Holy crap I made a trade today!  I finally had some time this late afternoon and I figured I would check out what’s happening on the charts.  I spotted what seemed like a fairly simple play on the EUR/USD shortly before 5pm.  I felt a small retreat on the price would cause some jumping as people bought in.  As usual, I was comfortable getting in on a buy at this time because I am looking for small gains.  It looks like my move was the right one, although my timing could have been better.  My trade bounced around a little bit before it finally broke for a few pips profit.  I managed to grab 5 pips, which is more than I usually go for!  Here are the details.

Trade Summary:

Buy EUR/USD - 1.4962
Close Trade - 1.4967
Pips= 5

Oh my god I actually made a Forex trade!  This is shocking.  What used to be a part of my daily life has slipped completely out of my life.  My last trade was back in mid June!  Some people may see this as slacking.  And, quite honestly, they might be right.  I have slacked a little bit.  But I have also been realistic.  It was easy for me to spend time completely focused on charts back when I had a full time job.  As a student, I just don’t have the time.  I am usually doing some kind of school work or I am working out.  I spend so little time watching the charts that I don’t feel completely comfortable with them anymore.  I am going to try to spend more time at this so I can get sharp again.  Today was a day where I actually had time to do this!  This was different than most of my evening trades.  In those trades, I mark off a safe zone - an area I feel the currency wants to stay within.  When it gets to the top or bottom of this zone I wait for signs that it is about to bounce off and then I trade.  During the day things happen a lot faster and you can’t trust those zones.  You really need to pay special attention to momentum and correlation of similar currency pairs.  When you see those other currencies spike, you know that yours will probably follow.  That is what happened late this morning when I got into this trade on the EUR/USD pair.  I saw a nice spike downwards and I got in.  I was in this trade for probably 5 seconds before I bagged my 3 pips and walked away.  Now, the currency did continue a nose dive and I could have easily bagged another 10-20 pips.  But, I just as easily could have had the thing rebound on me and screw me into a loss.  I always walk away when I have made my safe profit.  I am completely happy with 1-2 pips per trade.  One of the best things about trading mid day is the spread.  At 0.9 pips I don’t have to be too right in order to make money.  The smallest of movements will get me a profit.  Here is to hoping I can get in some more trading like this next week!  As always, the charts and details of the trade are below.

Trade Summary:

Sell EUR/USD - 1.4727
Close Trade - 1.4724
Pips= 3

Ah, finally something Forex related!  I have previously posted about getting your start in Forex.  You can check out that link for some info on how I feel you should start your journey in this world.  And, if you already started, it can’t hurt to go back and learn some shit!  Now this is something that is probably the most simple topic in theory, and the most difficult in practice.  Not trading.  That’s it.  It sounds so easy.  Right now you are reading this so you aren’t trading.  That’s how easy it is, right?  Wrong.  This is probably the biggest mistake people make especially when they are new traders.  I won’t lie, this was something I struggled with when I was first learning the ropes.  I would sit there at my computer looking for a trade even though I knew I had to be out the door in 5 minutes.  The problem was that I made money so if I just got to get in on a deal I could make some quick cash.  More often than not it screws you over.  You force a trade by seeing something that isn’t really there.  You see it because you want to see it.  Trading is all about pattern recognition and if you really want to you can make a chart look like anything.  Not trading is something that must be practiced.  I know that sounds weird.  Practice not doing something.  It actually works.  If you trade with a demo account you need to work it like you would if it was real money.  I know nothing can actually simulate the feeling of using real money, but use your imagination.  Practice firing up the charts when you are in a bad mood or when you are rushed for time and force yourself to not make a deal.  You will try to rationalize it sometimes and say it is only fake money.  Slap yourself on the wrist and try not trading again!  You have to think that you aren’t paid to trade.  You are paid to wait for the perfect trade!  Waiting for that perfect setup is your job.  This isn’t like using a machine gun, trading is like a sniper rifle.  One shot.  That brings me to my next point.  Rebound trading.  You just screwed the pooch on a trade and you bailed on it.  You are sitting on a loss for the day.  This is probably the hardest time to not trade.  It is for me.  The problem is that you know you have a winning strategy.  Odds are your next trade will score you money.  Let’s get right back in there and make back what I lost.  Hell no!  This is the best way to drain your account dry.  This is gambling and not trading.  It sounds similar, doesn’t it.  Only one more.  Let me win my money back.  This is why most people kill their accounts within 6 months.  You can have five and a half months of wins and 2 weeks where you attempted trade after trade just to win back any losses.  At the end you are broke!  A loss is a loss.  Walk away.  You are paid to wait!  The last reason not to trade has to do with outside forces.  Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that I avoid news announcements like the plague.  Some people trade these times and make a lot of money.  It is way too risky for my liking.  The spread goes up and you can jump 50 pips a second.  I can’t handle that roller coaster.  I like smoother movements.  So, anytime a news announcement is scheduled I stay away for 30 minutes leading up to it and 30 minutes after.  Sometimes more, sometimes less.  You can tell when the impact of that news is no longer driving the pattern.  Staying away from the news announcements was a bigger issue when I was trading in the mornings.  Since I switched to the evenings it doesn’t affect me nearly as much.  The best way to find out when all these announcements are coming out is by going to Forex Factory.  That link gives you a daily calendar with everything you need to know.  They even rank the impact of the announcement which is a great thing.  Low impact announcements are fairly safe to be in on a trade at.  Don’t even think about going in when those impact symbols are red!  Once again, this is all based on my style of trading.  I don’t like risk.  I don’t need Forex to provide me with excitement.  I am getting plenty of that with my attempts to become a firefighter.  Forex is my little cash machine.  Part of keeping myself in the black is knowing when not to trade.  There is a reason why my account hasn’t taken any hits this year.  I know when to stay away!  Learn that skill and you will find your win percentage will shoot right up!

