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With a daily turnover estimated at around $1.8 trillion the answer to the question “Does the Forex make money?” is pretty obvious.

The bigger question is: “For whom?”

With the opportunity for anybody and everybody with a computer and an internet connection to participate in the Forex to make money in recent years, thousands of individuals have had some exposure to the challenges of Forex trading.

Is The Forex A Fool’s Game?

According to some estimates, the vast majority, perhaps as high as 95%, lose money.

Is it a fool’s game, just an elusive dream to trade the Forex to make money to try and achieve financial security?

In view of the high failure rate, it is prudent for anyone who is contemplating entering Forex trading to do their homework first. While the majority fail to make consistent profits from the Forex, a minority do, and some of them make huge profits from the Forex.

The Realistic Mindset

What is the key? A realistic mindset when approaching the Forex, a commitment to learn and get a proper education, and then, application of the knowledge learned in a disciplined way backed up by perseverance!

For an individual who has already had experience trading stocks, or futures, the learning curve may only involve a few months when switching to the foreign exchange market.

For the complete novice the learning period will probably run into years, anywhere from 1 to 3 years according to some estimates.

During this time the novice will have to first get acquainted with the workings of the Forex, learning the terminology, and working with a demo account on a trading platform supplied by an online broker.

Months will need to be spent sitting in front of a computer screen studying candlestick charts, getting acquainted with specific patterns, learning to recognize high probability setups. There is no shortcut for this part of the educational process if you want the Forex to make money for you.

The Most Critical Factor

Then comes the most critical part of all: developing the mental discipline and emotional control necessary for safe trading.

The Forex can be a minefield for anyone who is not in control of their emotions. For a person who has a gambling instinct, the Forex will suck their account dry in a very short time. The Forex is not a game of chance.

Successful trades are the product of careful market analysis, an understanding of how the market moves acquired from months and years of experience, and a strict control of equity management.

Even with all that input, the successful trader will still regularly lose trades. As long as there are a greater number of trades that are successful, the Forex will make money for you.

Make An Informed Decision

If all this sounds overwhelming and a little foreboding, you are getting the picture of what is involved once you start down the road as a Forex trader.

On the other hand, this is a job that can be done from home, with as many hours committed to it as you wish to allow, and in the long term, once the skills have been acquired, the Forex can provide a substantial form of income.

Will the Forex make money for you? That is an individual question and will depend on all the variables discussed above. Do your homework, check out educational materials, examine your current workload and circumstances, be honest about your personality style, and then make an informed decision.

To learn how to preserve your mental and emotional resources in addition to your account equity click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-day-trading-mental-equity.htm

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

If you are looking for a comprehensive Forex education with mentoring from professionals check this:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/forex-education.html

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Anyone can learn forex trading if they want to. If you’ve never considered how to trade online then you should. Why watch your pension fund climb a measly 7% in a year when you can have more than that in a single day? Find out how in this article.

The Wheels Of The Forex Market

You already have some experience of forex when you buy foreign currency for your vacation. To make money out of it, you need to be able to predict if the price is going up or not.

The great thing is that you only need to understand a little to make a lot of money. Thousands of people do this every day.

Predictable Behaviour

The forex market moves in very predictable ways. Within a very short space of time you can easily learn enough about it to be able to predict some major movements, for instance by looking at chart patterns or watching the daily forex news.

Although it helps to learn as much as you can, what really separates a consistent winner from a consistent loser is not knowledge but discipline.

Logic Over Emotion Always

If you want to learn forex trading and win consistently then you must always use your brain and not your heart or your gut.

Always have a reason to place a trade and never trade because you “have a feeling”. Intuition is notoriously inaccurate and many traders have clocked up winning streaks only to lose it all on a single bad trade.

So you must always have a logical reason to trade. As you start to learn basic forex concepts you will easily be able to spot a good opportunity, have a good reason and then place a successful, cash generating trade.

Risk Management

A good reason is not enough. You may spot a pattern in a chart and have reason to believe that the price will move in a specific way but you can never be 100% certain. Even if you are 90% certain, you or I can still get it wrong 10% of the time and you need to be prepared for that.

Every good trader uses something called a “stop” for every order that they make. This is a way of telling the broker that if you get it wrong and the price moves against you then they should reverse your order after a specified backtrace e.g. if it moves against you by 15% or some other percentage.

