10 Steps to Start Trading WellTo start anything in life, no matter what it is or how long it may seem, you need to take the first step.
With trading it’s the same, with one little difference.
You have the opportunity to learn the costly mistakes, tips and the strategies that have worked for other successful traders.
This way you can, take the shortcut to kick start your trading career, make it easier and more enjoyable.
Here are ten quick steps you can take to start your trading on the right path.
STEP 1:
Choose the market/s you’d like to trade
(Shares, Forex, Commodities, Indices or Crypto-currencies).
STEP 2:
Choose a broker or market maker you’ll trade with
(Make sure they offer CFDs or Spread Betting trading).
STEP 3:
Learn how the trading and charting platform works
(Call your broker who’ll be happy to help with the above first steps).
STEP 4:
Make sure you have a proven and a profitable trading strategy
(Every strategy needs to have its own entry, exit levels and risk management rules).
STEP 5:
Back-test your trading strategy
(Back test 20 trades and then forward test 20 trades on your paper account).
STEP 6:
Deposit money into account
(You can start trading with less than R1,000 to test the markets in real-time).
STEP 7:
Take every trade according to the strategy
(This way you can develop your track record).
STEP 8:
Track your trading performance to ensure your portfolio is on the up
(Win rate, average winner, average loser, no. of winners, losers and other metrics).
STEP 9:
Read more trading books and watch YouTube videos to learn extra tips
(Each tip can help boost your winners, cut losers and increase your win rate).
STEP 10:
Keep your head in the game
(You’ll need passion, integration and determination to maintain your trading career).
It’s your turn
Print and laminate these steps, so you know how to start trading – the right way.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
Tradingtips
DXY H4 - Short SignalDXY H4 - Break and retest play seen here on the dollar index around that 105.00 handle. We are hoping to see deeper rejections from this price leading into US CPI figures and also FED interest rate and press conference later on in the week.
The general outlook seems to be a weaker dollar on the basis inflation is starting to cool and central backs are starting to back off with the aggressiveness regarding rate hikes.
4 Sacrifices every trader makesFirst of all, trading is not a short-term proposition to get rich.
Anyone who says otherwise, needs to spend some time thinking about doing before speaking inside a jail cell.
No…
Trading is a lifestyle that you’ll need to adapt and integrate into yours and your family’s financial future.
Whenever you start something new, especially for a financial gain, you’ll need to make some form of sacrifices.
In today’s article we’ll discuss the four sacrifices every successful trader will make.
SACRIFICE #1:
Time
The money is not going to just fall into your lap. You’re going to need to put in the time to work through the process of successful trading.
As a new trader you’ll need to read as many books, websites and forums on how to trade.
This will prepare you for what trading is all about.
Then you’ll need to take time to learn which:
• Markets you wish to trade
• Method you’ll use to get in and out of your trade.
• Money you’ll risk to grow your portfolio
• Mind you’ll need to adapt to avoid any unnecessary emotions from taking over and interfering with the process.
Then finally you’ll need the time to back-test, forward-test and actually trade on a daily or a weekly basis.
This time can range from 5 minutes a week, which is what I follow with the MATI Trader System, to 5 hours a day if you’re more of an aggressive intraday based trader.
No matter what career you pursue, you’ll need to sacrifice the necessary time to learn the ins and outs of it.
SACRIFICE #2:
Money
Another inevitable sacrifice you’ll need to make is to take money out of your savings to trade.
I say savings because you should never risk any money you can’t afford to risk or any money that you use on a monthly basis to finance your life.
Once a month as you get paid, deposit just 5% of your savings into your trading account.
This way you’ll be able to grow your portfolio at a faster and a more sustainable.
The other side of money you’ll risk is of course, with every trade you take.
Most successful traders out there risk around 1%, 2% to 3% per trade, in order to make a 2%, 4% or even a 6% gain on your portfolio.
SACRIFICE #3:
Thrill
You’ll need to sacrifice the THRILL of trading and exchange it for FOCUS.
Trading should be seen as a business rather than playing the lottery once a week.
As much as I have loved trading the MATI Trader System for the last 18 years, I’ve also taken it very seriously.
Before you commit any money into the markets, you’ll need to have a solid watch list, trading system and money management rules to follow methodically.
This way you’ll have a mechanical approach to trading without the thrill, when you bank a profit or without the devastation, anger and disappointment.
Remember that a winning portfolio is not about taking a few trades but the 100s of trades over time.
Make sure you have the focus for when you trade in the week and sacrifice the thrill for on the weekends when the markets are closed.
SACRIFICE #4:
Space
The final sacrifice you’ll need to make is to make space.
Make sure your trading desk is clear of any distracting books, devices and objects that have no aid to your trading.
A cleaner and clearer trading desk will prevent a number of distractions for when you trade which could result in unnecessary stress, anxiety and worry.
Also you’ll most likely need to make space for just one more monitor.
By having two monitors, you can use one for your trading platform to buy, sell and modify trades.
The other monitor will then be used for your charting platform to analyse, assess and seek more trading opportunities.
Are they actually sacrifices?
Coming to the end of the article, I’ve just realised something.
These four ‘sacrifices’ you’ll make as a professional trader – Are they sacrifices or are they just opportunities you can take for trading to be smooth sailing?
Expectations and TradingExpectations and Trading
When you trade, you look at chances that either come true or don't. You can't expect or demand anything from the market or from other people who take part in the market. No one owes anyone anything in this world, and trading is no different.
In trading, you have complete freedom of expression; you can do almost anything and however you want. This freedom will show you how irrational people are and how they can't just control their thoughts, feelings, and actions.
All traders lose money because they take too many risks and don't have enough self-control. How long does it take for a trader to lose control of himself? A feeling of being left out It all starts with the idea that money has been lost. This feeling is exactly what makes people want to take more risks.
You open the chart and see that the price of your favorite asset has been going up for more than a day. Then you start thinking about how much you could make and where you could spend that money. This makes you want to buy an asset with a larger volume so you can make more money. You make a trade that is set up to have the best possible outcome, but you have no idea or acceptance of the possible consequences.
Revaluation
Take a look at what you have done so far. Are you ready to put everything on the line? If the answer is no, you should ask yourself, "Why do I want to put everything I have at risk?" Most likely, you feel this way because you want to make a big change in your life. But do you really know what's at stake?
"Filter of perception" or what are the risks of expectations?
What happens after you have set up the expectation that the trade will go well for you? When you go into a trade with more money than you need, you somehow set yourself up for a good result. Your mind starts to ignore information and signals from the market that don't fit with what you already think, as if you were wearing blinders. You won't know for sure how this filter works until you close the deal and stop having false hopes.
Is trading something that everyone can do?
Trading is not something that everyone should do. To get good at this craft, you have to work on yourself all the time, get over your emotions, control your thoughts, and question your own decisions while always following the rules. Don't give up on trading if you think it's not for you. You can be successful if you only do what you really want and work to improve yourself and show off your inner potential.
What is it to trade?
Trading is a game of chances, and you should have the right mindset for it. You shouldn't feel bad when a stop loss happens, because if you use a method that has a certain chance of working, you know that in the end, you'll still have made money. It's just a matter of time. You can survive and put off the so-called "trader's cycle" only if the trading process makes you feel good.