I haven’t posted anything to do with Forex in a while.  There is a reason:  I haven’t done any trading!  I have been busy most evenings and just don’t have the time to sit in front of the charts.  Tonight would have been ideal but I have already ruled out trading because of a large drop on the EUR/USD that takes any of my usual ranges out of play.  Anytime the currency hits a new high or a new low then I am sitting back and waiting for another day time to trade!  The spread is also at 3.5 pips and that is way too high considering that I have such small pip goals.  So, I look to other things to entertain me.  How about video games?  It has been a while since I have posted a Zero Punctuation review.  So, here is a gem.  This could be one of the most bitter and angry reviews ever.  I have to say that I agree with him for the most part.  I hate the Sims games.  Why would I spend my free time telling some little character to work and eat and sleep…that’s all shit I have to do!  I want to do things I won’t ever get to do in real life like score a goal in the NHL or car jack a guy after beating a cop to death with a bat.  Perhaps I have said too much.  Check out the review for yourself.

My god I actually managed to get a trade in!  This was a pretty easy one to see.  I like it when the currency settles into a little valley down near a low for the day.  This makes it easy to get into a buy trade with some confidence.  That’s exactly what I saw when I fired up the charts at 5:45pm and immediately got into a buy on the EUR/USD.  I didn’t have to wait long for this one to pay off.  At 5:49 I got a swift little jump upward that went about 3 pips in my favor.  I decided to walk away at that point.  This early in the evening you generally get very small movements in the 5 minute candles.  I didn’t want to stay in this trade just on the hope I would squeeze out another couple of pips.  Besides, my strategy is all about small gains that add up over time.  3 pips is more than enough for a couple of minutes of work.  I know I haven’t traded much at all this year, but I have managed to make pips every time I do.  I can’t wait until school is done so I can do this more often!  I know I have yet to release any kind of strategy guide on how I trade.  I honestly didn’t think school was going to suck so much of my time.  I am in the middle of my 2nd of 3 semesters.  3rd semester is a lot lighter.  Hopefully I can put something together at that point.  I would be happy to see how much money people could make using my strategy!  Here is the chart for today’s trade.

Trade Summary:

Buy EUR/USD - 1.3834
Close Trade - 1.3837
Pips= 3

Alright, maybe that title isn’t quite as dramatic as I thought it would be.  A lot of people are under the opinion that any form of insurance is a rip-off.  Well, mortgage insurance is an absolute scam if that is your thinking about regular insurance.  There are problems with every step in the mortgage insurance process.  My first problem is when they sell it to you.  It is right as you are signing all your forms at the bank or mortgage broker.  You are all high on excitement on your new house and someone tells you they will offer you mortgage insurance for a small fee a month.  Compared to everything else, the $30 a month or so sounds like an absolute bargain.  Or, maybe you are nervous and feel like you just barely slid under the wire and got this mortgage.  You feel you have to accept this coverage or else your mortgage will be taken away from you.  It’s a bitch move of a sales tactic as far as I am concerned.  Remember that your mortgage agreement is in no way dependent on that mortgage insurance.  My next problem is the underwriting.  They ask a minimum of questions and you get hundreds of thousands of dollars of coverage instantly?  Too good to be true.  They don’t go through all the medical information up front, but you can bet your ass they will if your family ever files a claim!  When it comes to insurance, it is better to go through all the hoops up front so the claims process is easy.  When a claim is made it is because you are dead.  Your family shouldn’t have to deal with some asshole insurance adjuster  going through your medical information at that time.  Even if you ignore the sales process and lack of proper underwriting, you still have a product that is inferior.  Mortgage insurance sounds good.  If something happens to you, the insurance pays off your mortgage and your loved ones keep the home for free!  When you actually break down the numbers it doesn’t sound so hot.  Say you have a 20 year mortgage of $300,000.  That first year you are paying your $50 premium each month and if you die you get full value as the insurance pays off the $300,000.  What about in year 10 where you only owe $195,000?  You are still paying the same $50 premium each month but now you are getting $105,000 less coverage.  What about in year 18 where you are still paying $50 a month but now you are getting like $20,000 in coverage!  That is an absolute rip off.  Every year your coverage reduces and you keep paying the same thing.  This product is designed only to protect the company that gives you the mortgage.  Once that mortgage is paid off then you have absolutely nothing to show for your insurance payments.  You never owned the policy.  Why should you pay for insurance to protect the mortgage company?  Let them worry about protecting their investment in you.  It is your job to only look out for yourself and your family.  Speak to an insurance broker and come up with options that make sense.  If you are in good health you can get whole life insurance that costs more, but provides coverage for life.  Unless you live forever that product is guaranteed to pay off.  Not only that, a lot of them build cash value that you can use.  I will talk more about that in a later post.  Even if you go for term life insurance, it is still infinitely better than mortgage insurance.  They key thing is that it is YOUR policy.  At the end of the 10 or 20 year term you get to decide what happens.  Maybe your health has gone to the crapper and you would never get approved again.  You can decide to extend your coverage or convert it to whole life insurance.  It may cost a lot, but it is your option to exercise.  The insurance company can’t take that away from you.  And, your coverage amount is the same from the first day until the last day of the policy.  You start with $300,000 of coverage, you end with that.  I know this stuff can seem complicated but you owe it to yourself to do your research.  There, now you know more about mortgage insurance.  Now you can tell your bank or mortgage broker to kiss both sides of your ass when they offer it to you!

This is another one of those things that people have always drilled into you.  You know the typical stuff.  Things like you MUST own your home.  I already corrected that flawed logic in a previous post about renting being an OK option.  This topic is a little more serious and complex.  This isn’t about protecting or creating wealth.  This is about surviving!  People love to talk about how you should never declare bankruptcy because your credit rating should be protected like your first born child.  This is blind advice that is too broad.  There are many situations where bankruptcy just doesn’t work.  But for most personal financial turmoils it should be an option you think about.  The fact is if you are drowning in debt you are in a position to only pick the lesser of two evils.  Sit there and spend the next 10 years on a plan to repay all those debts.  Or, go bankrupt and be forced to admit it on any financial application for 7 years.  Either option isn’t glorious.  I say that bankruptcy looks pretty good in that situation.  People will say that you need to avoid bankruptcy so that you can get credit.  WHY?!  You already screwed that up when you ran your debts up to the point you are using credit to pay off credit.  If you actually checked your credit rating at this point it probably sucks anyways.  Credit ratings aren’t based just on whether you pay things on time.  It’s all about your debt ratio.  If you have built up a ton of debt and are 90% maxed on your credit cards then your credit rating isn’t doing shit for you anyways.  What good is making $2000 grand a month when you need $3000 to pay all your bills.  Talk to a trustee and declare bankruptcy.  You won’t lose your home unless you have built up a substantial amount of equity.  You will spend the next 9 months living on a budget that is set out by the trustee and yourself.  Don’t worry, the budget includes all your housing costs and personal expenses…including entertainment.  This budget is probably an improvement on what you could afford to do anyways!  Any surplus income doesn’t just get taken away.  50% goes to the trustee for the first $1000 of surplus income.  75% for everything after that (in Ontario).  I know that sounds rough but this whole process has to be about perspective.  If the sum of your bills is more than you make then you have less than nothing.  Getting to zero would be a substantial improvement.  Instead of living the tough life for 10 years why don’t you get it over with in one year?  Let’s go back to that example of the person who makes $2000 a month.  Your bills are $3000 a month.  Imagine all the credit card debt gone.  Now your total expenses are $1600 a month including rent/mortgage, insurance, gas, food, entertainment, cable/internet/phone.  You are actually making money now.  You have more money than you need.  Why do you need credit?  Sure, you need a credit card to buy things online.  Get a pre-paid card.  Just google it and you will find a company that will offer you a card.  You send them $1000 and they give you a card with a $1000 limit.  When you want to close your account you get the money back plus interest.  There, now you have your card.  Better still, you can never use it beyond your means because the money is already with them!  And you will actually have that $1000 to get that card because you actually make money every month!  There are even ways to get mortgages and business loans while still reporting that you were a previous bankruptcy.  The financial world isn’t black and white.  There are always ways to get what you want while still keeping things nice and legal.  Don’t dismiss an option like bankruptcy just because it sounds bad.  You owe it to yourself to do all the research about everything before deciding.  At least speak to a trustee to find out your options.  You may be surprised.  This is why the rich get richer.  They are more open to creative options.  Why do you think Donald Trump has used bankruptcy to help himself out of a jam more than once?