This way, you can limit your losses to only a small amount and you can live to fight another day. Without a stop, you might have potentially lost everything!

Discover how anyone can easily learn to trade online profitably and get your free forex beginners report and easy forex lessons by clicking here: learn forex trading.

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If you’re a “newbie” to forex trading beware the ‘make thousands a year with 2 hours work a week!’ – run a mile and keep going. If you want to make money you have to invest both time and money into being successful no matter what you do. Automated forex trading systems can make you money – but only the right system in the right hands is the key. Read on and I’ll expand on this later in the article.

There’s no such thing as fully automatic – especially in forex!

First of all, to end the confusion about ‘automated’ meaning ‘hands-off’, ’set and leave’ is rubbish. These systems work on ’signals’ a simple explanation of the mechanics of the process follows.

How the systems actually work.

The signal is arrived at in two ways, by Chart and by Mathematics. The signal is provided via a market feed into a program which firstly analyses the data into real time data sets and then ‘charts’ this data. The information is then ‘formatted’ and presented say for example in Japanese candlestick format. The program then has built in parameters which extrapolates (puts information on top of other information) other historical information and then ‘voila’ you have what is termed as a SMA (simple moving average). I have identified this factor (one of many) as it is easy to understand and replicate yourself (if you have the time and the patience). Where moving averages intersect and diverge gives a buy/sell signal. An automated trading system will recognize this and then transact for you. The result is either a profit or a loss. More ‘complicated’ signals are often used which extrapolate ratios like Fibonacci ratios and this is where things become a little more mathematical.

These systems should be as ‘Tools only’!

The key to understanding this type of ‘tool’ because that is really what it is a trading tool, is that it is not a set and forget it business in a box. If you look at it in such terms you will lose your deposit!

The way many of these automated systems are marketed is nothing short of a scam simply because – to get a sale many of the providers mislead customers into thinking that because it’s automated that it’s guaranteed to make them money. I would say that close to 80% of purchasers of these systems are inadequately ‘qualified’ to apply them. What do I mean by qualified? Qualified individuals tend to be Traders who have knowledge, experience and some profitable experience already behind them.

Let me explain why this is so. Nearly all, potentially profitable automated trading systems require, you the user, to input the parameters for the software to analyse and provide the signal to you. We haven’t got to the stage yet of a computer that thinks like a human – so you have to provide the input for ‘it’ to make its decisions. This is why you need a thorough understanding of charts, in particular patterns,moving averages, support and resistance levels, stochastics etc the list goes on and on. Think about it – if you don’t know what to put in to get your results that you want i.e. profits – how’s a program going to know?

Some forex traders do make money using these systems!

Many of these programs are quite sophisticated pieces of kit and will work in the right hands. The top 10% of traders that make the money ‘do’ use automated forex trading systems from time to time – more often than not to place take profit and stop loss orders – but these guys know what they’re doing – they have experience and knowledge gained through failure as much as success. The famous saying to apply here is ‘Learn and Earn’.

To find out more how you can become a profitable trader on a consistent basis sign up to my Free Weekly Newsletter. Here you will learn valuable tips to help you make money. Join Forex4Traders.com here to receive all the benefits.

Peter Burke MBA has been writing Journals and Articles for academic publications for over 7 years and is Managing Director of a Consulting Company in the United Kingdom.

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Forex trading has become hot! Its heavy leverage allows traders to capitalize with big gains and the lure of huge profits sends many traders to forex on a daily basis. Sadly, most of these traders won’t be around for long. As many as 90% of all new forex traders lose their capital and bring their accounts to zero within six months. Largely because they come into the forex market with the mistaken belief that all they have to do is learn a trading system and trade by the signal their favorite indicator gives them and they will be able to average out a profit. What they fail to realize is the false signal can wipe out a large portion of their trading account.
 
At this point I might as well tell you I am no fan of indicators! Indicators are nothing more than mathematical algorithms of some sort of movement in price, with a few other variables added depending on the indicator. What the forex trader should be concentrating on is the price chart itself. Why? Because the trained forex trader will be able to tell much more about the market by watching price movement than with any indicator or trading system. Price movement tells the story of fear and greed, which are the two most important criteria a currency trader needs to be able to discern. The volatility of the forex markets creates many trading opportunities that can be spotted by watching the price chart. Candlestick trading for instance will teach you to spot reversals in price before the majority of other traders. Western technical analysis in its original form also allows the forex trader to spot weakening of trends and areas of likely reversals before the rest of the crowd.
 