System trading
System trading means that you only make a trade under a certain set of rules. Your system could include chart patterns, candlestick formations, indicators, a certain astrological date, and more. No matter what, it's important that the chance of success and the risk vs. reward are both high. As soon as you make your own trading system, start keeping a trade diary, write down the rules of your trade, and answer when you enter a trade, you will be in the big leagues of traders, and nothing can stop you from making money on the market. If you stick to your own rules, you'll be happy with both your take profit and your stop loss, knowing that you did things in a planned way. It is not your fault that the stop loss worked or your credit that you got a take profit.
Worry and concern
Before making deals, many traders are afraid and have doubts. These feelings are bad for you, so don't give in to them. They will only get in the way. You might be scared to open trades because the amount of money you risk in each trade is too high. Let's draw an analogy. You and a friend make a bet on the flip of a coin. The coin is strange, so it comes up heads 70% of the time. If it comes up heads at least once, you lose. If it comes up heads twice in a row, you win. Can it happen that heads come up twice in a row by accident? What's four? Yes, it sure can! Your task is in increasing the number of coin flips to win the bet as often as possible over time. The same is true of the business you do. When you act in a systematic way on the market, you might get four stop losses in a row. But at the same time, you shouldn't lose a lot of money that will change the way you live. One to two percent of your capital is the best amount to put at risk in a single trade. Getting a stop loss only won't throw you off your emotional balance and let you fall into the "trader's cycle" if you have so much used volume. If you don't think this is enough, ask yourself, "Is the goal of your trading to try to increase the size of your capital no matter what, or to keep it and grow it?"
How often you trade ?
Overtrading, which leads to "trading burnout," is not a small mistake made by new traders. Your job is to wait in a humble way for a new system to set up on the chart. You don't have to look at the chart every ten minutes. Instead, decide on your own what timeframes you will use to trade, and keep in mind that the longer the timeframe, the more reliable the signal.
Take profits and stop losses in a row
The most important thing to remember is that you must keep acting according to your trading system, no matter how many stop losses you get in a row, and you must keep not acting against your trading system, no matter how many take profits you get in a row. The market can be irrational, and technical analysis may stop working at those times, but that doesn't matter. What matters is whether you are acting in a systematic way and whether you are in control at this moment. We can get several stop losses in a row if we only follow our trading system, but we don't have to worry about losing a lot of money or feeling bad about ourselves because we know that over the course of a few years, we are statistically certain to succeed if we trade on system entry points that have a 70% chance of working out and a ratio of possible profits to possible losses of at least 2:1, which guarantees us a profit even if we lose.
Conclusion
Real traders trade probabilities based on market signals in the moment instead of building expectations, because they know that expectations lead to unfulfilled expectations and missed opportunities. You can only make money with a system, self-control, and time.
Is YOUR Broker Regulated? Find out hereHere is a list of eight of the main financial regulatory agencies that are backed with strict regulatory enforcement in other countries…
You’ll need to make sure the broker you choose is approved by one of the below.
South Africa (FSCA) - The Financial Sector Conduct Authority
USA (SEC) – Securities And Exchange Commission
Eurozone (MiFID) – Markets In Financial Instruments Directive
UK (FCA) – Financial Conduct Authority
Australia (ASIC) – Australian Securities and Investments Commission
India (SEBI) – Securities and Exchange Board of India
Japan (JSDA) – Japan Securities Dealers Association
Switzerland (FINMA) – Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
Am I missing any? Let me know in the comments :)
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
Financial trader since 2003
Q. How do you work out CFD Interest Swaps with an example?Q. How do you work out CFD Interest Swaps with an example?
Answer: CFDs is an instrument where you pay a small amount of money to be exposed to the full value of the share.
With CFDs, there are daily charges when you buy and daily income interest that you receive when you sell (go short).
The charge is known as a ‘daily swap’ or ‘daily interest charge’.
You can ask your broker what the annual interest swap rate is or you’ll most likely be able to find it on your platform…
With my broker for example, the long swap (for when you buy) is -9.47% per year.
And the short swap (for when you sell) is 2.71%.
With your Shoprite trade, because you’re buying CFDs (which is a geared instrument), you’re essentially borrowing the money from the bank.
This means, you have to pay interest on the borrowed funds (in order to be exposed to the full value).
Those are the ‘swaps’ we’re talking about.
Let’s say the Shoprite share is trading at R223.19 and the margin (initial deposit) to buy 1 CFD is 9.7% (R21.70).
This means, when you buy 1 CFD for R21.70, you’ll be exposed to the full R223.19 worth of the share.
If you buy 100 CFDs and pay R2,170 (100 CFDs X R21.70) you’ll be exposed to the full R22,319 worth of shares (100 shares X 223.19).
And if you sold the 100 CFDs at R236.00, you would have been exposed to R23,600.
On that R22,319 exposure, you’ll pay 9.47% (R2,113.60) interest (swap) per year.
But luckily as traders, you don’t need to worry about paying the full amount, as we like to hold only for a short period of time.
This means, each day you hold the CFD with exposure of R22,319 – you’ll only pay R5.49.
(Exposure of your trade X 9.47%) ÷ 365 days.
If the exposure never changed and you held onto your trade at the same share price you would pay R54.90 (after 10 days).
However, we know that share prices move up and down each day.
The higher the market goes up, the higher your exposure where you’ll pay slightly more.
If the market price drops, you will pay slightly less.
However, as traders we don’t tend to hold for more than a couple of days or weeks to curb the daily interest charges.
If you have any other questions please ask in the comments :)
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
REVEALED: 14 Ways to Spot a Trading ScamIf you’re new to trading, listen up.
There are serpent companies and individuals out there, with only one goal.
To make profits and money for themselves and NO one else.
They do this by exploiting the newbie trader’s optimism, greed and fear by tricking them into what I call “Easy-Money-Traps”.
As a savvy trader, you need to know how to spot and avoid these scams, before you fall victim to one of them.
I’m going to kick you off with 15 of the most common trading scams you may find nowadays.
SCAM #1:
Flaunting money and posing in flashy cars
WARNING: When you see an advert with a fake ‘guru’ posing in a Lamborghini holding stacks of cash, this manipulates people into thinking they’re rich.
REALITY: Most times the cash notes are fake and worthless, which is prop money that is usually used in movies. It’s also been proven that 90% of these companies or individuals usually rent the car, borrow it from their rich friend or they take selfies in front of a stranger’s car.
WHAT TO DO: Don’t believe everything you see online.
Scam #2:
They chase after your contact number
WARNING: When a fake “guru” begs for your contact number and persuades you to buy a trading course or ticket to their seminar.
The more aggressive they are trying to get your money, means that their primary income is mostly likely from what they’re trying to sell rather than the money they make when trading.
REALITY: A true trader with a product or service to offer, will not pester you, sound desperate and bully you with tons of marketing and promises. Their main goals are to offer you value, help and develop a relationship over time.
WHAT TO DO: Never share your contact number just to “Learn More”, “Book A Free Consultation” or “Check Out” information on what the product is about. You will have marketers call you on a weekly basis trying to suck you into buying their products.
Scam #3:
There is NO background information
WARNING: When a scam artist has little to no background or legal information.
Whether it’s a trader, broker, money manager or an educator – Never work with anyone who doesn’t have the following:
• A website
• A proven track record (at least 5 years)
• Valuable content
• An “About Us” page (To learn more about them)
• Contact information
• Customer reviews and testimonials (Ask people!)
