access to a forex community.
- You can use the study material over and over again
- It increases your speed and chances of learning
- Life-time mentorship
Someone to guide you and point you in the right direction
You don't have to go through trials and errors. A forex mentor guides you through trading and helps you avoid many initial mistakes that forex beginners make.
It saves a lot of time.
It reduces your learning curve and the number of mistakes that you will make. When you notice you are making many losses. You don't know why you are making such losses; then it would be nice to ask your mentor, who will show you where you might be getting things wrong and what you should do to correct it.
You have access to a forex community.
Most mentors have a group where their students meet, and they discuss market-related issues. Such a group allows you to connect with other traders, make like-minded friends and discuss trading ideas.
You can use the study material over and over again
The materials provided by your mentor can be used continuously, even after the training. Some forex mentors even add new materials that you can keep learning from as you continue in your trading career
It increases your speed and chances of learning
If you want to increase your chances of learning forex quicker, your best option is to get a mentor. Your responsibility is to learn correctly from your mentor, take feedback, and apply such to your trades. If not, you will only have the never-ending cycle of making mistakes and failures to learn from such errors.
Life-time mentorship
Some mentors offer their students a life-long mentorship program to have positive impacts on their trading careers.
How to choose a mentor
Choosing a mentor should be done with caution, as many fake forex teachers are only interested in your money. Some people also claim to offer forex mentoring services. Still, they do not have records of trading in the market - stay away from such. Here are some tips for choosing the right mentor.
- Ask around
- Reach out to the mentor and research their course
- Find a mentor who is successfully trading themselves.
- Price of mentorship
- Beware of social media deception.
Ask around
You can reach out to students who are under a mentor to get feedback about their mentorship experience. You could get feedback about how they like the course, the mentorship approach, and whatever questions you have about the course. Make sure you are reaching out to actual students and not those who do not have first-hand information.
Reach out to the mentor and research their course
You could also reach out to a mentor and search out their courses and trading results. Avoid online reviews as they may be fake. Meet the students who have taken the courses for first-hand information.
Find a mentor who is successfully trading themselves.
The results will speak for themselves. Do not go for a mentor that does not have evident success records. This process of searching for these might take a couple of weeks or even months. Do not be deceived by flashy cars and exotic items you see them using or posting on social media. Look for the trading result, and if you cannot find such, be wary of such mentors.
Price of mentorship
Consider the pricing method before settling down for a mentor. Some mentors charge monthly fees, while some charge a one-time price. The type of pricing system you choose should be one with which you are comfortable.
Beware of social media deception.
There are many fake forex mentors online. Their mission is to steal the hard-earned money of unsuspecting people. They try to attract such people by showing off expensive items. Commonly, successful forex traders do not go around announcing who they are, what they do, and charging a lot of money from beginner traders. They are usually discreet and rarely boast around trying to attract everyone to themselves.
Conclusion
Like any success in this world, mastering how to trade forex will not happen overnight. You should approach learning forex with the mind of having a long-term experience and enjoy the process.