Before we all had our PCs charts were drawn by hand. There was no fancy charting software or trading platforms. What we take for granted as an instant chart took traders of old a lot of time to plot. These were the pioneers of technical analysis and they were looking at the chart NOT indicators. Japanese Candlesticks, the best form of analysis in my opinion for forex, has been around hundreds of years. These technicians were very proficient in reading the mood of the markets and many became very wealthy doing it. Many modern technical analysts combine Western chart patterns with Japanese Candlesticks and also do quite well in forex.
 
Computers have brought us instant access to the currency markets but along with it have come hundreds of indicators which will do nothing but confuse the new forex trader in my opinion. If you must use an indicator, learn to read the chart first. Learn the major candlestick reversal patterns as they relate to forex as they are different than other markets. Then plot your indicator and see how it relates to the chart. I’ll bet you’ll find you trade from the chart more often than you think.

B.M. Davis is an active trader and the publisher of the Forex Candlestick System. If you would like more information about candlestick charting the forex market please visit http://www.forexcandlestickcourse.com

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A calendar of economic reports is an indispensable Forex trading tool!

Experienced traders begin preparation for each trading session by consulting an economic calendar so they can avoid trading at times when the market is likely to be volatile and unpredictable.

At the same time, if an intra-day trade is in progress with a potentially volatile economic report soon to be announced, a decision can be made as to whether to take the trade out, or at least move the stop to protect profits or minimize losses.

Seeing this is such an important Forex trading tool, it pays to look around and select the best from the free resources available online.

Listed below are three good calendars you may wish to add to your Forex trading tool collection. (For links to each of these calendars go to the resource box at the end of this article and click on the link for free resources.)

FXCM

The FXCM web site has an associated web site called dailyfx.com which provides a comprehensive daily calendar of fundamental announcements which can either be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF file.

Economic reports likely to have a major impact on the market are displayed in bold to make them stand out.

This downloadable report is useful if you wish to print out the daily calendar and have it on your desk or displayed beside your computer.

ForexFactory

This web site is very popular with thousands of visitors to the Forums each day. However, in my opinion, the best Forex trading tool it offers is the calendar.

You can customize the time to your own time zone so the calendar displays in local time when the fundamental announcements will be made. This is a great help in avoiding confusion from having to add or subtract from GMT or having to take into account daylight saving time.

The main benefit of this calendar is the color coding feature. Economic reports likely to have a major impact on the market are shown in red, medium impact reports in orange, and minor impact reports in yellow.

At a glance you can identify the times during the day when you need to exercise caution.

Econoday

The paid subscription version of the Econoday calendar is an essential Forex trading tool for many professional Forex traders and fund managers.

For the average day trader the free version available from Barrons will no doubt suffice. One very helpful feature of this web site is the link to why the economic report matters. A detailed explanation is given on all the major economic reports as to why the market cares and the effect it can have.

Economic Reports – Market Movers

Not all economic reports are market movers. However, there are about 15 economic reports that have a medium to high impact on the US Dollar and up to 10 or 11 economic reports that have a medium to high impact on the British Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc, Australian Dollar and Canadian Dollar.

Navigating your way through a trading day without using a calendar would be like attempting to cross a minefield without a mine detector!

Be sure you take advantage of this major Forex trading tool – the economic report calendar. Use the online resources available for free and make them part of your daily Forex trading session preparation routine.

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

For a free candle & chart pattern recognition reference tool click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Candle-Chart-Patterns

The powerful 200 EMA strategy – easy for newer traders:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

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I began my first forex trade three years ago, at this time, information sources of trading available were very limited, I could not get the the suitable information on online forex course for free trading to allow me to begin a live forex trading successfully, all my sources of information and trading strategies were obtained from forex forums posts and the trial and errors of former forex traders and their trading strategies, which were evolved to suit their needs and their potential financial capabilities.