• A company registration number
• Tax registration details• Financial regulation
• A website that isn’t secured (When it starts with HTTP and not HTTPS)
REALITY: Most times these non-regulated individuals will try their luck to get you to deposit money into their account and then will disappear.
WHAT TO DO: Always do a full check-up on the person or company through Google, Facebook, websites and reviews and take notes with the bullet points above to see if the person or company is licensed, legit and regulated by independent organisations.
Scam #4:
You can’t withdraw your money
WARNING: Your broker or money maker, doesn’t allow you or limits your ability to withdraw funds or profits.
Whenever there are delays to withdraw your money, chances are you’re dealing with illegitimate trading companies. It should never take more than a few days for your money to be returned…
WHAT TO DO: Don’t invest a single cent more into the company, until you have received your funds. Use your rights and speak to a lawyer about your options, in order to find a way to get your money back.
NOTE: This does not apply to fixed-term securities such as, hedge funds, bonds, retirement funds with periodic redemption rights and other constraints.
Scam #5:
Failure to prove their BOGUS trading results
WARNING: When you see someone bragging about their winning trades or money they made for the day and how they can help you – but not willing to prove their results.
Watch out with Facebook and Instagram posts on traders posting fake trading results on Telegram, MyFxBook, WhatsApp and other groups.
REALITY: If they are not willing to prove their results, chances are they have been Photoshopped and are only trading with a demo account. Also you’ll see them posting their gains and winnings only and never their losses. This is a big red-flag for me which screams out – SCAM!
WHAT TO DO: Avoid any person who is not willing to share their broker statements or trading results which have been verified by a reputable and licensed firm.
Scam #6:
When they urge you to buy immediately
WARNING: When someone tries one of their high-pressure sales techniques to get you to invest or buy a product or service on the spot.
If ever you get one of those sleazy salesperson’s try to intimidate you, make you feel stupid for not making a decision – warnings bells should ring.
Many con artists, will pressure you with limited time offers or tell you to buy on the phone or you’ll lose the deal.
REALITY: A legit and ethical company will never create such urgency. They will in fact, want you to do your own research, consider your options and take your time to see if their product or service offered will benefit you or not.
They will NEVER force you to buy anything on the spot.
WHAT TO DO: Do your own research before you make a decision, and make sure you leave those high-pressure salesmen charlatans.
Scam #7:
You hear bad investment advice or too-good-to-be-true deals
WARNING: When you hear bogus advice or too-good-to-be-true statements from an individual or company that is contrary to anything you’ve ever been told.
As soon as you hear any of these messages, they are most likely scams:
• “You can put your life savings into our brokerage firm.”
• “Follow our +80% win rate trading system.”
• “Do you want GUARANTEED returns?”
• “Take out a loan and invest with us.”
• “You’ll bank over 10% a month.”
• “We don’t use stop losses.”
• “100% accurate signals.”
• “Get rich quickly.”
• “Easy money.”
WHAT TO DO: Don’t run away just yet. Do the full check up on the company and with their track record and then decide for yourself.
Most times it’s just the marketing agency, rather than the actual trader, who’s trying to hype up the copy through their copywriting, Click Funnels, Value Ladders etc…
Scam #8:
They ask for your personal information
WARNING: When someone asks you for unnecessary personal information to make a transaction.
There are salesperson’s out there that will ask you for a bunch of unnecessary personal information including:
• Bank card details
• Facebook account details
• Phone number
• Income per month
• Trading account password
• Home address
REALITY: If you’re looking to invest in a trading product or service or open an account with an institution, then no trusted and legit company will ever ask for the above details.
WHAT TO DO: Never give any details to an individual or company that you don’t trust. You can also ask for their Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy statements, to read each detail of their security and privacy matters.
Scam #9:
You get a call from a stranger
WARNING: You may get an unexpected and unsolicited local or international phone call “cold call”, email, letter or personal visit from a stranger offering you a deal.
REALITY: These are most times marketers or customer services trying to sell you something, in order to make a sale.
WHAT TO DO: Kindly tell them to remove your number off their data-base and that you will do your own research and will call them back if you are interested in what they have to offer.
Scam #9:
Watch out for bad wording
WARNING: When the company or individual is packed with bad wording.
Bad wording includes:
• Misspellings
• Incorrect dates (Look at the footer of a website where it says ©)
• Badly written content
• Unprofessional content i.e. emoticons, !!!, ??? and swearing
• Typos everywhere
• URL website has spelling mistakes e.g. (Foerxtrading.com)
WHAT TO DO: This should be your judgement…
NOTE: I personally am sceptical whenever I see any of the above, even though I may make a typo or grammar mistake with my own content every now and then.
Scam #10:
The never-ending Facebook scams
WARNING: When you see posts that offer you free signals, tools, get rich quick messages or advertising ploys that direct you to deposit money.
You’ll see countless scams on a daily basis in Facebook groups and pages that will direct you away from them by sending messages such as:
• “Inbox me”
• “Ask how”
• “Join our Telegram”
• “100% accurate signals”
• “Reply add”
• “Do you know you can make XXX amount of money”
• “Click this link”
• “Ask for more info”
• “Daily free signals”
• “Daily 200 – 500 pips”
• “Guaranteed results”
• “No scam”
WHAT TO DO: Do your thorough research and follow the above #3 step before making your decision.
EXTRA TRADING SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
#11: Trading software, robot or EA that guarantees a +70% win rate system.
#12: Fake Facebook profile name, picture with dodgy friends.
#13: Any product or service that promises “Zero-Risk”.
#14: Any notion that promises you riches quickly and tells you to trust them or take their word for it.
If you enjoyed this trading lesson of the day let me know in the comments and follow me for more daily tips.
Trade well, live free.
Timon
MATI Trader
THE POWER OF STOP LOSSHello again! Here I prepared for you what I consider the most important tool when it comes to risk management and developing a discipline, which helped me a lot in my trading journey: stop loss!
At first, I have to admit that I found it truly frustrating to see how 2 pips can trigger the stop loss and right after that my position reaches my target, but in time, I realised that in order to stick to my trading strategy and become profitable, I have to also accept the losses, even when I consider them
"unfair". Using the stop loss order not only that it helps cutting the losses, but can also help you lock in the profits. What helped my account the most was, after a while when the price goes in the desired direction, to move the stop loss at the entry point (so whatever happens, there will be no loss), and it honestly eliminates a lot of stress, especially during night.
Hopefully you will find this information as useful as I did, and feel free to ask anything in the comments section!
1 Rule to STOP a portfolio CRASH I guess my number one rule to prevent a portfolio going bust is my 20% Rule…
The rule is simple.
If my portfolio ever drops below 20%, due to a losing streak, I halt trading…
Notice the word halt instead of STOP.
When a portfolio is down 20%, this is where you’ll halt your trading but you’ll
KEEP following your trading strategy.
So, you’ll simply demo trade your system and continue journaling your entries and exits…
And only once the equity curve (your portfolio) goes back to all-time highs (on paper of course) then you can resume trading live…
Do you have a trading question? Ask in the comments and I'll fully answer it in one of these posts on TradingView...
