Welcome back. I have been getting a lot of questions regarding a trade war and why does it even happen. I have also received requests to publish a simplified version of what a trade war is. There’s been a lot happening lately between the United States and China.
I always try to simplify things for my readers and this post is another attempt to simplify the trade war concept, tariffs and so forth. Because of how I trade , I am very interested in understanding how the markets work and anything that might cause a market reaction. I also trade a lot of Geopolitics.
What exactly is a trade war?
A trade war is an economic conflict resulting from extreme protectionism in which states raise or impose tariffs or other trade hindrances against each other in response to trade barriers imposed by the other state.
What is a Protectionism?
Protectionism is an economic policy that restricts imports from other countries by imposing or raising tariffs on imported goods and import quotas.
What Is A Tariff?
A tariff is a custom tax paid on imports or exports between states and it is also used to regulate foreign trades.
What Are import quotas?
The import quota is a physical limitation of the quantities of different products (imports) from foreign countries that can be imported into the country within a specified time period.
Why Are Tariffs Used?
The main aim of using protective tariffs is to protect the country’s domestic industries and to make the goods that are imported from foreign countries to be less attractive and more expensive and basically to promote the use of local goods.
They are used when the country’s domestic industry feels threatened by foreign industries. It is also to put domestic products which are in the same market at an advantage by making the imports more expensive. The disadvantages are when the other party retaliate and raises their tariffs on their exports to protect their domestic products as well.
What Is US Trade War?
Since the 22nd of January 2018, United States and China have been engaged in a tradewar involving the mutual placement of tariffs. US President Donald Trump had declared in his campaign that he wants fix China’s longtime unfair trade practices.
Example Of A Trade War
A recent ban of Huawei in the US markets has “broken” the internet and the news have been circulating and they are on everyone’s tongue. China said that they will retaliate. It is also reported that sneaker giants Adidas and Nike have written a letter to Donald trump asking him to reconsider the tariffs imposed on Chinese imports.
I hope this post helps. If you find it valuable, kindly share with your peers. You can also subscribe to this blog for weekly publications. Should you need private coaching ,feel free to Contact me. Thank you for stopping by.
Forex trading has become so easily accessible through Online Forex Brokers with just as little as a $5 start up capital. Is it even possible to trade successfully with such a small amount?
Hello amazing readers, It’s been a while since I published a new blog post except for the weekly economic news. Do you guys see the new clean look of this blog though, I can’t get over it. I hope you love it and you’ll also find it easy to navigate through. I cannot thank the designer enough for this stunning website and mostly for the top of the range service that they offer, they are truly amazing. You can view their portfolio Here. Let me get back to the business of today.
A lot of times I get people asking me about the minimum capital to start a live Forex trading account. I always try to be as realistic and practical as possible through my answers.
How realistic is trading a very small account?
You can walk into a shop and see R9.99 Per Kilo on chicken, but walking inside the shop does not mean you’ll come out with a R9.99 full chicken (you may not come out with any chicken at all) this is simply because you don’t really want to buy 1 kilo and obviously you’ll end up paying way more than R9.99. This is just me trying to simplify my explanation and just to get my point across (I’d love a nicely grilled piece of chicken right now though)
The same goes with Forex Brokers, they have their set minimum amount which does not really mean it will make sense to you. It can be extremely challenging to trade a very small Forex account, It’s reality. A while ago I published a blog post just to give an idea of how much can one start a live account with. I did that to share a realistic approach towards Forex returns. You may view the post Here.
Your earning potential is highly linked to your Capital
Not everyone has a privilege to start a live Forex account with at least $1000 or more. I have always maintained that it is not only about your trading capital but it is mostly about you (which is why I focus more on trading psychology). It is also the truth that your earning potential is highly linked to your start up capital. We need to keep it real. You may like to read this post about Forex returns Here.
The way you can nurture and grow a small Forex account is the same as you can do with a bigger account. These two require the same discipline and money management.
Tips on how to grow a small Forex trading account
First of all, you need to accept the fact that you won’t make much from a smaller account. Secondly, you need to start viewing your Forex trading account as an investment. You can set aside a portion from your other income such as your salary or business. If you don’t have any other income, this is the reason why you need to have another income stream. Find a way to earn an income (there’s always a way if you look hard enough). By all means, find that other income so you can be able to invest more in your trading capital. Add this portion to your Forex trading account month after month just like you’d do with your savings account.
How much can you set aside per month to invest in your Forex trading account?
I don’t know, but let’s say you can manage to set aside R1000 (you can even take from the money that you use for entertainment if you have to). Deposit it into your Forex account. This will not only increase your trading capital, but it will definitely shift your mindset and help you to view your Forex trading account as a serious investment opportunity that it is. It will surely become one of your real investments and you won’t be easily moved by what social media feeds you regarding Forex trading.