I had a long time with a forex demo account for several months, I did not dare to enter into a real live forex trading, because my capital was very limited, and there were no free online forex courses which I can get to help me in my trading. But one day I landed on a website which sell a forex training course package, this website claimed that the its strategy results in a profit rate around 80% in all cases, I read more on this course enough to to be motivated to buy it, especially its price was very suitable to me ($99 total for the 5 ebooks). Once I got the ebooks, I began reading every single word in them with voracity, and – for honesty – it was the first time for me to read in details about forex money management and risk management and their vital rule in forex trading, but this was all I had gotten from this course, nothing otherwise.

I tried to contact the author of the forex course to query him about several points regarding his training program, and guess what? I did not get any response from him, I contacted him up to 10 times, however I did not hear one word.

This was the lesson #1 I learned: It is not about the training program, it’s about the AUTHOR of this program, is he alive man? is he a real forex trader OR: he’s just a teacher of theoretical lectures in forex trading!

The lesson #2 I learnt was: What is degree of the technical support provided after purchasing his forex training program? shall I find him when I need him?

After a whole year, I would have left almost forex trading and preoccupied by other businesses, but one day while surfing on the internet, I found by accident the Forex Mentor website, and once landed on the main page, at the first sight I cynically laughed and said to myself: “Another Scam!!”

However, I started reading all the information on his training program and the main idea behind it: Pivot Points. I began once again thinking seriously to return to forex trading, and decided to purchase this program of Peter Bain, but for the first glance, I was disappointed for its high price ($495 for a hard copy on CDs, or $349 of the digital copy). After a short time of deep thinking and trying to decide whether I’ll buy or not, I said to myself, I lost in the forex trading in the past several thousand of dollars, let them be several thousand PLUS $495!!

I read every word on the Forex Mentor Website, I collected every information available about the Author (Peter Bain) and his history in the forex and stocks market, I read many indpendent reviews about this course. Despite of that, The most important factores encouraged me to buy forex mentor course were as the follows:

The Concept of Forex Mentor Trading System

1- The Program Author: Peter Bain, I read a lot more about him on the internet and on his long experience in the area of trading in stocks, currencies, and the large number of successful traders who trained by him who achieved good trading results with the favor of his forex trading advises.

Peater Bain has developed a very successful trading strategy based on Pivot Points, which depends primarily on the concept of support and resistance: When you see price violate a pivot point convincingly, there are automated trading systems out there that automatically kick in and buy or sell, depending upon where price is going. So, in essence, these two factors alone account for why other indicators are left breathing dust. Bar patterns, MACD divergence, different time frame readings, and trendlines are definite precursors to price changing direction but, in the final analysis, where price is in relation to its nearest pivot point, is the big clue. Tie all these indications together, and you are sure to out-fox price’s next move.

2- This coach always exists whenever you need him, he provides One-on-one feedback, he believes that every forex trader trainee has different needs and requires special attention, this feature adds high value to his forex training program.

3- Members only forum, where members can talk just about everything related to the Forex market and the Forex training program. This is the most important characteristic of this program, getting in touch with other forex traders add to your learning experiences.

4- Free membership for 6 months ($ 199 value) membership alone equal times the value of this course, after the period of six months, you will be deducting $100 for renewal, through this membership you will receive on a daily basis the following material:

• Daily Video Questions and Answers – That’s right! I will personally answer your email trading questions via live streaming video. You probably think we’ve gone off the deep end! But again, we are fully committed to your success!

• Daily Trading Examples and Reviews – Success by repetition! Everyday, I will illustrate successful forex trading techniques using the most recent trading markets. These videos streamed to your PC put you right in front of the action! No more reading static charts and text. You can watch these videos any time for as many times as you like.

• Daily Pivot Data for the 6 Major Pairs – We calculate the daily pivots for all the major currency pairs & make them available to you. So you don’t have to do the work!

• Forex Online Pivot Calculator – Fine-tune your forex trading by calculating your own pivot points. Trade other markets using these same pivot point principles.

• Meet Local forex traders in your area through one of our dozens of local user groups all over the world.

• Member Discussion Forum – Discuss forex trading strategies and tips with thousands of other like-minded traders from around the world in our member discussion forex forum.