Trade well, live free
Timon
MATI Trader
27 Ways to Save money to TradeSaving money to trade, or in general, can be a pain.
Either it drops your quality of life, or you find that you just can’t save a cent at the end of the month.
No matter what you’re earning, I’m going to show you exactly how to save money the easy way.
Here are my 27 favourite money savings tips with a couple of personal notes…
SAVINGS TIP #1: Stick to your shopping list
Write your shopping list down on a piece of paper or on your phone, and stick to it to avoid overspending.
When you are prepared for what you have to buy when it comes to your grocery shopping, this will more likely stop you from buying extra items you don’t need.
SAVINGS TIP #2: Pay with hard cash
Pay using real money instead of swiping your debit or credit cards.
When you pay with a card, instead of cash, you’ll find that you’ll spend more money on unnecessary items than you should or with money you don’t even have.
Personal note:
While I’ve been living and trading in Greece, I find this is the best savings tip I’ve used so far.
SAVINGS TIP #3: Pay yourself firstay yourself first
As soon as you’re paid your salary, wage or income for the month – deposit a portion of that money straight into your trading or savings account.
I like to use the 10% rule, but this all depends on what you can afford to deposit. This means, if you earn R60,000 per month deposit R6,000 into your trading account or savings account each month.
SAVINGS TIP #4: Don’t shop when ‘hangry’ or emotional
Avoid shopping when you’re feeling hungry, thirsty, angry or upset.
You’ll find you’ll spend more money than you should. In a recent study: Hungry mall shoppers who were hungry spent on average 64% MORE than non-hungry shoppers.
Make sure you have a nice meal and drink lots of water, before you go on your next shopping trip.
SAVINGS TIP #5: The ‘cookie-jar’ approach
When you empty your pockets, at the end of the day, drop them into a yearly cookie jar for your savings.
You’ll be surprised how many thousands of rands you’ll be able to save, collect and be able to deposit into your trading account for the next year.
SAVINGS TIP #6: Use the 24-Hour-Rule
Before paying money for non-essential and expensive items on clothes, cosmetics, appliances or even tools, just wait 24 hours before buying it.
You may find that you’ll lose that desire to buy them after 24 hours, which will save you tens of thousands of rands a year. Maybe when your parents said “sleep on it”, there was method behind their madness.
SAVINGS TIP #7: Go generic
Save a ton of money by buying the generic prescription medicines instead of paying a fortune for the name branded drugs.
Ask your local pharmacist or physician if you can have the generic prescription drugs instead of the brand-name drugs.
You’ll find that the generic products cost far less than the brand names, and will work equally well.
SAVINGS TIP #8: A quick breakfast that lasts a week
Breakfasts are not only the most important meal of the day, but can also be the quickest, easiest and most inexpensive meal for the day.
When you eat a full and healthy breakfast, you’ll find it will keep you from going out to eat an expensive lunch…
Personal note:
For the last two years, I have had the same breakfast which I make once and it lasts an entire week.
This has truly been life-changing as it makes my day start with one less decision to make before I get on with the rest of the day.
It’s called “Overnight Oats”. If you’d like to see my personal recipe feel free to click here…
SAVINGS TIP #9: Follow the 30-Day-Rule
Before you buy something really expensive, give it 30 days and then decide if it’s worth it.
I’m talking about items like jewellery, motorbikes, paintings, juice extractors and any other item that can cost over R3,000.
SAVINGS TIP #10: Don’t be fooled by sales
Avoid sales and don’t be duped by discounts, special offers, buy 1 get one free etc…
Remember this for every time you see a sale for 50% at the next Black Friday’s Special.
“You’re not saving 50% of your money, you’re spending 50% of your money that you weren’t planning to spend in the first place.”
SAVINGS TIP #11: Skip the alcohol and bottled water!
When you go out to a restaurant, avoid spending unnecessary money on alcohol and expensive water bottles.
A standard restaurant can mark up their cost of alcohol by three to five times.
Instead order just plain water or even a sugar free soda.
Personal note:
In Europe I have noticed that when you ask for tap water, they pour it from a bottle of expensive water (R30) anyway. This is due to the danger of drinking tap water in Europe.
SAVINGS TIP #12: Own your doggy bag
Ask your waiter to put the food that you didn’t finish in a doggy bag, so you can save money on lunch for the next day.
People are far too embarrassed about everything nowadays which I think needs to stop.
There should not be a stigma attached to taking leftover food home.
Everybody easts, drinks and sleeps. And when it comes to the food you ordered at the restaurant, you paid for it so why waste it?
This will also save you money, time and effort the next day for lunch, which will make your trip to the restaurant EVEN MORE WORTH IT.
SAVINGS TIP #13: Put three items back after shopping
When you’ve added extra items to your shopping that weren’t on the list, to avoid overspending, put back at least three items that you believe you can live without.
It’s very easy to walk through the final naughty aisle grabbing a whole bunch of crisps, chocolates, biltong, dried fruit and even a bottle of juice.
SAVINGS TIP #15: Cut down on smoking and drinking
Try to cut down your smoking and drinking by half the number per day.
This is really tricky to do but if you put your mind to it and challenge yourself, I know you can achieve this.
Personal note:
What I do with smoking is I’ve limited it to two in the morning, two in the afternoon and two at night.
This tip has saved me hundreds of rands per week from buying more boxes and I will continue to try cut it down until I’ve quit completely.
SAVINGS TIP #16: Fill up your milk with water
As soon as the milk reaches, the half way mark – fill it up with water. YOU WON’T TASTE THE DIFFERENCE.
As a parent or as a milk drinker, it can be extremely expensive to buy milk on a daily basis.
SAVINGS TIP #17: Become a vegetarian (at least once a week)
At least once a week, switch to meatless dishes which will help drop your grocery bill.
Replace it with: Chickpeas, couscous, okra, rice, sauerkraut, quinoa, beans, nuts, pasta dishes etc… You’ll be surprised what you can find at your local supermarket.
Personal note:
Inspired by my cousin, she insisted I cut meat out just once a week. I call this day “Meatless Monday”.
EXTRA MONEY SAVINGS TIPS
#18: Grow your own vegetables
#19: Sign up for loyalty cards
#20: Track your spending on your finance budget app
#21: Make meals that will last a week e.g. Lasagna, casserole, giouvetsi, gemista, soups, roasts, ratatouille etc…
#22: Buy the generic foods rather than the expensive name branded foods
#23: Pay careful attention to expiration dates
#24: Check your eggs in their boxes and your vegetables in their packets
#25: Freeze your foods in bulk
#26: Eat a meal before going to a restaurant
#27: Keep to Pay-As-You-Go with your cell phone account and use the Wi-Fi to call on WhatsAapp
This will be fun!
With these savings tips you can watch your money grow in your savings and trading account!
Why you should LOVE your losses 5 REASONSWe are brought up in society to WIN, WIN, WIN!
Throughout our upbringing we must either:
Achieve top grades
Drive the fanciest cars
Wear and own the best brands
In other words, we are raised to win with everything we do in life, until you get welcomed into the world of trading.
Today I’m going to be the contrarian and share with you why you should love, embrace and own your losses in order to ensure you grow your portfolio on a consistent basis.
Let’s start with:
What happens after a winning streak?
There will be a time during your trading career, where you’re going to endure a magical time where you end up taking sometimes 6, 8 to even 10 winning trades in a row.