There have been some big changes in the EUR/USD since my last trade on the 14th of May.  The biggest thing is that the currency pair has risen almost 400 pips!  That kinda sucks because my account is in US dollars.  Oh well.  Thems the breaks!  Once again, I really wish I had the time to be looking into the charts more often.  I have easily proven that I have a method to making money.  I just need the time to act on it more often.  My method isn’t about big gains, but small controlled gains that add up over time.  Once I am a fire fighter I will have more time to dedicate to this business.  This evening I fired up the charts before 6 PM and found a nice little range that seemed fairly predictable.  I was able to spot a small sell trade almost instantly so I didn’t even wait to find an ideal price entry.  I jumped in at 5:46 PM and was out 5:50 PM with a nice little 3 pip gain.  I really don’t have some grand lesson to teach you because this one really didn’t take much work at all.  All I can tell you is that 3 pips doesn’t sound like a big deal.  But, if you are working with $100 pips then you just made $300 bucks in 4 minutes.  That’s not bad at all.  Here are the details.

Trade Summary:

Sell EUR/USD - 1.3989
Close Trade - 1.3986
Pips= 3

I didn’t post anything yesterday because it was my birthday and I was running around having fun.  Today was spent recovering from that fun.  Since I was laying around I figured I might as well check out the charts to see what was going on.  It turns out conditions actually looked good to make a little trade.  I had a very small range in which the EUR/USD pair was moving in.  I got into a sell trade just after 7 PM.  It moved slowly but finally hit a small profit of 3 pips at 7:21 PM.  This was a pretty simple sell trade to get into.  The Euro was coming off a daily high earlier in the day.  When I got into my trade it was right after some upward movement lost momentum.  I figured this currency had a rock in it and it wanted to drop.  I was right so I made money!  Hopefully I can actually get some trades in this month.  I have been trading so rarely that I almost felt like I should remove the “day trader” title on this blog!  Here are the details.

Trade Summary:

Sell EUR/USD - 1.3633
Close Trade - 1.3630
Pips= 3

I, and most of the most successful people in the world, know what the best investment in the world is.  This investment can pay you anywhere from prime right on through to about 30% annually!  And, everyone has access to this great investment.  Have you figured it out yet?  It’s paying off your debt!  It sounds so simple doesn’t it.  In reality, this is where a lot of people fail themselves.  It is all about the appearance of money.  So you have $5000 of credit card debt and you have $10,000 in savings.  What good is it to keep that money so that you feel like you have been managing your money?  It does nothing for you!  Sure, there is absolutely no glamour in paying off those credit cards but not doing it can kill you in the long run.  That 28% card is sitting there bitch-slapping you with interest and the only reason you haven’t paid it off is because you like having 5 digits worth of savings.  Everything you do should be based on interest rates.  If you owe something that is charging you 28% annually then paying it off is giving you that value back.  It takes away something you would be paying.  That is the same as giving you money back that you wouldn’t normally have.  So you lose some savings.  Say you would have made 6% with that money invested.  By paying off that 28% credit card you are banking 22%!  By all means, don’t pay it off if your savings is bringing in a higher interest rate than your debt is charging you.  That doesn’t happen often though.  It is better to be at $0 than to have 10 grand in the bank with 11 grand in credit card debt.  Pay off whatever balance you can and then work on busting down the rest.  This is the best investment you can make with your money.