Fore more Details on the Forex Mentor Course Components: http://www.4x-course.com

Author: Hatem Serag – For more Tips and Ideas about the Best methods to start trading Forex Successfully please visit my websites: http://www.eforexcourse.com – for more details on the top rated forex training courses please visit: http://www.eforexcourse.com/forexmentorcourse.php

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The Non-Farm Payroll report presents quite a dilemma for the new Forex trader. On the one hand it is a predictable market mover which happens on the first Friday of every month at 8:30 am Easter Standard Time.

On the other hand, it has the following major disadvantages for the Forex trader:

• The large price swings can create whip saw reaction which can easily take out stops.
• Trading at this time is very volatile and many online brokers cannot guarantee positions. Slippage is a major factor at this time so the Forex trader may not get the profits they think they should or they may get stopped out when they think they shouldn’t.

Before considering how a Forex trader should approach the market at the time of this report, let’s get behind the scenes and get some background information on this fundamental announcement:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases this statistic which represents around 80% of the workers responsible for the gross domestic product of the USA. In other words, the figures released show the total number of paid employees in the USA in any sector with the exception of those in:

• general government service
• private household category
• certain non-profit organizations
• farm and agricultural sector

This comprehensive report gives details of:

• how many people are looking for employment
• how many people are in employment
• salary levels of those in employment
• number of hours worked

Why is this of interest to the Forex trader and why does this information have such an impact on the foreign exchange market?

A successful Forex trader needs to have some understanding of economic factors in order to perceive what candlestick charts are representing.

The employment data contained in the Non-Farm Payroll report is a major indication of how well the economy of the USA is doing. Additionally, the data provides a guide for investors as to where to put their money.

Another major factor is the insight the employment data gives on inflation, especially the figures relating to salaries and wage trends. Any signs that inflation may be increasing or decreasing are monitored closely by the Federal Reserve which responds accordingly.

As a result, the money markets react in a big way.

How should the Forex trader deal with the Non-Farm Payroll report?

In view of the wild price swings which are characteristic at the time of the release of this report, and as many online brokers cannot guarantee positions at this time, many professional traders choose to stay out of the market at 8:30 am EST on the first Friday of each month, and for perhaps 30 to 40 minutes after.

Additionally, price action is often very muted during the first Friday of every month as the market awaits the Non-Farm Payroll report. Modest price action may even be noted one or two days before the first Friday in some instances.

The Forex trader needs to be aware of this and recognize the market conditions leading up to this report. Price will often be in consolidation working its way up and down narrow channels. Trading opportunities still exist but of course, such price behavior will require a different set of strategies.

As for the time after the report, there can often be good trading opportunities. After waiting for the market to settle, which may take anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes after the report, it is possible to start making sense of what is happening.

By observing key support and resistance levels, candle patterns, Fibonacci levels, and other indicators, it is possible for the Forex trader to profit from the second leg of price action, after the first dramatic swing has taken place.

So to summarize:

Why does the Non-Farm Payroll report have such an impact on the Forex?

Answer: Because the employment data contained in the report can be a major indicator of how well the economy is doing and how the Federal Reserve is likely to respond to inflation indicators.

How should the Forex trader approach the time of this report?

Answer: STAY OUT! Then, once wild price action has settled some time after, calmly review the information represented on the charts, and if a good setup appears, TRADE!

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

Learn how the MACD indicator can help you avoid much anxiety:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-strategy-MACD-save-anxiety.htm

Do you know the important lesson Mohammed Ali teaches us about Forex trading? Read it here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-online-trading-mohammed-ali.htm

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This is tip #8 of at least 10 in the series. I will try to publish most of them as e-zine articles, but if any are missing, they will all be available on my blog…

In the first seven tips, we focused largely on things applicable to success in general; now let’s take the next two or three tips to get specific and focus in on the other part of our series title – wealth!

Tip #8 – Follow my three rules for creating wealth in your life.
Rule #1 – Live below your means.
Rule #2 – Save and invest the difference.
Rule #3 – Continuously improve on rules #1 and #2.

Again I will return to the slogan, it is simple, but it isn’t easy. Common sense dictates that if you follow these rules, eventually, at some point in the future, you will become wealthy. However, the killer is in the doing.

Wealth building is not rocket science. Contrary to what many want to believe, it is actually very basic, simple math. Make ten dollars. Subtract nine dollars to live on. Save and invest the one dollar difference. Repeat over and over again. Then, as the one dollar differences add up over time, learn to invest them better and better. Eventually they become a massive pile of money that begins growing itself quickly and easily, and instead of you working for your money, your money works for you. The formula for wealth is so simple, it is actually boring.

