hey. Say i had $1000 and i wanted to risk 2% on each trade, would that mean that each time I’m buying or selling a currency i’d buy 20$ worth of that stock? or would it mean i use the stop loss to make sure i lose no more than 20$
Really noobie question not even sure if it makes sense, but if anyone can help would be much appreciated 
The latter. You can determine the relevant stop loss easily with a calculator like the one here on BabyPips:
Position Size Calculator: Free Online Forex Position Sizing Calculator
Also consider the profit-loss ratio. Just keep a mental check on how much you are likely to gain by setting a specific stop-loss. So, if the risk is $20 (2%), evaluate how much is your average profit. Because putting 2% at risk to gain 0.5% on every trade is not viable. Experts often suggest a risk-level of 2:1 or even 3:1. Therefore, you should be looking at an average profit of 4% or 6% when setting 2% stop-loss.
I respectfully disagree with UMAF. UMAF’s comments would be valid IF the probability of a winning trade were equal between a 2:1 strategy and a 0.5:1 strategy. If that were the case, why not just shoot for 10:1 or 50:1? The reality is that changing your reward:risk ratio will change your probability of a winning trade. Setting a profit target of 0.5% for a risk of 2% can be quite viable because your % winners will be higher.
In fact, strategy with a lower reward:risk ratio is better for managing another kind of trading risk, which is your risk of drawdown. Your drawdown tolerance, and your long term performance vs that drawdown tolerance will determine your ultimate success in trading, and this is often overlooked by traders.
Best Regards,