Your portfolio will be smiling at a new all-time-high and, you’ll feel invincible. You may think that you’ve cracked the holy-grail of trading where you can quit your job and just make a living with the markets.
Research shows that individuals tend to invest and trade more actively when their most recent trading performance was successful. In fact, here are:
4 DANGEROUS Actions Traders Take During A Winning Streak:
They take on more trades.
They upper their trading positions.
They start to go against their trading strategy.
Their self-confidence and greed levels pick up.
Winning streaks are normal and INEVITABLE, but eventually they’ll end and the losing streak will begin.
No matter how good you believe you are as a trader or how perfect your trading execution skills are, there will be a time when the honey-moon phase for your trading strategy will be over and the markets will stop acting in your favour every time.
The reason is that due to the conditions of supply and demand, the markets environment will eventually change.
A market that was trending up or down, could enter into a 3-months sideways phase very easily. When this happens, you will enter into a drawdown (downside) phase.
The problem is not the downside for the next three months. The problem is how you’ll treat your trading going forward, based on the DANGEROUS actions you would have taken during your winning streak.
Let’s bring them back, to see what will happen to ‘invincible traders’ portfolios and minds with their unexpected losing streak…
They start to take on more trades –
THIS MEANS MORE LOSSES
They upper their trading positions –
THIS MEANS BIGGER LOSSES.
They start to go against their trading strategy –
THIS MEANS UNEXPECTED LOSSES.
Their self-confidence and greed levels pick up –
THIS MEANS DEPRESSION MAY KICK IN WHICH WILL LEAD TO QUITTING.
Now going back to what we said in the beginning.
When a winning streak ends, you should love, embrace and own your losses because of these five reasons.
5 Reasons To Love Your Trading Losses
Reason #1: Losses are part of your trading success journey
Once you have a winning and proven trading strategy, you’ll need to go back to your trading journal to remind you of the flow of winning streaks, losing streaks, average gain & loss per trade and other historical statistics.
I’ve back, forward and real-tested the MATI Trader System strategy for over two decades and so I know exactly what kind of winning and losing streaks are to come and that I’ll end up profitable in the medium to long term.
Reason #2: Losses help keep your emotions in check
Knowing there are inevitable losses to come, this should curb the ego, greed and fear emotions.
Reason #3: Losses should keep your risk low
With a losing streak that is inevitable to enter your trading results, this alone should be a reason to keep your losses low.
I personally never risk more than 2% or my portfolio in any one trade, no matter how many winning trades I take in a row. You can read more about the timeless money management rules in lesson three of the MATI Trader System programme.
Reason #4: Losses stop the “Hot Hand Fallacy”
Another reason that I love losses when trading is that it reminds me that the winning streak will come to an end.
This keeps me humbled and grounded to know that there will be a time where I’ll need to give back to the market, when the trading environment is less conducive to the trading strategy.
Reason #5: Losses don’t take me back to the drawing board
After a winning streak ends, you’ll find new traders will then quit trading and look for another system to find that will work for them during the changing market environment.
The thing is they don’t realise and accept that losses come with the trading territory and that one should never throw a profitable system away because a market enters into a drawdown phase.
Let me know what you thought about today's trading tutorial. I'm just sharing information I've learnt over the last 20 years as a trader.
Trade well, Live Free...
Timon
MATI Trader
5 Market entry Orders Easily ExplainedBack in the old days, to action a trade you only had two easy options.
Buy or sell…
Fast-forward into the present day, and today you get slapped with five different options to choose from when you get into a trade.
Right now, I’m going to simplify these five trading entry orders in way that you’ll never forget.
Entry Order #1: Market Order
The first entry order is the easiest to understand.
This is where you’ll buy or sell at the most current market price.
When you choose a market order, it is the quickest, most effective and easiest way to enter into your ‘long’ or ‘short’ trade at the current bid (buy) or offer (sell).
Entry Order #2: BUY Limit
When you place a ‘Buy Limit Order’, you’ll place your long trade entry price BELOW where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price drops on or below the Buy Limit Order price, you will be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
EXAMPLE: BUY Limit
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R305 per share and you would like to buy (go long) at R300 per share, you’ll choose the Buy Limit Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to drop to your chosen order price or below it where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
Entry Order #3: SELL Limit
When you place a ‘Sell Limit Order’, you’ll place your short trade entry price ABOVE where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price hits this entry point or above it, you will be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
EXAMPLE: SELL Limit
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R300 per share and you would like to sell (go short) at R305 per share, you’ll choose the Sell Limit Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to rise to or above your chosen order price, where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
Entry Order #4: BUY Stop
When you place a ‘Buy Stop Order’, you’ll place your long trade entry price ABOVE where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price hits this entry point or above it, you will be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
EXAMPLE: BUY Stop
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R300 per share and you would like to buy (go long) at R305 per share, you’ll choose the Buy Stop Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to rise to or above your chosen order price, where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘long’ trade.
Entry Order #5: SELL Stop
When you place a ‘Sell Stop Order’, you’ll place your short trade entry price BELOW where the current price is trading at.
Once the market price drops on or below the Sell Stop Order price, you will be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
EXAMPLE: SELL Stop
If BHP Billiton’s share price is currently trading at R305 per share and you would like to sell (go short) at R300 per share, you’ll choose the Sell Stop Order.
You’ll then wait for the market price to drop to your chosen order price or below it where you’ll then be automatically entered into your ‘short’ trade.
I hope this helps with knowing how to place an entry order for next time!
Trade well, live free...
Timon
MATI Trader
HOW TO USE TECHNICAL INDICATORS TO MAKE PROFITS IN TRADING
Always combine technical analysis with fundamental analysis
Successful traders always combine the two types of analysis. This is because technical analysis tends to focus on the past events and fundamental analysis focuses on the present and future issues.
In addition, there are certain situations where technical analysis will not provide adequate solutions. For instance, technical indicators are not programmed to predict the outcome.
In such situations, it is important to rely on fundamental analysis and avoid the market because no one knows the exact number and how the market will react.
Understand the indicators
It is also important to understand the indicators to use. Different one have different ways of analysis.
It is important for you to take time to learn these indicators and how they should set up. There are many learning materials which one can use to learn how the indicators work.
I recommend that you take at least 2 months to learn the indicators using a demo account before using real money.
Use Few Indicators
As stated before, many traders make the sad mistake of using very many indicators at a go. Always remember that two is a company, three is a crowd.
Traders who use more than two indicators at a go make mistakes because of poor visibility and poor market data interpretation.
Therefore, I recommend that you use at most 2 indicators per trade.
Patience
In day trading, patience is an important aspect without which no trader can make it. In fact, some indicators are usually require more time before their predictions can come true.
Following these tips, your indicator-trading will go to the next level.
Do you agree with all these tips?
Hey traders, let me know what subject do you want to dive in in the next post?
My Interview with US Successful Trader Peter L. BrandtThe Internet has truly made the world a smaller and a more accessible place.
In 2013, I stumbled across world-renown trader, author and owner Peter L.
Brandt, on Twitter and his blog. I sent him a request for him to
join one of the most elite South African trader groups on Skype.
We had some fantastic chats over the next couple of days. There are words
of wisdom that are far too essential to let them slip by.
I’ve collated some of the timeless lessons Peter L. Brandt shared with me.
I hope you enjoy the interview and find it useful for your trading career.
