Does anyone actually make any decent money trading forex?

Hey guys pretty simple Id like an honest answer as to whether anyone actually ever made any decent money trading forex.

Ive trade a couple years ago, and I was getting 60-200 pips a day for 2 full weeks, and all of a sudden I got 3 days on a roll of losses and stopped trading in fear of a fix in the market because how it reacted… I had 6 open trades daily and the movement was stopping literally 2 or 3 pips from my tps, and hit 3 stop losses levels.

Ive made some money in the end of 2 weeks live trading but the fear of a fix in the market got me out.

So Id really like to know if you or anyone actually makes decent money with forex trading.

Thanks

Hi there…honestly? No.

I make a living with music, so

forex is a very tiny part of where my

money goes…

Long term, all being well, I may

up my investment in it, but so far

I am not pouring money into it.

Good luck :slight_smile:

I appreciate your reply, but what Id like to know is if ANYONE makes, not if you dont make if you know what I mean.

I just need an honest answer of someone who makes decent money trading forex.
Or if you know of someone who does.

Thanks

Forum user Lexy makes her living from trading,

so she is definitely one that I know of…

By the time prices are within a few pips of your TP’s, you might perhaps want to have adjusted your stop-losses to lock in some profit, so that you can’t possibly have a losing day, once that’s happened?

Were you trading via a genuine broker, or against a counterparty market-maker (someone who held the other sides of your trades and therefore had a direct incentive for you to lose money)?

You might just have had an unlucky few days, perhaps … it’s hard to know, in abstract. Please excuse my mentioning that making 60-200 pips per day steadily for a couple of weeks, followed by three consecutive losing days, doesn’t [I]in itself[/I] sound too unreasonable, or too bad, to me? (Unless maybe you lost “too much” over each of the losing days, [I]pro rata[/I] to your previous winnings? In which case it’s probably your position-sizing/risk-management that was the problem?)

Many people make their full-time livings trading spot forex, but they’re still a pretty tiny proportion of the people who try to.

For over 4 years I made what anyone here would call a decent, full-time living, trading forex. That was after a 6-year learning-curve, having plenty of statistical/probabilistic education, reading large numbers of mainstream, orthodox text-books (not online “information”!), having many thousands of hours of screen-time experience, and having expert tuition on hand, as well. (I’m using the past tense only because I’ve actually switched from “spot forex” to “futures” now, because I prefer to trade from constant-volume bars, but that has nothing to do with the answer to your question, really.)

I know several other people who make their livings this way, too (their “backgrounds”/“stories” are broadly similar to mine, above; it wasn’t quick or easy, by any means, for any of them; some of them are ex-instititutional traders).

There are also other members here making their full-time livings from trading forex. But overwhelmingly more trying to and not doing so, I feel sure.

Whether or not any of that information is actually helpful to you, I don’t really know. But if all you’re asking is whether it’s genuinely possible to do it, the answer is definitely that it [B][U]is[/U][/B], for [U]some[/U] people, [I]given the right education and experience[/I].

It’s typically when people look for short-cuts (sometimes naively imagining that they can simply “copy something that ‘just works’,”) that a wheel comes off.

In my opinion, [I]most people significantly [U]over[/U]estimate what they can achieve quickly, but just as significantly [U]under[/U]estimate what they can achieve slowly[/I]. :8:

Great post, Lexy!

Thanks a lot for this, really appreciate it.

And yes all Im asking is if its actually possible that on the long run, say 1 month, you can be up in profit by a decent amount, and I dont mean money specifically but pips wise.

I didnt lose too much on those 3 last days compared to what I made on the previous weeks, but they were 3 consecutive days of losses, 2 and 3 trades each day, plus the way they happened 2 or 3 pips right before my tps, it really got me thinking it is all rigged somehow.

The broker that Ive always used is alpari, Im happy with them and their service and I dont think that was the problem because at that time I checked in different platforms and they all show the same movements. I dont know, it just got to me.

I wish I could know of someone who actually makes decent money trading forex just to be sure myself that its possible and its not rigged, at least in this range of trading, thats all I need.
Ive read and watched and participated in some seminars etc back then, but it all leads me to think the people selling their products are who make the money, because if they made money on forex than they wouldnt be troubled selling a $20 product if you know what I mean.

You know, I think this is a rather sad question. Afterall, what really [I][U]is[/U][/I] “decent money”. I know there is some kind of glamour behind the idea of making a few millions in a few months and buying a big yacht and mooring it in the harbour in Monaco and getting invites to the F1 drivers’ parties, etc. But is that what trading forex is [I]really [/I]all about? Is making money [I]really [/I]what one’s life is about? Sure, money helps, but shouldn’t one’s [I]real [/I]life ambitions lie in things greatly distant from just money?

I say this because if making big money was the routine amongst traders then you would see an [I]entirely [/I]different set of threads on this site. There would be issues concerning how to minimise taxation, how to invest in offshore funds, concerns over Panama Papers revelations, where to order a custom-designed maserati, how to invest in antiques, how to buy a caribbean island… none of these issues are even mentioned here, so the clear conclusion is that making fortunes is [I]not [/I]the routine amongst forex traders, it is clearly a VERY small minority - and even then maybe not entirely from forex trading.

So the issue concerning “decent money” is more a question of how much one wants to earn and how to make it fit one’s mainstream life ambitions. The normal working life is about 45-50 years and getting longer as retirement ages are pushed further and further back. The obvious question is do you [I]really [/I]think you will want to, or be able to, trade on a daily basis without any guarantee of future earnings beyond your last profitable trade, for that length of time? Can you [I]really [/I]imagine carrying that kind of strain in an exceptionally unhealthy working environment?