Where does everyone go wrong? If I shared the long version – well, that would be a book in itself. So, the short version… We live in a consumer society. We are bombarded by hundreds or even thousands of messages a day saying spend, spend, spend. Don’t think so – when you wake up in the morning, start counting the television and radio commercials, billboards you drive past, banners in store windows, ads in magazines, phone calls from telemarketers, flyers in the mailbox, e-mails pitching you everything under the sun, etc. I would be surprised if you didn’t give up counting before lunch time! If you buy this product you will be beautiful. If you buy this product you will have a beautiful spouse. If you buy this product you will feel great. If you buy this product you will… blah, blah, blah, blah.

From children to adulthood, through home and school, we are taught how to be responsible, conform to society’s rules, get a good job, buy nice things that are beyond our means, etc. However, very few of us are taught how to manage our money (aka follow my three rules)!

Instead of having a solid, long term plan, we chase instant gratification, which, to use Robert Kiyosaki’s terminology, keeps us stuck in the rat race. We work to make money, which we spend to make ourselves feel good, then the money runs out, and we feel lousy. So we work harder and longer to make more money, which only allows us to spend more money, which predictably runs out again, so we feel even lousier. Then the trap starts all over again.

Brian Tracy says this is Parkinson’s Law – that expenses rise to meet income. Make a little more money – spend a little more money. Get a raise – and we immediately go out and upgrade our car, or our cable television, or our health club membership, or our home, etc.

The first step to living by my three rules – recognize the pattern you are currently in, and, assuming it is the pattern of the average American (Parkinson’s Law), make a decision to change it. More on how to do that coming soon in tip #9.

There are a lot of things you can do to improve your situation once you have made a decision to do so; there is very little you can do to improve if you haven’t yet decided to!

If you enjoy my tips, please pass this on to anyone you know who may benefit from it… Together, let’s get inspired, let’s get motivated, let’s create some buzzzz, and let’s help some people (family, friends, and ourselves) create all of the wealth and success they want in life!!!

Chris Lund is a loving husband and father of two amazing boys. He is a lifetime learner, and an avid real estate investor since 1998. In December 2008, he achieved financial freedom, and quit working at a JOB. He writes “The Lund Letters”, a blog found at http://thelundletters.blogspot.com/ where he shares many of his successes as well as lessons learned. Chris firmly believes that you can have your excuses, or you can have your dreams, but you can’t have both. He can be reached via e-mail at reinvestorsfl@aol.com

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A home daycare can be a rewarding profession for moms who want to stay at home with their own children. Yet, there may not be any other job that is more stressful. Be aware of the 7 biggest stresses and turn them into blessings instead.

STRESSOR #1 – Operating Costs are High
Solution: Apply to have your daycare contracted through the region
Contact someone in Children Services in your region or county regarding becoming a child care provider. A child service worker will come to meet you and discuss the region’s policies. If you like what they have to say you sign a few documents and are well on your way to an increase in pay. The region may pay substantially more than parents will.

STRESSOR #2 – Not Enough Children in Your Care to Off-Set Costs
Solution: Build A Waiting List
A waiting list will be your most valuable asset. Turn over rate is high for home daycares so do not take it personally or become discouraged. Be prepared. Keep your daycare in the public eye by having a website, running a continuous small ad in the local paper and have a sign outside your home. Tell everyone you know what you are doing and ask them to tell a friend.

STRESSOR #3 – Too Much Work, Not Enough “Down Time”
Solution: Schedule regular breaks for yourself
There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them. ~Sylvia Plath,

Finding ways to de-stress is very important. In order to find balance and moderation there must be things in your life that you enjoy doing that are calming and restorative. Do not try to do it all. Read a book or knit while the children are watching TV. Do something you enjoy. Arrange to have grandparents or friends watch your own children for an evening once a week so you can relax. Do what is relaxing for you and rejuvenate your spirit.