Timon: I’ve never met a trader who trades long time-frames on Forex and
commodities, do you believe technical charts can be used to predict market
movements?
Peter: I absolutely positively do NOT believe I can predict the markets. I
absolutely positively do NOT believe charts are predictive tools any more than
a MACD, COT, Moving Averages or anything else. My win rate is historically
around 38%, although I made some changes to the system in an attempt to
boost that to 45%. Generally, 100% of my profits come from 10% of my
trades. It is a matter of trying to keep the other 90% from being a net loss.
Timon: I agree with no one being able to predict the market movements,
however, I believe in probability predictions. If there is a breakout to the
upside, there is a higher probability for the market to continue moving in the
direction of the breakout. What is your take on when unfavourable markets
bring about a 15% or more drawdown on your portfolio?
Peter: Drawdowns come with the territory. The question to always ask for
discretionary traders is, whether their trading rules are out of sync with the
markets? If they are out of sync with their rules? or both? If I know the problem
are my rules being out of sync with the markets, I will never stop trading because I
cannot time my rules. I may cut back on the size during a losing period.
Timon: As my trading mentor and dear friend Igor Marinkovic
says, “Your biggest drawdown is still to come and so is your biggest
winning streak.” What are your thoughts on risk management principles?
Peter: As a general rule — very general rule — an excellent trader with a
great grasp of money management should have an average annual ROR that
is 1.5 to 2 times their worst drawdown, over the past three or five years. For
me, this is mandatory
Even daily patterns are made up of many hourly patterns that morphed, which
are made up of many 15-minute patterns that morphed etc... — I call it ‘Chart
Morphology’. The trick is to determine which patterns are real and which
patterns are more likely to morph.
Sometimes a market reveals itself by failing.
It is because of morphology that I seek patterns that are 10 to 12
weeks or longer. I’m also not worried about markets changing so drastically
that all conventional systems stop working. The reason is my belief that
markets are and have always been driven by fear, greed and money flows.
These things will always be the same.
Timon: Yes, that’s why I don’t believe in Holy Grail systems. I believe in
finding the system that suits your personality and risk profile. Along the way,
one should not feel scared about making mistakes, but be sure to avoid them
from being too costly. What would be your final feedback on trading in
general?
Peter: Sounds like you are well on your way to a long and profitable
career trading. Mistakes are the tuition charged by the markets for
learning. Unfortunately, the markets often decide the tuition rate, not
us. Hence, I only risk 0.5% per trade.
You have to develop your own style. I have never met another truly skilled trader who has copied his
or her style from another trader. This is true from a tactical standpoint,
but from a money management standpoint most skilled traders think
very much alike.
Forget about motivation and implement this insteadThere is an over-estimated word that people say. I’m talking about MOTIVATION.
“I need motivation to keep to a healthy diet.”
“I need motivation to go to gym six days a week.”
“I need motivation to see my friends.”
If I needed motivation to trade, I would have stopped trading over a decade ago. From today, I want you to remove the word motivation from your life and replace it with…
INTEGRATION
Integration is when an action becomes a habit without any effort and without any force. You make it a part of your daily life where you don’t need the motivation to do something.
To integrate something is to naturally enforce great discipline, passion and determination into your life.
I bet you already integrate certain aspects into your life such as,
Getting dressed
Brushing your teeth
Cooking food
Just like you’ve integrated a few of the above aspects into your life, so too have I done with trading.
For well over a decade, I have the same morning trading routine I’ve incorporated into my life.
I make coffee
Open my trading and chart platform
Look at the main index
Analyse charts using my MATI System
Place my trade orders
Let the market do its thing
That’s it. It’s what I do.
I don’t need the motivation or discipline from friends, family and colleagues when I follow my morning routine.
I’ve just integrated trading into my routine.
It’s time you stop the motivation and start integrating certain aspects into your life with everything that you are passionate about.
Trade well.
Timon (MATI Trader)
5 Laws of Trading Success - EXPLAINED E=MC²
Everything you need to know about the Universe, can be condensed into this tiny equation.
What if there was a formula that unlocked the laws of trading the markets?
I believe, there is…
I call them the 5 Laws To Trading Success…
1. Markets
You’ll need to be able to find and trade the best markets, at anytime and anywhere in the world with CFDs or through Spread Trading.
2. Method
You’ll need to create and adopt proven, mechanical and consistently profitable trading strategies with a few entry and exit rules.
3. Money
You’ll need to learn how to use essential money management rules in order to boost your winners, cut your losses and never blow your trading account.
4. Mind
You’ll need to be able to improve your self-confidence and develop a successful trading mindset, in order to trade effortlessly with little worry and with less stress.
5. Miscellaneous
You’ll need to adopt extra tips and tricks in order to boost your win rate, cut your trading holding time and preserve your portfolio.
Once you incorporate all five equally important elements – around your personality, lifestyle and risk appetite – you’ll be able to create a timeless and profitable trading plan for the rest of your trading career.
Trade well live free.
MATI Trader
Multiple Timeframe AnalysisWhen traders ask "what was your light-bulb moment in trading", I often say 2 things:
1) stop worrying about what other traders are doing and focus on yourself making sure you are consistent with the trading strategy as that's how you will get consistent results.
2) understanding multiple timeframe analysis.
Once I started focusing on myself and was consistent with my trading, I was able to review my journaled trading results and noticed by best trade setups happened when price has multiple timeframe correlations with both my enter timeframe and higher timeframe.
The main purpose of the higher timeframe is to help me determine if I should be looking for buys, sells, or staying out of the market. The 2nd purpose of the higher timeframe is to determine the trend.
Multiple timeframe analysis can be used on all trading strategies whether you trade supply and demand, support and resistance, chart patterns, or use trading indicators.
All we are trying to do is determine whether we should be looking for buys, or sells as this will help us increase the probability of our trade.
See Chart For Analysis. I also have a full break-down on my youtube: Moneyball Austin
Trading the Crypto Volatility 🏄💹 FXPROFESSOR'S Tips 👨🏻🏫Hi everyone,
I miss you more than you miss me. I will be back posting 5 and 10 times a day very soon. Life has been hectic but many GREAT things coming up next. Keep your eyes open for them, Professor is coming up with Major upgrades and perks.
VOLATILITY:
The higher the volatility, the riskier the security. Volatility is often measured from either the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index.
Many will tell you Not to trade it. (especially brokers and exchanges...because it's probably the best chance you have to make some money...lol)
Professor says : 'YOU WANT TO TRADE IT!''
In this video I share with you some of my Tips and How 'I do'.
Remember: Funds you can afford to lose means no fear.
A plan will give you better chances to succeed.
Let me know if you like this video and your comments are always welcomed.
One Love,
The FXPROFESSOR
Listening to this song today to Pump my mood higher, waiting for the Trading battle to commence. Remember to have some fun, trading is first of all pure entertainment. 🥊😺 Let's punch the markets , Boys and Girls
If you lost deposit...COINBASE:BTCUSD
Who is at fault?
Let's start by acknowledging that we shall identify who is to blame for the irreversible. Who exactly is at fault for the money you lost?
A market that is unprofitable? A market maker seeking increased compensation? A deceiver who desires to put everyone out of business? A signalman looking to overcharge for his signaled closed channel? Children who find it difficult to focus? Always a troublesome partner?