Is it not better to think what mainline career one wants to pursue that will offer achievement, challenge, something worthwhile, something that develops you as a person and makes you feel you are doing something worthwhile? What about when you have a family, does one not want to offer them stability, security, education, a decent environment. OK, one might say that (a lot of) money will let you do all that, but can you [I]really [/I]think you can take the stress of trading full-time day in, day out, for 40-50 years, never being sure about next week, month, year, decade? You want to enjoy your life, feel you have achieved something, leave your mark on something…

There are basically two choices here: Either trade full-time as your prime earnings, or trade as a sideline to make some extra capital. The latter is fun, challenging, rewarding, and relatively stress-free - but more important, it leaves you free to live a life that has more meaning than simply making money. The former is a different world entirely, what happens when you are ill, or go on holiday, or try to borrow from your bank manager to buy a house, or have a losing streak, and so on.

Life is for living and a regular, albeit variable, side income is a great asset - but I would personally never consider relying on forex trading as my sole source of income.

So my response to this question is: aim for a regular, modest income and you will probably achieve it and enjoy it, and it is not so difficult - aim for a million and you will most likely lose even the little you started with. At least that seems to be the way of it…

Great ppst Manxx and Lexys

manxx i agree with you in 99% and with lexys too

but lexys aswell made a statement which is 100 true and influences your expectations possibilizies and abilities by 100%

it simply depends where youre coming from and what youre startibg point is.

for someone investing 1000 into it it is a great achivement to make his living (lets say 50000 a year) from it.

for someone investing 300.000 a annually gain of 50.000 is not enough abd that person is actually looking for a million.

and in my math i always bet on the person trying to make a million from 300.000 over the person trying to make 50.000 from 1000.

aswell out if personal exoerience. i tried it 9 years ago with €800. stopped after 3 days. years later i tried it with a different approach and a different pocket.

and iNUKE: NO in one MONTH you wont ACHIEVE sh!t, be sure of that.

Excellent replies, Lexy, Turbo and Manxx!!

From my learning and experience, money should not be the focus of newbies. The primary focus, should be acquiring a functional system which they can test for a while and still have enough money in their trading accounts to trade tomorrow. The money will come when you have learnt to trade properly and well, backed with a good trading plan. Lol

Good points TTM!
When one learns to drive a car one shouldn’t just try to drive as fast as possible - that’s why there are so many wrecks on the first bend! :slight_smile:

There are so many factors involved in trading that one has to spend a lot of time on deciding, for example, what timeframe suits best, what type of trading, what strategy, what risk/moneymanagement etc, etc…

I am with you!

Hi iNuke,

I have been a full-time forex trader for several years now. I trade with my own capital as well as manage my clients’. I make the majority of my income through actively trading forex and would say I would be considered upper-middle class. On an average year, I am looking at a modest 6-figure income (USD).

With that being said, I do supplement my income through other projects I have been working on within and outside of the forex industry. A big part of why I am starting to look at other opportunities is because there will always be a certain degree of risk in this business and I would like to mitigate some of that into other ventures while I have the chance. It is also a nice way to pass the time as a few members on here will know that I am mainly an algorithmic trader. Some areas I have been looking at include web/mobile app development, consultation services and mentoring.

I hope this helps you answer any doubts you may have with forex. It is entirely achieveable, but it is unrealistic to expect instant results. It can take many years before you start seeing the results that you desire.

very logical and true. i am working with business off from trading ever since. i never actualy had any fixed work and was pretty much always self employed before and after college. i must tell you that it is the same. as business owner just like in trading, every now and then you face situations where your existance is at stake and true stability is impossible to find.

Im completely with you and with what youre trying. my approach is a bit different, for a life without risk i am shifting a lot to real estate since few years and buy as much as i can get. in the long run, that (at least i europe) is the only business that comes close to be risk free. since 3 years i stopped aquiring any real estate as i see a bubble forming up in the german market, due to the historically low interest rates. but once it bursts (if it does) im ready to make a sealed deal.

i remember a chapter of jessy livermore where he explained why he failed in any business outside of trading: because it was not what he focused on and didnt give 100% and business is just as risky as trading. by stats not even 5% of businesses make it more then 2 years before they go broke, just like with trading forex.

good luck to you.

I think it has been a month plus for me trading spot forex . There are a lot to learn. Learning how to weed out the real knowledge to trade properly is hard. There are so many teachings. Imo. Money management is the most realistic goal for me to learn. Another part is the psychological part. No matter how much i’m prepared to face a losing streak with a wise risk management plan, am still very much bound to the effect of losing. Learning to cope with it is something a full time trader has actually been able to cope with. System, i dont even know if anny system i am testing now works without a good sized statistic. From here, i know that if i’m going to pursue this full time trader goal. It will take a couple of years. Hem…

Decent NO, I do make money trading forex but you can’t call it a decent one. It is more like a support to my routine income. I can’t increase my account balance for now but once I’ll have big amount in my trading account, I can make good profit from trading.

Fantastic!

We do not hear much from people with institutional trading background on Babypips… it is reassuring

that they exist(!) and are not afraid to come among us and tell us frankly about their experiences…

Thank you for your contribution…

May I suggest you read the book “Millionaire Traders” interviews with everyday traders that have figured it out. Most started with little little or no cash of their own But with patience and perseverance learned how to preserve capital and make safe trades to beat the system of the big boys. So here is a dozen examples and I personally know of many more, I’m not one of that group yet…LOL

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