STRESSOR #4 – Cook, Serve, Clean…Cook, Serve, Clean…Over and Over Again
Solution: Create a monthly menu plan to follow and keep it simple.
Again, do not try to do it all. Keep your snacks and meals simple and child-friendly. Use a calendar or spreadsheet to list snacks and lunches for a month. Usually one week will fit on one page. Use this chart when you go shopping and it will allow you to buy in bulk and to catch things when they are on sale. It will also prevent the added frustration of having to think each day about what you want to feed the children only to find out you have run out of a necessary ingredient.

STRESSOR #5 – The Place is a Mess!
Solution – Hire an affordable cleaning service
As soon as your budget allows hire someone to clean your daycare area every one or two weeks. This will be in addition to the daily cleaning you will be doing of course. But it will give you a break and help reduce the spread of germs. You are already doing so much work, let someone else do the deep cleaning.

STRESSOR # 6 – An Accident Happens on Your Property
Solution: Create an Emergency Plan and Kit
Emergencies can happen at any time and any place. Be prepared by having a plan in place. Ask yourself: How would I bring a child to the hospital? Who would stay with the other children while I left? Find helpful information online or attend a course that offers an emergency plan for businesses. Be prepared for anything.

STRESSOR # 7 – Parents Do Not Do What They Say They Will Do.
Solution: Begin a pattern of open communication with parents from day one
Parents may be one of the most unpredictable elements of your business. Start on a good note by having them sign all the necessary documents and talk in detail about the arrangements you will have for their children. Then stay in constant contact with them as issues arise. Try having little notes to send home with their child. Use a newsletter to keep all parents updated and to send out reminders.

Now all you need to do it put this into action. What is your biggest stressor right now? What is one thing you can do today to eliminate your biggest stressor today? What are 5 steps you can take this week to eliminate your stressors and bring more blessings into your life?

Rachel Perry Pellegrini is a certified elementary school teacher. She has been running a home daycare for the past year and writes about her experiences with the intention of helping other mothers overcome obstacles in their own home business. She has a background in Journalism-Print. Her daycare website is http://www.daystardaycare.com and her blog can be found at http://www.thesimpleself-improvementproject.blogspot.com

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Did You Begin Day Trading As An Indicator Only Trader?

Did you start day trading after buying a book on technical analysis, and getting a charting program – probably a free one that you found online – in order to save money? While reading your book you learned about trading indicators which could ‘predict’ price movement, and what do you know, the ‘best’ indicators were actually included in your free charting program – let the games begin.

Now that you have all the day trading tools that are necessary, the book for education AND the free charting program with those ‘best’ day trading indicators, you now need a day trading plan so you can decide which ones of those ‘magic’ day trading indicators you are supposed to use. This really is a great book, besides telling you how to day trade using indicators to ‘predict’ price – it also said that you need a trading plan to day trade.

So what should this plan be? The book told you about trend following using an indicator called macd, and it also told you how it was possible to pick the top or bottoms using an indicator called stochastic; my guess is that you picked the stochastic indicator to start your day trading – this must be the ‘best of the best’ since this indicator was going to ensure you of entering your trades with the ‘best’ price. Amazing, simply amazing how easy this day trading stuff really is. In fact, why even bother taking the trades, each time your indicators give a signal – just call up your broker and tell him to stick $100 in your account.

My book was Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets. My charting program was TradeStation with an eSignal fm receiver; that was the one that if you hung the antennae wires just right, and you put enough foil on the tips, you might even get quotes. I had sold a business before I started trading so I did have some capital – isn’t that how everyone gets into trading, you either sell a business or you lose your job? My indicator was the macd as I had decided that I was going to be a ‘trend follower’ instead of a ‘top-bottom picker’. I also decided that I was going to be ‘extra’ clever, if one indicator was good than two indicators must be better, so I added a 20 period moving average. My first trade was a winner, then after many months of extensive therapy, I was finally able to forget the next twelve months – ahhh the memories 

Learning To Day Trading – The Learning Progression

Beginning to day trade, or learning to day trade, as an indicator trader is very typical. This is also logical when you consider – HOW are you supposed to initially learn how to trade? Trading indicators are available to anyone who has a charting program, and simply using line crosses, or histogram color changes, provide ‘easy’ signals to understand. If you will also take the time to learn the arithmetic behind your indicators, as well as learning what each indicator is specifically intended to do, not only is this a logical way to begin, it is also a good ’step’ in your learning progression – understanding the WHAT you are doing, instead of attempting to create ‘canned’ indicator only trading systems, without any regard as to WHY you are trading this way.

