Let me ask you a question. 
Why do forex traders trade?
I mean how many people who’ve started trading actually love the art of trading and don’t just do it to make money?
I’ll admit I do love trading. The art of trading. The beauty of reading charts especially price action trading and the different forex trading strategies. The satisfaction I get when I see the market moving in the intended direction.
It’s just like playing a game. The main difference is that, when you win this game, you are rewarded in material terms. Not in achievements or kudos, but in actual cash that you can use in the real world.
How great is that?
Would you like to play this game? Working your way through it and ensuring you understand as much as possible on how to win?
If this piques your interest, then, yes, forex trading or trading of any sort may suit you.
Contents
- Can You Get Rich by Trading Forex?
- How can I turn $10,000 into $100,000?
- How can I turn $10,000 into $1 million?
- How much can you make trading forex?
- Can you make a living trading forex?
- Final thoughts
- How much do forex traders make a day?
- How much to invest in forex trading to make a living?
- Can you make a living day trading forex?
Can You Get Rich by Trading Forex?
But Ezekiel… I hear, how much money can you make trading forex? Can I become rich from it?
“I would like to put in capital of $1000. And if I trade diligently, is it realistic to make $2k a month from trading… say after one year?”
OR…
“If I put in $10,000, can I make $100,000 from it in a year? Or… Can I make like $10k a month from it?”
You see, being a forex trading coach and mentor, these are the types of questions I get pretty often.
If you want a straight answer to whether you are able to become rich through forex trading, then the answer is yes.
But… is it simple? Not really.
Can trading make you rich?
How can I turn $10,000 into $100,000?
Want to know a method akin to gambling for how you can get rich through trading?
Take a look at this example:
If, let’s say, you put in $10,000 and you want to grow it to $100,000 in a year.
So that’s 10x growth in 12 months.
Or 1000% growth in 12 months.
Now, do you know of any vehicle that gives you that? Not really.
But is it possible in forex trading? Yes it is.
Why?
I mean… you could simply enter a trade with a 100% risk. Meaning you go all-in on one trade risking your entire $10k.
And if that trade runs a risk reward ratio of 1:10.
Then there you go… You just made $100k in a trade.
So is it possible? Yes.
Is it realistic?
Not so much…
How can I turn $10,000 into $1 million?
Here’s another example of how to “get rich through forex trading”:
You can go all-in at $10k for one trade.
To put it in simple terms, the chances of you winning are 50% and losing are 50%.
So, if it goes up your way, you could have made (let’s not aim so high… but just a risk reward ratio of 1:1) a 100% profit.
So your $10k becomes $20k.
Now, let’s say you now put in your $20k (at the same 100% risk) and you win your next trade.
Your $20k becomes $40k.
And then you put your $40k into the next trade, you make $80k.
Woo-hoo! Three wins in a row and you just turned $10k into $80k.
The fourth win will make you $160k!
And so you went in with high hopes thinking that, in a couple more trades, you will turn that $160k into $320k, then the $320k into $640k and then into $1.28 million!!
Just four more wins and you will be a millionaire! Fantastic!
But of course, things get in the way and fantasies like this are shattered in no time.
Because you lost the next trade and your $80k account is now busted!
Does the above scenario sound familiar? Because it’s stories like this that we hear all too often.
This above scenario is just like gambling isn’t it? The gambler will tell you how much he won and then he’ll lose it all. And then go on to tell you he will make it back and more the next time because he has “learnt” what not to do.
If you follow that specific method, then I’m pretty sure the next set, and the set after that, will turn out the same.
Because you can get lucky in one trade, in two trades, maybe even in three trades… but how long can you stay lucky that way? It’s not really realistic isn’t it.
Now… Let me bring you back down to earth. Because that was Fantasy Island. ;)
So is it not possible to turn $10k into $100k?
It is possible.
But we have to do it the “slow and steady way”.
How much can you make trading forex?
Trading the safer way
Now let’s say we follow the general rules of risking 1-3% a trade. For this example, let’s put it at 3%.
Now 3% of $10,000 is $300.
If your risk reward ratio is, on average, at 1:2…
You will win $600 each trade, and, if you lose, you lose $300.
Let’s say you have a win rate of just 50%.
Therefore, out of 20 trades, you lost 10, meaning you lost $300 * 10 = $3000.
And you won 10 trades, 10 * $600 = $6000.
Out of 20 trades, you made $6000 – $300 = $3000.
So now your capital is at $10,000 + $3000 = $13,000.
Meaning your next trade will be 3% of $13,000 = $390.
Now that’s compounding in action.
