Monday, May 23, 2011

How to Trade Forex Without Emotions

Emotions are the one of the greatest problems of being a Forex trader. Almost every beginning trader, who starts with the demo account, experiences a great success in his or her trading, but fails to carry this success to the real money account. The problem is letting emotions get in the way of rational judgments. When we lose, we feel frustration and sometimes even despair. Winning can cause us to lose control over our actions and turn trading into a gambling, or cause a serious over-trading problem. Calming greed and taming fear will help you to overcome trading Forex in an overly emotional way. Here are some suggestions to help you.

Steps

  1. Recognize the emotions involved:
    • Greed – human beings often want more! When market goes as we expected, it is too easy to believe it will continue for very long time. We forgot that everything can change in an instant.

How to Be Disciplined in Forex Trading

What do you think the key for forex trading? It is not the perfect strategy, but PERFECT DISCIPLINE. Discipline is a controlled behavior. So in forex trading you must have a controlled behavior which follows your strategy. Discipline will separates you between success and failure.
Have you ever set your trading goals, set your stops and limits but eventually forget about that. You have your strategy but still didn't do the strategy and enter the market although it is not suits your strategy. And finally LOST your money. How could that happened? It's because you lack DISCIPLINE. Many beginner trader and some experienced trader too, often enter the market because they are tempted to go in due to the fear of missing out a big move although it breaks their trading rules.

Steps

  1. Be easy on yourself for your mistakes. The more you get upset with yourself for your mistakes the more it will influence your future trading.

How to Read Forex Candlestick Charts

Candlesticks are graphical representations of the price fluctuations of a currency pair. A candlestick can represent any period of time. A currency trader’s software can provide charts representing time frames from five minutes, up to one week per candlestick. Here is how to read them.

Steps

  1. Understand what the chart consists of. There are no calculations required to interpret Candlestick Charts. They are a simple visual aid representing price movements in a given time period. Each candlestick reveals four vital pieces of information:
    • the opening price, the closing price,
    • the highest price and the lowest price the fluctuations during the time period of the candle.
    • In much the same way as the familiar bar chart, a candle illustrates a given measure of time.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

How to Avoid Losing Money on Bad Investments

Bad investment strategies not only lead to devastating losses of income, they can cause stress, feelings of failure and excessive worry and regret. Become educated about financial planning and learn the basics of how to avoid losing money on bad investments before giving your money away.

Steps

  1. Set financial goals. Finding out how much money you want, and when you expect to get it, is the first step in financial planning and deciding on investment strategies.
  2. Decide how much risk you can afford to take. Most of the opportunities that can make the most money are also risky; it's possible to lose all if not most of the investment and to have to worry regularly about how the investment is performing. If you are a nervous person, high risk investments may not be a good

How to Decide When to Sell a Stock

Many investors are unable to sell a stock; either they 'fall in love' with an investment, or are unwilling to admit a failed investment. Sell decisions should be made at the time of an investment.

Steps

  1. Concentrate on selling stocks within your portfolio that are doing poorly, particularly if you cannot satisfactorily explain the loss as mere market emotion or an overreaction to a particular problem. William O'Neill compares a portfolio to a garden, you need to pull your weeds and not your flowers in order to have a profitable 'garden'. But do not allow growth in particular kind of investments that have done well in the past to unbalance your portfolio; rebalance it among companies and asset classes from time to time.

How to Invest in Mutual Funds

Regardless of the size or goals of your investment portfolio, adding mutual fund holdings can help you diversify your investments while maintaining a low cost structure and a focused investment target. Investors of all sizes and skill levels can benefit from learning how to invest in mutual funds.

Steps

  1. Select the financial institution you plan to use for purchasing mutual funds by carefully researching and asking for referrals from friends and family who regularly invest their money in the market.
    • Online investment firms typically have competitive fee structures and varied fund selections for investors willing to take a do-it-yourself approach to investing in mutual funds. This will require you to complete your own research and carefully monitor the performance and allocation of your

How to Calculate Dividends

Dividends are investment earnings that come from stocks and mutual funds that you invest in. When you buy stocks or participate in a mutual fund, you are buying shares of a company. That entitles you, the investor, to a portion of the company's earnings, known as dividends. Knowing how to calculate dividends helps you stay on top of your investments.

Steps

  1. Locate the percentage dividend listed in the prospectus of the invested stock or fund.
    • You should always have a prospectus on your investments, but, if it's not immediately available, check the company's website or with your investment broker.
    • The percentage dividend will most likely be listed as a percentage of the original asking price

How to Invest in Property

Investing in property can provide high returns, but it also runs the risk of deep-pocketed losses. Essentially, all homeowners make an investment when they purchase a property, as homes generally appreciate in value. However, some people find that investing in properties outside of home ownership can amass a small fortune over time. There are several ways to invest in properties, each of which offers a different risk level, maintenance requirement and possibility of return.

Steps

  1. Invest in a real estate investment trust, or REIT. Real estate investment trusts work to pool the money of investors for the purpose buying, selling and developing real estate properties.
    • As an investor, you will benefit from a hands-off approach, and the opportunity to invest in

Investment Advice: Exchange Traded Funds As Part Of Your Investment Portfolio

'What should I invest in?' This is the most pertinent question for most individuals striving to formulate a financial plan. Zillions of books and millions of web pages are not sufficient to answer this question. This is because investment advice is not universal and one size does not fit all. It changes as per the unique situation and specific requirements of every individual. Thus, it is essential to consult an investment expert personally to devise a customised financial plan.

For their investment and retirement plans, many people do not want an actively managed portfolio but would rather invest in the lower cost option of passive funds, which will just track the selected market index. There are currently two main options available for passive investment: tracker funds or ETFs.

Investment Advice: Understanding ETFs

How To Choose Investment Real Estate Property

The decision to invest in real estate is an important one. When you begin choosing the properties you will purchase, there are several factors you should consider. This article will provide tips for doing so and help you make the right choices.

Consider your goals. If you are planning on purchasing investment property for the purpose of renting it out, think about the market you wish to target. If you don't have a lot of money for getting started, you may need to purchase small homes that will be primarily rented by an individual or couple. These would be more like starter homes and would usually contain two to three bedrooms. The square footage would not be all that much, but they would make great first investments. They would also make wonderful homes to renters looking for a good deal without having to spend a lot of money each month.