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!
Samoa Sheet Cake
Samoa Sheet Cake
Every now and then, with all the yummy recipes I make for this blog, one recipe stand out more than the others… a recipe I claim to be one of my top favorites from the blog. Top favorites meaning within the Top 5 of almost 1000 recipes…
Today, I am sharing one of those recipes that made my personal favorites list.
This is one cake you will want to make over and over again! It is amazing!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 4 Tablespoons cocoa
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
FROSTING
- ½ cup butter
- 6 Tablespoons milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ cup caramel sauce, I used caramel ice cream topping in the jar
ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS
- 2½ cups toasted coconut, See instructions below for how to make it
- 7 to 8 ounces caramel, either Kraft Caramel Cubes or from a block of Caramel. I used a block of Peter's Caramel.
- ⅛ cup evaporated milk
- ¾ cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon shortening or oil
Instructions
- Before making the cake, line an 18x13x1 inch cookie sheet with foil and spread shredded sweetened coconut evenly over cookie sheet.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes, checking and tossing coconut regularly, every 2-5 minutes, to make sure all the coconut gets toasted evenly and does not burn. Coconut is done when it is golden brown.
- In a large mixing bowl, measure flour and sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, water, cocoa and shortening. Bring to a boil. After mixture reaches a boil, add it to the flour mixture and stir to combine.
- Add buttermilk, then baking soda, then eggs, then vanilla in that order, mixing in-between each addition.
- Pour into a greased 18x13x1 inch cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
FROSTING
- In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine butter and milk and bring to a boil. Stir caramel sauce and then add powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth.
- After cake has cooked, remove from oven and poke holes in hot cake with a fork. Pour frosting evenly over top. Immediately sprinkle with top of warm frosting with toasted coconut.
- In microwavable bowl, add caramel and evaporated milk and cook on high in 30 second increments, string in between each increment. Continue to cook and stir until caramel is smooth. Drizzle over coconut.
- In another microwavable bowl, add chocolate chips and shortening (or oil). Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between each increment until the chocolate in melted. Drizzle over caramel.
- Let Caramel and Chocolate drizzle set before cutting into it.