Let’s put the above scenario into a compounding calculator.
Assuming you take 20 trades a month…
How long do you need to make $100k?
That’s 9 months.
Now of course, it may also seem unrealistic that you are making 30% a month. Because you made $3k out of $10k in a month.
Okay…
Let’s tone it down a little.
Let’s say out of 10 trades, you won four and lost six. So you have just a win rate of 40%.
And you now only take 10 trades a month, not 20.
Therefore, out of 10 trades, you lost 6, meaning you lost $300 * 6 = $1800.
And you won 4 trades, 4 * $600 = $2400.
Out of 10 trades, you made $2400 – $1800 = $600.
So now your capital is at $10,000 + $600 = $10,600.
Meaning your next trade will be 3% of $10,600 = $318.
Let’s put it into compounding…
You will reach $100k at month 40. Which is around 3 year 4 months.
Now it may seem way longer. But turning $10k into $100k in 3+ years is still really good, right?
How about if we wait a bit longer…
By month 80, you would have turned it into $1 million dollars!
How crazy is that?
So is forex really profitable?
Can you get rich by trading forex?
Yes!
This is the power of compounding put into trading.
Can you make a living trading forex?
As much as it’s possible to do. I don’t want any new traders to be jumping into this game thinking that they can get rich instantly.
The fact is that most new forex traders leave the game after just two years.
And only 10% of traders make money.
Why, you may ask?
It’s because successful trading takes discipline that is incorporated into a solid forex trading system to put the above into action.
Few forex traders want to put in the hard work but only want to get rich.
That’s why there are always gimmicks out there and get-rich-quick schemes which people will always fall into.
Final thoughts
After trading for two decades and seeing the stories of thousands of traders, I can say that I know quite a lot on this subject matter.
So here’s my take away if you want to become successful in this field.
Don’t go into trading with a mindset of wanting to make a million out of a thousand. Instead, go in with the mindset that you are here to learn and hone this skill into a finely crafted tool. Mastering any skill takes time, and nothing is ever achieved without a lot of hard work and practice.
Most people jump into the game and put in loads of money right at the start. On the contrary, in the first six months to a year, you should spend your time learning and practicing with very little money involved. Only when you are ready, and by being ready, I mean that your account is growing steadily, can you then decide to put in more capital.
Try picking up any new sport, e.g. soccer, basketball, badminton, etc. Were you good at it right from the start? No, everyone who has ever become good at anything has put countless hours into practicing and honing their craft. Working on their weakness and strengthening their game.
The same goes for forex trading. Don’t expect to make big bucks within the first few months of trading. If you somehow manage this, it’s pure luck. Instead, spend time practising and working on your trading game. And this time and effort you put into honing trading into an art will reward you going forward.
Questions:
How much do forex traders make a day?
This will depend on the number of trades you take in a trade. If your trading style is scalping, then you can probably take 20 trades a day. And by scalping, I mean that you are trading in a timeframe such as one minute.
And if that is your preferred way of trading, the math formula will be:
Your win rate: e.g. you win 6 out of 10 trades = 60% win rate.
Your risk reward ratio: e.g. 1:2.
Your risk percentage: e.g. 2%.
Your capital: e.g. $10k.
So 20 trades * 60% win rate = 12 wins.
Risk per trade is: 2% * $1k = $200.
8 losses * $200 = $1600.
12 wins * $400 (risk reward ratio 1:2) = $4800.
Total profit: $4800 – $1600 = $3200.
And the above estimation is based on the above scenario.
But what if scalping is not your style and you prefer mid- to longer-term trading?
So perhaps, you will have just one to three trades a day.
Do the math and you will have the answer.
How much to invest in forex trading to make a living?
Using the formula of calculating your win rate, your risk percentage, your risk reward ratio – the number of trades will give you an estimate of how much you can make a month.
And if your living expenses are $3.2k a month, and if you trade 20 trades a month based on the above example, then $10k capital is needed.
Can you make a living day trading forex?
Yes, aside from your daily trades with wins that have a risk reward ratio of 1:2, there are also trades that can go as high as 1:15 or 1:25. These are what I call a bonus for us forex traders.
Imagine you have a trade with a risk percentage of 3%. And you made a successful trade with a risk reward ratio of 1:25.
You’ve just made a 75% gain of your capital in a single trade with just a risk of 3%.
If your capital is $10k, you would have made $7.5k in a single trade…
And if your capital is $100k, you made $75k profit on that trade.
So apart from your day-to-day trades with the standard risk to reward ratio – these are our salary –the big trades are our big payday. Our bonus.
