It's possible to trade profitably on the Forex, the nearly $2 trillion worldwide currency exchange market. But the odds are against you, even more so if you don't prepare and plan your trades. According to a 2014 Bloomberg report, several analyses of retail Forex trading, including one by the National Futures Association (NFA), the industry's regulatory body, concluded that more than two out of three Forex traders lose money.
This suggests that self-education and caution are recommended. Here are some approaches that may improve your odds of taking a profit.
Prepare Before You Begin Trading
Because the Forex market is highly leveraged -- as much as 50 to 1 -- it can have the same appeal as buying a lottery ticket: some small chance of making a killing. This, however, isn't trading; it's gambling, with the odds long against you.
A better way of entering the Forex market is to carefully prepare. Beginning with a practice account is helpful and risk-free. While you're trading in your practice account, read the most frequently recommended Forex trading books, among them
Currency Forecasting: A Guide to Fundamental and Technical Models of Exchange Rate Determination, by Michael R. Rosenberg is short, not too sweet and highly admired introduction to the Forex market.
Forex Strategies: Best Forex Strategies for High Profits and Reduced Risk, by Matthew Maybury is an excellent introduction to Forex trading.
The Little Book of Currency Trading: How to Make Big Profits in the World of Forex, by Kathy Lien is another concise introduction that has stood the test of time.
All three are available on Amazon. Rosenberg's book, unfortunately, is pricey, but it's widely available in public libraries. "Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude," by Mark Douglas is another good book that's available on Amazon, and, again, somewhat pricey, although the Kindle edition is not.
Use the information gained from your reading to plan your trades before plunging in. The more you change your plan, the more you end up in trouble and the less likely that elusive forex profit will end up in your pocket.
Diversify and Limit Your Risks
Two strategies that belong in every trader's arsenal are:
Diversification: Traders who execute many small traders, particularly in different markets where the correlation between markets is low, have a better chance of making a profit. Putting all your money in one big trade is always a bad idea.
Familiarize yourself with ways guaranteeing a profit on an already profitable order, such as a trailing stop, and of limiting losses using stop and limit orders. These strategies and more are covered in the recommended books. Novice traders often make the mistake of concentrating on how to win; it's even more important to understand how to limit your losses.
Be Patient
Forex traders, particularly beginners, are prone to getting nervous if a trade does not go their way immediately, or if the trade goes into a little profit they get itchy to pull the plug and walk away with a small profit that could have been a significant profit with little downside risk using appropriate risk reduction strategies.
In "On Any Given Sunday," Al Pacino reminds us that "football is a game of inches." That's a winning attitude in the Forex market as well. Remember that you are going to win some trades and lose others. Take satisfaction in the accumulation of a few more wins than losses. Over time, that could make you rich!
CHURRO COOKIES WITH CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
CHURRO COOKIES WITH CARAMEL CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Churro cookies are basically buttery warm pie pastry sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and sandwiched with caramel cream cheese frosting
1 hr, 15 Prep Time
45 min Cook Time
2 hr Total Time
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar Pastry:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (cold)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 2 ounces cream cheese (full fat)
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce (thick at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered or confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Measure butter and flour into a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into flour using a pastry cutter. (Alternatively, you can pulse in a food processor until pea-sized crumbs form.) Add cream and softly mix just until dough comes together. Press into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Sprinkle flour over a counter top and roll 1/2 of dough out to 1/8 inch thick. (Sprinkle hands or rolling pin with flour, if needed.) Use a 1 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut the dough into as many rounds as you can fit. (Keep rest of dough refrigerated until ready to roll it out.) Place rounds onto an ungreased baking sheet and prick each round with a fork 4 times, so air can escape. (You can place the cookies very close together--they do not spread.)
- Bake 10 minutes--if you see some of the cookies start to brown around the edge, remove the pan from the oven. Move cookies to a wire rack.
- Stir cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Use a spoon to sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the cookies, while they are still warm. (The warm butter will help the cinnamon sugar stick to the cookies.)
- While first batch is baking, gather scrap dough from first round, roll out, and repeat cutting rounds of dough out. Repeat process with the remaining dough. (Do not re-roll scraps more than twice--the pastry will become tough.) Allow cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make frosting by mixing butter, cream cheese, caramel, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Place a small dollop of frosting on the underside of a cookie and sandwich together with another cookie. Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
Tools Used for This Recipe: a pastry cutter and biscuit cutter