No, you alone are at fault. You initiated the deal with your own two hands, which resulted in the destruction of everything. Nobody else compelled you to risk everything. Realizing this should cause you to cease blaming others for the results of your own behavior. It gets worse when you realize that your actions caused the money to be lost; it consumes you internally and prevents you from thinking clearly. You shouldn't worry, though, because life continues on. regain your composure.
Errors are acceptable
Each of us has the right to make errors because we are all human. Making mistakes is a necessary part of learning because otherwise, how would we know what is worthwhile and what is not? Just understand that mistakes are a necessary part of our journey and give yourself permission to make them. We learn from our failures and gain priceless experience that helps us reach higher heights. There are numerous examples of people who went completely bankrupt making a comeback among the Forbes list participants, using the priceless expertise they received as a result of their past errors to increase their earnings, accelerate their business growth, and improve as entrepreneurs.
We all know all this famous success stories so the same is true with traders. How did Jesse Livermore come to be the subject of the memoir "Memoirs of a Stock Operator"? He completely lost all of his money and occasionally had to start again from nothing. He persisted and saw the setbacks as vital lessons that he could use to his advantage to eventually succeed.
Work on your flaws
Work diligently to correct your errors, consider your past, and determine what caused you to fail. What were you going through right when it all started? What feelings did you experience? What were you contemplating? What did they desire?
You work
Will you be able to make regular long-term gains with your current trading approach and mindset? Study technical analysis, system trading, money management techniques, trader psychology, and all that comes after if the answer is no. You can only succeed with system trading, restraint, and patience. Find someone whose primary source of money is trading, who is knowledgeable about the aforementioned, and trade with him if you don't have the willingness or time to do all of this and trading is your secondary source of revenue. However, when looking for someone like this, exercise extreme caution and thoroughly research his prior experiences.
Are you plagued by the thought of wondering why, after earning a sizable sum for themselves, they didn't remove money from the market? Did you have any objectives or was money your main concern? Unless, of course, you are a fan of waste paper, money cannot be an end in itself; it can only be a means for achieving goals.
It is not unexpected that you did not withdraw money if your aim was an illogical abstraction, such as a "abstract house," "abstract automobile," "abstract journey," and so forth.
Change of direction
You must express the objective clearly in order to succeed:
The statement "I want to buy a good apartment" will not be effective, but the statement "I will purchase an apartment with panoramic windows in Paris, will be effective. If you don't know why you need money, trading will become for you a toy that rapidly becomes boring and destroys your life. But keep in mind that the objectives should be realistic and truly vital for you.
This strategy will enable you to consistently take winnings from your trading account, set aside money for your objectives, and enhance the quality of your life.
Enjoy yourself
Don't go overboard a while frequently withdrawing money from a trading account. Make sure to spend at least a little money on your family and friends. You will thus be able to envision the outcome, feel inspired, and replenish your mental resources, which you can then use to make money.
Put your affairs in order.
You should bring yourself into balance after addressing the errors.
Take care of your personal affairs, devote time to loved ones, your health, your children, pursue self-education, and relax in order to do this. Money and fresh ideas will undoubtedly come to you, and you'll discover a way out of the predicament.
Life continues; it has not ended. You have a roof over your head, pleasant living conditions, food, water, good health, close friends, and many other things that you take for granted. Trust me, your life is someone's dream. Remember that many people do not have access to all of this, so be grateful for what you do have and enjoy life; everything else is just a minor annoyance.
For your own benefit
Due to the harsh circumstances, you will begin to see opportunities that you previously missed because of your comfortable lifestyle. However, your perspective will change totally as a result of these extreme circumstances. You now have experience, something most people do not. Your own success formula must include experience. He is the one who will keep you from making snap decisions and assist you in working through a challenging circumstance.
"People become weak in good times. Poor people create poor times. People become resilient under tough times. Good times are made by strong individuals."
The more challenging and challenging it is for you, the more probable it is that you will succeed if you manage.
"A person wins internal victories during a tough time, and external victories during a prosperous time."
Success, wealth, and acclaim will come to those who are diligently working on developing their character without giving in to hopelessness and despair. If you look around, you'll observe that most individuals behave in the exact opposite way during difficult times:
Such people start to look for someone to blame for their difficulties when they become depressed, start drinking, and moan to everyone around them. This is due of their moral weakness, and they blame the government, presidents, officials, bankers, family, and friends. The victim's position entirely negates a person's advancement and ends his accomplishment. A person who is upset by fate criticizes more successful and strong people rather than making changes in his life and improving himself.
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✍️WEEKLY QUOTE: EXECUTE DO NOT PREDICT✍️..Why would you break your money management rules by trading too large a position relative to your equity or emotional tolerance to sustain a loss, if you weren't positive that you had a sure thing? If you really believed in a random distribution between wins and losses, could you ever feel betrayed by the market? If you flipped a coin and guessed right, you wouldn't necessarily expect to be right on the next flip simply because you were right on the last.
There is always a point at which the odds of success are greatly diminished in relation to the profit potential. At that point, it's not worth spending any more money to find out if the trade is going to work. If the market reaches that point, I know without any doubt, hesitation, or internal conflict that I will exit the trade. The loss doesn't create any emotional damage, because I don't interpret the experience negatively.
To me, losses are simply the cost of doing business or the amount of money I need to spend to make myself available for the winning trades. If, on the other hand, the trade turns out to be a winner, in most cases I know for sure at what point I am going to take my profits. (If I don't know for sure, I certainly have a very good idea.) The best traders are in the "now moment" because there's no stress. There's no stress because there's nothing at risk other than the amount of money they are willing to spend on a trade.
They are not trying to be right or trying to avoid being wrong; neither are they trying to prove anything. If and when the market tells them that their edges aren't working or that it's time to take profits, their minds do nothing to block this information. They completely accept what the market is offering them, and they wait for the next edge.
As traders, we can't afford to indulge ourselves in any form of "I know what to expect from the market." We can "know" exactly what an edge looks, sounds, or feels like, and we can "know" exactly how much we need to risk to find out if that edge is going to work.
We can "know" that we have a specific plan as to how we are going to take profits if a trade works. But that's it! If what we think we know starts expanding to what the market is going to do, we're in trouble. And all that's required to put us into a negatively charged, "I know what to expect from the market" state of mind is for any belief, memory, or attitude to cause us to interpret the up and down tics or any market information as anything but an opportunity to do something on our own behalf.
The Cost Of Missing Your Best TradesWhat if your best trades were the ones you frequently do not enter?
There are not many positives in missing trades because it's money you're not adding to your trading account. You're losing more than money when you don't enter your best trades. Let's dig in.
Lost of confidence 😫
If you've ever said to yourself, "Why didn't I take the trade?" It's because you saw the setup. Your rules were met, but something inside of you couldn't push the button.
It could have been your own thoughts. You could have feared losing the trade in result losing money. Either way, you lacked the strength to push the button.
It's ironic how one button determines the fate of your abilities huh?
Hear this, you can begin doubting your ability as a trader when you don't take your setups. Remember that your eyes see first and you must take action regardless of your personal thoughts or feelings. You used logic to see the trade so use it to enter the trade.
Then let the trade tell you if you were wrong or right.
Risk of losing trades outweighing the trades you don't enter.
