Thanks Flamingo. I welcome all unsolicited observations! 
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While it’s possible for full-time trading to cover living expenses, it really depends on a lot of factors like your trading skill, market conditions, and your risk management. Trading can be unpredictable, and it’s not a guaranteed income. So, it’s crucial to have a well-thought-out plan and a financial buffer for the down times. Always remember, never risk more than you can afford to lose.
Thanks a lot for the explanation. I truly appreciate it.
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Your answer is in a self fulfilling prophecy. If you can trade well enough to build a stake and reserve, the answer is absolutely YES. You’ll know when you’ve arrived because you aren’t worried about paying your bills. You have total conviction that the next day, after a bad one, will put you back on track. All traders go through dry spells. You have to have enough resources saved for the hard times. EVERYBODY goes through them. The difference between the pros and the noobs is confidence, or lack of, in their system.
The markets will always provide for those that are patient and prepared. It’s that simple- and that difficult.
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My Personal Journey:
Self-employed architect 1995 - 2022
Hobby Trader 1998 - 2009
- Learning to trade in the stock market and a few commodities
- Blew first two account $1,200 and $2,500
Student Trader 2009-20016
- Forex Market
- Profitable in 2 accounts
- 1st account started with $800 and ended with $16,400 (2011 - 2012)
- 2nd account started with $3,000 and ended with $24,800 (2014 - 2016)
- took 2013 off to deal with life issues and again in 2017
Serious Part time Trader 2018 - 2022
- Futures Market (Crude Oil, S&P and Gold)
- Developed my Trade System for consistant profits and decided to work towards full-time trader
- Traded system on demo until I had 5 straight profitable weeks (took me 3 months)
- 3rd account (2019 - 2022) started with $4,500 and ended with $89,200
- Saved money to cover a years expenses
- Bought a travel trailer and pickup truck (paid cash so no debt or payments)
- Minimized belongings
- Created Business Plan
- Started an LLc for trading business
Full time trader December 2022 - today (8 months)
- Closed architectural business
- Opened new account with $15,000
- Current balance = $65,300 (July 2023)
- Hoping to end year with a little over $100,000
I had to commit all my time and energy into doing all those things only the top 5% of traders are willing to do.
A few Examples:
-
treat your trading as a business not a hobby
-
create a business plan
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form an LLc and claim trader status with the IRS
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have set hours and don’t show up late
I trade from 5:30 pst - 9:30 then review and journal for an hour or more
I will trade longer if I am managing a runner -
Plan your trade and trade your plan
BLAH, BLAH BLAH all the stuff we hear. But that is commitment. Whether part time or Full.
Not saying that is what everyone should do.
But that is what it took for me
Good trading All
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very interesting indeed, and many thanks for posting! 
but surely you can’t still be trading spot forex now, after this history?! 
Nope. I actually just came back here to review the learning course.
I have a friend who wants to start trading but I don’t have time to teach him the basics…
I remember the course was spot on…
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suddenly it all makes complete sense - another mystery resolved 
thanks for being here, and for posting, and good luck getting your friend started!
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Don’t really like the way you look at these subject and no, I don’t think it’s about confidence. Having just confidence can ruin you in market, In general, I appreciate realism than some motivational-like words.
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You have misunderstood what @aaceofspades said. They were not talking about being a confident person: they were talking about having confidence in a trading system. This makes the system the important element in successful trading, not personal confidence.
It is impossible to be consistently profitable in trading unless you have a strategy and you have the confidence to run it.
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Well, I get it. But Somehow I think being confident of a trading system maybe (just maybe) doesn’t let you to see its short comings which it will lead to losses.
@Oli_jackson Why not backtest and see what your strategy produces?
Or how about forward testing your idea for a month and see what you can produce?
I think you’re asking a good question, but also consider finding out for yourself what’s possible. Don’t let others tell you what’s possible and what isn’t.
A lot of talk here, and quite much I agree about. But how about having a partner and let him/her be the main responsible person for income? If you have a big enough account, which I think you can get if you invest enough years in this, then it should not be too big a problem to live of. Etienne Crete has talked a bit about that. With backtesting, forward testing and doing enough regular trades I think you will get enough confidence to believe in tour trading method.
If you look at a too short time frame then everything will be difficult in trading. It is a process over years, and at least for my sake it is about collecting data and looking at statistics. For instance. If you have a fixed profit target, how often does it happen that price reverses when it is within 10 pips from your target (swing trading)? If you log such things you will build bigger confidence in your methods. And a bit related to that last sentence. Never get too caught up in just one trade. Trading is about a lot of trades (several thousands), and letting one loss dominate your mind is just a waste of energy.
Yeah good idea. I thought it won’t bite if I ask for people opinion and use their experience, but you’re right, I shouldn’t " let others tell me what’s possible and what isn’t".
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Don’t get me wrong, I did the exact same thing, which also makes me a hypocrite. I didn’t know if forex was real or if it was some kind of scam. I also didn’t think about the idea of backtesting and seeing for myself what’s possible. That idea didn’t occur until later.
I messaged a member on this forum who reached consistent profitability. I asked him what his experience was like. He told me about his journey and what his feelings were during that time.
I’m so grateful that he did because his story let me know that it’s possible to be profitable.
I imagine you’re doing the same thing by posting this thread. So, after this thread the question to ask yourself is ¨how high can I reach in forex?¨
Good question to ask. I’m a planner and I try to plan everything out. What don’t you tell me more about your experience?
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So far, I wish there was more to tell. Basically, I started with placing a trade on my phone and going to sleep, then closing it when I woke up. For some reason, it worked a few times and I thought it was a real strategy.
Next was MA and MACD. I was losing and started focusing more on S/R trendlines. Eventually that failed also. Now, I’m focusing on naked charts and price action.
I started demo trading, went live prematurely, lost money, and returned to demo.
Wow, I know it may not be easy to lose money but just think about the experience you gained by getting through all of this mate.
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