In today’s world the question ‘Is your money safe?’ is a very valid question.  We wanted to share with you the latest video from Terry Savage at the MoneyShow.com. We found that it offers some great advice for how to keep your money safe and some great resources to understand what you need to know. Click on the link below and watch it, then come back and tell us what you think and other ideas you know of to keep your money safe.

Is Your Money Safe? Video 

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As a trader we need to accept the fact that we will lose some of the time.  If you understand this, then you must have measures in place to protect yourself from the losses when they come.

We can’t avoid all losses, but we can manage our risk. The first thing you need to do is define your risk. One way to do this is simply by using a protective stop. Another way is to have a predefined number at which you will halt all trading if too much of your balance is lost. Know what your risk is in advance and have a plan to deal with it before you find yourself losing a large portion of your account.

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I was talking to a trader that was following a trading system that only teaches to buy a couple of currencies and hold.  When one currency goes up the other is supposed to come down keeping them in correlation.  This way you would have a hedge on your trades and you would not lose money because the swap (interest paid by the banks) would build up in your account.  In the long run you should make money.  That theory has caused the loss of a lot of money for traders. 

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I once heard a trader say that after he made some money in his account he would take out the original investment.  Then he was only playing with money he didn’t originally have making the losses not hurt as much.  It became easier to make money because he had taken the pressure off himself.
By doing this he was better able to stay in control of his emotions and not get caught up in trading the money.  He was just trading period.  He was better able to follow the rules and not get caught up with the placing of the stop loss, getting out early, letting the news bother him and listening to others.  He could just concentrate on trading.
Find a way to forget the money and just think about the mechanics of trading and see what a difference it makes.  When you are trading your demo account you don’t get as involved with the money, you can concentrate on following the rules and you make money and wonder why you cannot make money when trading your live account.
Just relax and read the market.  Trading will become fun again.

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I just read an interesting article about when to stop trading live and go back to demo trading.
Go to demo when you have lost 9% of your account.  Trade on the demo account one week for every 2% of your account that you lost.  We all know that it is better to have some money to come back to when you start to trade live again. 
There is more to the article but this is what struck me as being of up most importance.  It gives us a set point at which to stop trading live.  There is no guessing it is straight forward.
Once you have figured out what you have done wrong by going back to basics, you can start trading live again.  I thought this would be a good simple straight forward approach on how to get you back in the game.
I think you could even set the loss % to maybe 5% when you are first learning and have just started to trade live.  It is better to protect your capital rather than have to save up again.  Be cautious and conservative and you will be around as a trader long enough to become successful.

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I came across a couple of quotes I want to share with you:
“Wall Street never changes, the pockets change, the suckers change, the stocks change, but Wall Street never changes, because human nature never changes” Jesse Livermore
“In order to make a success, the trader must act in a way to overcome the weak points that have caused the ruin of others”  W.D. Gann
The reason indicators work in any financial markets is because human nature never changes.  We remain greedy, emotional, and want things right now.  If we can trade by using a system and following rules then we are doing the things other successful traders do.  If we chase trades get caught up in one trade that is causing us problems and want more than the market is willing to give then we will do what most of the unsuccessful traders do and that is flounder.
Another way of looking at the quote by W.D. Gann is:  If you keep doing the same thing you have always done then you will keep getting the same results you have always gotten.  A trader needs to identify their strength and weakness then work on correcting their weaknesses and improve their strengths.
I once heard it said that: “It is insanity to think you can keep doing the same thing and expect to get different results.”  Successful traders are successful because they are willing to do the things that unsuccessful traders are not willing to do.  Successful traders will keep a trade journal, follow a trading system, and use a set of rules when trading just to name a few things they do.
First of all we must decide why we are trading.  Then we must do what it takes to become successful.  If we are not willing to do the things that successful traders do then we should never put money into the market we should just continue to demo trade and keep our money in a safe place.
If we trade the news and always lose, stop trading the news. If we chase trades and lose then stop chasing trades, if we trade against the major trend and lose then stop trading against the trend.  If we trade without a stop loss and lose then start putting stops on our trades.  Success leaves clues so look for the clues.  We can be successful at trading if we are willing to change the way we trade when we lose.

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At the time of these announcements there is a high probability that the market will make a significant move.  We do not trade the news, but we do trade after the news has been announced and when an entry signal appears.

Consumer Price Index for the USA
USA Non-Farm Payrolls
USA New Home sales
USA Existing Home Sales
International Trade Balance USA
Trade Balance for Canada
Retail Sales for USA
Retail Sales for Canada
Gross Domestic Product USA
Gross Domestic Product Canada

If you go to www.forexfactory.com you will find the news announcements for the week.  When you see one of the above listed be aware that the market will probably make a good move

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Much of a trader’s success has to do with his personality matching up with the trading style he chose.  No matter what the approach is you must plan your trades and trade your plans.  If not, your strategy is no better than random, and that is hardly a stable platform for long-term success.
If a trader trades money he can’t mentally afford to lose it will lead to trading the money and not the trading plan.  If a trader finds it difficult to wait through a trade that is going against him or does not move as fast as expected in the beginning then finding a strategy that minimizes both of these scenarios, may be even more important than seeking  out rules that produce the absolute largest profit per trade.
For swing traders, there are plenty of trading opportunities that can become profitable trades.  In the end the trading strategy must fit the trader’s style, personality, and risk tolerance.  If the style and personality match up then a swing approach trading in the direction of the overall trend, has the potential to turn many losing trades into winning trades.
Trading a system that matches your personality will take much of the frustration out of trading.  Something that works for one trader may not work for the next trader. So find the strategy that works for you, stick to the rules, and be happy and profitable.

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Here are a couple of ideas of how to shorten the learning curve in foreign currency trading.
OBSERVE the good trading habits of others.  You can get this information from some of     the following areas

    1. Personal observation
2. Seminars / webinars
3. Books / magazines
4. Reconstruct trades you hear about and see what the market was saying when the
trade was opened.

PRACTICE What you have learned from your observations

1. Simulated trading
2. Demo trading
3. Visualization trading
4. Live trading

LEARN figure out what you learned from you observations and practicing.  Internalize the things you like and have worked for you.

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A trader can be in a trade that goes down but is only a little against him.  He has his stop on at a comfortable level but he knows the trade is wrong but stays in because the stop has not been hit.  Since he has not been stopped out he holds on thinking it is a good trade.  Since he has his stop set he thinks he is on the right side of the trade.  This can be dangerous thinking.
When you are in a trade and it is not going the way you thought it should and you start to feel uncomfortable about the trade get out of the trade and forget about what you thought was a good trade in the beginning. Just because you have not been stopped out does not mean you are safe.  You don’t need to wait to be stopped out take a smaller loss and get on with the next move.  If the trade starts to look wrong then get out no matter if you are a little positive or a little negative.    This can save you a lot of money in the long run.
If you placed a trade because of a market movement and some good signals but the market fails to follow through and starts to linger exit the trade.  There is no need to wait until the market hits your stop level to get out.  If it isn’t working as it should, odds are that eventually it will hit your stop so why not take the small loss now and look for another trade.
Exiting trades when the reason your entered the trade has changed is good money management.  It is also a sign that you are maturing as a trader.  You are in tune with the market and will probably make money on another trade that is just around the corner.  If you can cut your losses by 25% you are way ahead when the good moves come along for a pip saved is a pip earned.

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