ok so i just started learning about a week ago, ive almost made it through pip-preschool plus ive watched a few other videos, ive also opened a demo account, i know its a demo but i would say i did pretty good, i managed to get 50% returns in two hours of trading… trust me i know its a different story with real money when thinks like stress and emotion come into play, i also realize i probably jumped on a great day with markets not having any unusual movements… but i must say all this got me wondering, is it possible to get good enough, i mean to read through all material watch the videos , demo for a while then after demoing jump in with a couple hundred bucks, start with small lots, give yourself some good trading laws and do your best to hedge yourself from trading central bank actions and announcements or major world events to turn this into a single source of income?.. ive heard a lot of stuff and so far i’m trying to make sure im checking all the boxes to make sure im doing this the correct way, i know there are gamblers out there and ive read testimony’s of people that have reportedly lost 50k, other’s that just claim forex is just for beer money, alittle extra something on the side, but i am skeptical of that sentiment cause why then would this community be so large and enthusiastic about there trade?.. and sorry i realize this question probably gets asked all the time but i just wanted to know myself… thanks for reading
It is possible but, assuming you are one of the 5% who actually make a long term profit from fx, it is likely to take years unless you have a 7 figure sum to begin with.
Few of the long term successful traders on here will claim to make more than 10 or 15% return per year, and that is after building up to this over time
I think if you start with a 7 figure sum you just end up loosing a 7 figure sum rather than let’s say a 4 figure sum :). Learn how to grow the 4 figure sum first and then proceed with higher numbers if what I would recommend.
Yes, you can make money trading forex and there are a small percentage you trade for a living but most will never get there due to the wrong mindset I think.
Rambo, agreed most would just lose more money more quickly. My point is, to generate a main source of income he would need a big sum. How and when he gets there is another story, I’m just saying dont expect to generate an income when you only have a small investment.
10%, 20%, 50% profits a month aren’t realistic and far too many noobies on here seem to think it can be done on a regular basis.
Anyhow, Cwatasut, enjoy your forex journey. You’re in the right place
It also depends how much you need to live and keep up the standard of living you have.
Things like where u live and cost to live there.
I do it to just make up the difference in what I get from my pension, where it falls short so I dont have to make 3000 to 5000 a month like a lot of people do.
If I fall short it wont put me on the street. Maybe just the couch.
All depends on the situation.
Best advice I ever seen on here was , the only way you’ll make hundreds of £ in forex is to start out with thousands 
Of course we can make forex our main source of income . After some experience of forex it is turned to a profitable business. I also make many dollars of profit form forex trading.
Hello cwatasut
the answer to your question is yes and no,
YES
If you have a large amount of money, are a good risk manager, and content with a small income per months (1-2%) or more every now and then. Then in this case you choose forex as an alternative to fixed income securities or banking deposit since you have the skills to do better than the risk free rate.
NO
If you intend to start small and make returns of 100-200% per month consistently and live of that, and it is the only source of income, then better make it an extra income source. Make sure you have other sources of income that are more stable.
Let me give you an example of how the big banks and investment institutions perform, (not all of them are winners like many think, some end the year in loss)
Check the balance sheet and income statement of a well established bank and you ll see a certain % dedicated to money markets, bonds and foreign exchange together with securities and investment trading. that % is usually 20% of total assets depending on the nature and risk level of the bank (not all banks are that aggressive).
Of the 20% investment portfolio, only 0.6% is dedicated to forex trading, most of that trading is hedging against foreign exchange exposure. On top of that, it is very normal for banks to end the year in loss in that particular item (forex money market trading) either because of bad trading, which is usually calculated risk and accepted within a certian margin, or because the loss was a hedge/insurance to cover a certain amount of assets in a different currency, which achieved it’s purpose.
So if banks only dedicate so little to forex trading and most of it is for hedging other assets, and yet still they sometimes the dealing room still make losses on trading, then it does not make sense to make a living out of forex.
The majority of forex traders, big n small, institutional and retail, use forex as an extra source of income or to hedge, and in the past for arbitrage before the IT revolution.
There are however several traders/investors (forex, securities, bonds) out there who can do perform well, they manage assets starting $1 million and above, sometimes starting $10 million nowadays. their goal is returns that exceed the RFR and the bench mark of an index consistently.
Traders like that live of the performance fees and flat management fees. The bigger the assets under management the bigger your income, just dont loose and dont take big risks. this is how you manage to sustain an ongoing flow of cash/income.
Think about it, make a living out of forex? or become a good trader and manage other peoples money and make a living out of that? If However, you already have a large amount then you can manage it yourself and save the performance and flat management fees.
This is usually the final step in the career of a successful trader,investment/money manager. To start managing your own wealth and eventually others give you their money (family, friends, old colleagues) and you end up managing your own hedge fund (instead of working for someone).
The most successful fund managers started with their own money and eventually became partners with the old firm that they used to work for or they started a whole new firm.
Hope this answered your question.
If we talked about possibility, it is possible to make forex as main source of income but it will need time and process to make it happen. If you want to use forex as your main source of income so you must capable to gain consistent profit and the amount of profit is more than your current earning from your current job or business. It won’t happen instantly but you must build it step by step and usually traders need to build from part-time business first.