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!
Turkey Cupcakes – Thanksgiving Cupcake Decorating
Turkey Cupcakes – Thanksgiving Cupcake Decorating
Christmas, Halloween and Valentine’s Day have a ton of fun dessert decorating ideas, but I think Thanksgiving gets a little gypped. After all, we spend most of the day making food, so why not make it cute?!
Don’t panic, I didn’t put actual turkey in these cupcakes! They just look like adorable little turkeys 🙂 These Turkey Cupcakes are chocolatey and have some Reese’s Pieces as the feathers, so it’s the perfect decorating activity! If you’re allergic to peanut butter, just use 1 row of candy corn instead and have it fan out like feathers would! There are also lots of substitutions to making the little turkey faces, so check for those in the notes below!
Ingredients
- 20-24 unfrosted cupcakes
- 20-24 Hershey Kisses
- 1 C. white chocolate chips-I used white Melts, divided
- Orange gel food dye (see notes below)
- Mini chocolate M&Ms
- Chocolate frosting (or chocolate peanut butter)
- 1 bag Reese's Pieces
Directions
- First you'll make the turkey faces. Unwrap all Hershey Kisses.
- Melt 1/4 C. or the white chocolate and stir in orange gel food dye. The liquid dye will cause the chocolate to seize so don't use that. OR you can use orange frosting! Dip the tip of each Kiss into the orange chocolate and let cool-see photos below.
- After the "beak" has cooled, use a red mini M&M and dip the side of it into the left over orange chocolate and press onto the beak as the "gobble." See photos.
- To make eyes, melt the rest of the white chocolate and use a small ziplock bag to make a mini piping bag by cutting off the corner. Pipe little dollops out and then press a brown or blue mini M&M into the chocolate while still warm and let cool.
- Use melted while chocolate or frosting to place the eyes onto the Kisses.
- Frost all your cupcakes.
- Use your Reese's Pieces to create "feathers" and work from the outside in, one color at a time. See photos. I did the same color order every time but feel free to mix it up! You can ever use candy corn instead if you prefer!
- Place a Hershey Kiss "face" in the center when you're done!
- Gobble, gobble!
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