Have you ever looked at your trade journal just to realize you could be profitable if you'd enter all of your trades?
Most traders I consult with hesitate the moment they realize they have a good entry. Did you catch that? They don't question the analysis. They question themselves the moment it's time to hit the buy or sell button.
Like most traders, you're good until you have to show up to take action. This is common, but can also be the reason why you may not be seeing more profits than losses.
Revenge Anyone?
Revenge is a strong feeling. Taking action to get revenge results from the feeling of losing something so precious and your money is precious to you so it's only fitting you have a right to want it back.
However, money loss doesn't always come from trades you've enter. Consider this:
You see a trade. This risk to reward is 1:2. So you know you have a chance to double the amount you risk. You're excited. You see the outcome. So, you put a monetary value on the trade and realize if you win the trade you can win $1000. If you lose the trade you can only lose $500.
Something happens. You never enter. It could be for varying reasons. You weren't at your chart because you got busy. You got called in to go to work. Price reach where you wanted to enter, but you didn't like what you saw.
Either way you're not down $500. You're at a loss of $1000.
That leads me into my last point. The cost of missing your best trades setups is the risk of making the money you desire.
That $1000 could have gone a long way for you. It could have covered a car note. Paid your utilities for the month. Added more leverage to your trading account.
Either way it meant something to you, but you can't feel it because you feel like you missed out on it.
I get it. I've been there. You're not alone.
You are learning something though. You're learning you don't want to keep missing these setups so you're going to do something about it.
I have 3 suggestions for you. Let's see if you've thought of these:
* Adjust your timeframes so they fit your schedule
*Set pending orders
*Trade less pairs so you can focus on your best setups
Hear me well my dear friend, you may not always enter your best setups, but you can miss less.
Keep your trading easy for you. Don't overthink the entry. Don't tell yourself you're wrong. Trust me, the market will tell let you know if you're doing things correctly or not.
I pray you enjoyed this reading. If you have please like the post and share it.
Please share your thoughts below.
Many blessings to you,
Shaquan ❤️
What to do in a Bear market?A few tips for making it through the bear market:
Profile Rebalancing
Rebalancing a portfolio means adjusting the weightings of the different asset classes in your investment portfolio. This is achieved by buying or selling assets, which changes the weighting of a specific asset class.
Dollar Cost Average
It is an investment strategy that aims to reduce the impact of volatility on the purchase of assets. It involves buying equal amounts of the asset at regular intervals.
Re-evaluate Your Holdings
Choosing investments is just the beginning of your work as an investor. As time goes by, you'll need to monitor the performance of these investments to see how they are working together in your portfolio to help you progress toward your goals. Generally speaking, progress means that your portfolio value is steadily increasing, even though one or more of your investments may have lost value.
If your investments are not showing any gains or your account value is slipping, you'll have to determine why, and decide on your next move. To free up money to make these new purchases, you may want to sell individual investments that have not performed well, while not abandoning the asset allocation you've selected as appropriate.
Fundamental Analysis
To see if a cryptocurrency has an intrinsic value that isn't reflected in its current market price, you can employ a fundamental analysis strategy, which is the act of investigating and evaluating an investment to forecast its future worth. As an investor, you can then use this information to tactically buy or sell positions based on whether the coin is overpriced or underpriced, even while bearing in mind that cryptocurrency prices are volatile. After all, even well-known currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are subject to price fluctuations.
Planning for Long-Term
Big picture trading is about taking everything into account and making an informed decision. In my opinion, it's one of the best trading methods. A branch of hedge funds, known as Global Macro funds, takes this approach.
Do Nothing for a While
If you are stressed and freaked out from big loss do nothing for a while and let your mind rest.
What else would you add to this list?
How to trade Support and Resistance levels? BINANCE:BTCUSDTPERP
Support and resistance levels - are price areas on the chart where the price has ever changed its direction. This place always attracts traders, because near the levels there are obvious places for setting stop losses and entering a trade. Also, there are always limit orders of large buyers or sellers near the levels.
We can say that the level is the price area in the market, where traders consider the price to be too high or too low, depending on the current market dynamics. Therefore, it is always important to pay attention to key levels at which support and resistance have reversed roles or there has been a strong price rebound. We can designate support and resistance levels as the place in the market where traders are more willing to buy or sell, depending on current market conditions. This creates a collision zone between buyers and sellers, which often causes the market to change direction.
What are levels?
Support level is an area on the chart with the potential strength of buyers. The moment when buyers enter the market. The resistance level is an area on the chart with the potential strength of sellers. The moment when sellers enter the market with a large volume, which allows them to take advantage of the buyers and stop the price increase.
When the price breaks the support level, the support becomes resistance.
Conversely, if the price breaks through the resistance level, the resistance becomes support.
- On higher timeframes, support and resistance levels gain more strength. It is important to pay attention to the nature of the price movement from the level:
- If the price immediately turned from the level into the opposite trend, then this level can be considered significant.
- If the price tests a certain area several times, making a small pullback, most likely, this level will be subsequently broken.
How to draw levels on the chart?
Support and resistance levels are not lines on the chart, but areas or zones. No need to try to draw them exactly according to the shadows or bodies of the candles. Strive to achieve the maximum possible number of price touches of the levels. This will usually require you to move the level up and down until you find a spot where the market touches that level the maximum number of times.
You do not need to rewind the chart far to mark all the important levels. Most often, traders look only at the current monitor screen. Therefore, 100-150 candles will be enough. Most of the levels you will need will be based on price action over the past six months.
Focus on key levels that are immediately visible. Don't draw too many levels on the chart. Try to keep only the main ones and discard the secondary ones. If you find yourself wasting too much energy looking for levels, you are probably drawing more levels than you really need.
How to use support and resistance levels in trading?
A level is a place for a possible entry into a trade. If an additional confirming signal appears at the level, you can think about opening a position. Stop losses are placed by levels and possible targets for profit fixation are determined.
In books on technical analysis and on the Internet, you can often read that the more often the price tests the level, the stronger it is. But this is a gross mistake. In fact, the more the price touches the level, the weaker it becomes.
Imagine that we have a support level. The price bounces from this level because there are buyers in the market. If the price often returns to the level, this means that buy orders are gradually being executed. And when they are fully executed, then who will buy? Therefore, when there are no buyers at all, the price breaks through the level.
It is important not to forget that support and resistance levels are, first of all, zones, and not exact lines on the chart. Otherwise, you may encounter two problems in your trading: the price does not reach the level and the price goes beyond it.
When the market gets close enough to the level without hitting it, you may miss the trade because you were expecting a trading setup to appear exactly at the level you chose.
In a situation where the price goes beyond the level, you think that the level has been broken out and you try to trade the breakout, but this often turns out to be a false breakout.
How to solve these two problems? Very simple. Always treat support and resistance as zones on your chart, not exact lines.
How to find out what will break the level?
As we already know, support is an area with potential buying pressure. Therefore, when the price approaches the support level, it should turn into the opposite trend. But what if this does not happen and the price starts consolidating at the support level?
This is a sign of weakness as the bulls are unable to forcefully push the price up. Or there is strong selling pressure in the market. In any case, this situation does not look optimistic for the bulls and the support will probably not be able to resist.
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✅Disclaimer: Please be aware of the risks involved in trading. This idea was made for educational purposes only not for financial Investment Purposes.
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