This does become one of the ’sticking’ points in your learning progression, as you come to find out that you are unable to profitably trade indicators as signals only – now what? Now what – you ‘can’t’ develop your own indicators, so you start doing google searches for day trading indicators and start buying your ‘collection’ – they don’t ‘work’ either. Now what – you buy a mechanical trading system – what does hypothetical results may not be indicative of real trading or future results mean? Now what – you start subscribing to signal services OR you start joining the ‘latest and greatest’ chat room – am I really the only person using the signals who isn’t profitable?

Now what – you never learn how to trade.

I began trading as an indicator trader, and I did try to learn everything that I could about the various indicators, as well as trying to combine indicators that were consistent with how I wanted to trade – I just could never develop a mechanical day trading system from what was available to me. I read a couple more books that didn’t really help me, so I then started looking for someone who could teach me. From what I now know about gurus -vs- teachers, I am very lucky that I got involved with a money manager-trader who taught me a tremendous amount, but I still couldn’t get profitable, in part because there was also ‘pressure’ to learn how to trade using real money. As well, any discussions or thoughts about trading psychology and the issues involved, especially to beginning traders, was non-existent.

Now what – learning but losing – I stopped trading.
Learning to trading using real money, and ’scoffing’ at trading psychology as simply individual weakness, really was something that I now regard as misinformation. I always mention this as I now feel that this cost me as much as a year of time, and was very close to costing me my trading future, as stopped trading was VERY close to quitting trading. How can’t trading psychology be real to a beginner, when you consider that you are risking losing money at a very fast pace as a day trader, and when you further consider that you are also doing this when you really don’t know what you are doing – this is NOT by definition being weak. And if trading psychology is real, how are you going to learn to make ‘good’ trading habits with real money while you are fighting the implications?

Now what – not trading and not ready [quite] to quit – still studying and searching.

Probably the single most important ‘thing’ that got me to a next step in learning how to trade, was the concept of a trading setup, and that a setup and a signal were not the same. This was extremely meaningful to me, as it also led to an understanding of how to better use trading indicators for the information that they can provide, but not to use them as trading signals – in essence I began learning about trading method where discretion could be consistently applied -vs- trading system that was mechanical and arithmetic rules.

Traders who are indicator only traders, are also what I refer to right side only traders, that is they are always looking at the right side of their charts for an indicator signal. BUT what about the left side of the chart, what about price and patterns, what about market conditions – WHAT about the relevant ‘things’ that are ‘moving’ price, instead of indicators only as an arithmetic derivative of price, and thus, one that is dependant on the time frame that you have chosen to trade from? These ‘thoughts’, along with the concept of trade setup, became instrumental in the development of a trading method, and how I came to turning my trading around.

When I think about the steps in my learning progression – I would list them as follows:

2/95 – 6/96

indicators only

teaching service that included signals

learning to trading with real money and trading psychology issues

stop trading

6/96 – 3/97

understanding of trading psychology issues

learning about trading setups concept

trading method -vs- trading system

trade setup – trade trigger are not the same
method development

understand the importance of the left side of the chart and what is happening ‘across’ the chart

related trading setups and how/when they triggered

indicators + pattern

indicators + pattern + price

indicators + pattern + price + market conditions

3/97 – 11/97

able to paper trade profitably

able to real money trade profitably

able to trade for a living

Indicator Only Day Trader – Setup Including Indicators Method Day Trader

I have attempted to discuss the way I started day trading, and the way I think many-most traders typically begin. Along with this, I have pointed various issues and problems that I had – those regarding how to learn to trade, and then progressing into a profitable trader. My experiences have been both personal, as well as those of many traders that I have worked with over the last 8-9 years through Tactical Trading – that a very large number of these problems are due to day trading only with indicators, the specific indicators used, along with trying to turn these indicators into a mechanical trading system. This is not to say that this can’t be done – I simply couldn’t do it. However, I would strongly suggest that anyone who is in the early stages of day trading, or struggling with their day trading, consider these things that have been discussed.

This discussion, along with chart examples of various trading indicators and trade setups, is continued at http://www.tacticaltradingmethod.com/indicator-trading.html As well, additional discussions about trading psychology and trading method can be found at The Tactical Trader, http://www.tactrading.com

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