Forget the hype and keep it real for your sake
Most traders still believe in all the hype that is sold to them on social media regarding Forex trading. When you get to this stage where you are no longer hyped up and easily influenced by a “get rich overnight” mentality, you start to see progress. Progress is what you need and unfortunately you won’t find it overnight.
Is it bad to start small?
Starting small is OK and it also has its advantages. That thing can teach you lots of patience which you’ll always need by the way. But you don’t have to stay small. Investing more money helps in creating a better trading environment where you don’t worry much about chasing a number of pips because you can take just a few pips which can give you tangible profits. You also want to see your efforts of logging in to your trading account being rewarded.
I am so sorry if you were expecting a Forex trading system which will supercharge your smaller account and turn it into a million bucks overnight. This was just me stopping by and giving you practical tips which I’ve personally used.
I hope this helps. If you find it valuable, please help me to reach out to as many people as possible by sharing this post using the share buttons. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. Happy trading , don’t forget to keep it real and contact me for private coaching.
I must say, it felt so great to type this post, I guess it’s the environment (my stunning site, sorry to keep on mentioning it but I just can’t get over it, I promise to keep it to myself next time, today is my first day akere). Stay tuned for more practical Forex tips and also subscribe so you can receive my weekly blog posts straight to your email. To subscribe, just tick on ” Notify me of new posts by email” at the bottom of the post.
Hello readers, hello subscribers. I can’t believe I’m writing my last blog post of the year. I have said this before that anyone who blogs does it for the readers. The aim of blogging is to share information with those who might need it. If I was blogging for myself, I would have posted all these blog posts on my wall or under my mattress *smiles* (not the FB wall but the actual wall at home in my bedroom where access is limited)
I decided to write this post to extend my gratitude. Thank you for hanging out on this blog. Thank you for giving me a chance to share my past mistakes with you. I have tried to keep the content on this blog as practical as possible. Most of the tips that I shared are not from researched information but are from my own experiences.
I know the tips have assisted a lot of people and most people have since changed how they view Forex trading. I have also tried to answer the frequently asked questions like how much trading Capital one can start with. I have shared tips on how to trade for a monthly income. I also get a lot of questions about whether it is a good idea to quit your job to trade Forex, I have shared some insights on this topic as well, you can check this post HERE. Some people just wanted to know if Forex trading is legal in South Africa.
I haven’t posted much lately. If you subscribed recently, I know you haven’t received weekly posts consistently. I promise to come back in 2019 to share more tips. Thank you for subscribing, thank you for reading and sharing my posts. Thank you for referring your friends and thank you for signing up for my private lessons & mentorship. I know I have met most of my mentees from this blog. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you again till we meet again in 2019 with more practical tips and weekly economic news updates. May you all have a blessed festive season and please do stay safe. If you are in South Africa, kindly stay away from the “Idibala” dance on the road, hahaha. Cheers guys.
Hello readers, it’s been a while since I published a blog post. It’s towards the end of the year and it’s been a bit hectic on my side. I thought I should pop in today and answer this frequently asked question about whether Forex trading is legal in South Africa or not.
Forex trading can provide a great opportunity to increase one’s income streams. People are trading for different reasons. Some people are trading just because it seems to be popular. The people who trade for that reason are usually very clueless about what is expected from them in order to succeed in trading and they make up a huge percentage of people who are failing dismally. “Side note” to this group “Forex trading is not the screenshots that are circulating on social media”. Before investing money in Forex, one must acquire a proper skill. There a people who are trading for a monthly income. But before you think about firing your current boss just because you just found out that Forex trading is legal in South Africa, make sure you read this post HERE.
Forex trading is legal in South Africa as long as it is done within a regulated environment and participants are legal citizens with a South African Identity Document or Passport . There are Forex Brokers who are providing traders with trading platforms where the buying and selling of currencies or any other financial instruments that they may offer takes place.
Because Forex trading is legal in South Africa, Forex Brokers are compelled to be registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) formerly known as the Financial Services Board (FSB). When a trader funds his/her Forex account using his/her local credit/debit bank card, the same method should be used to withdraw money from the Forex account until all the money that was deposited from the card is returned. To withdraw profits, Bank wire is the preferred method used by most brokers especially those that are international brokers but also regulated locally.
Withdrawing money from the Forex account via bank wire involves the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) as the banks do require the reasons why there’s money coming in to your bank account. This should be proof enough that Forex Trading is indeed legal in South Africa. Plus a Forex Trader/s should declare the income with SARS (please do speak to a tax practitioner for more on this subject if you have been trading profitably). Should you want to open an account with one of the regulated Forex Brokers, you can find them on this post HERE. Thank you for stopping by, please kindly share this post with your peers and friends.
How You View Your Forex Account May Affect How Your Performance
Welcome back after a few weeks of not publishing any blog post, I thought I should just pop in to share a few practical tips on how to manage your Forex account. We are getting closer to the end of the year. A week ago I was talking to some of my mentees about the power of the mind when I was preparing them for live account. I was saying to them that how they think will have an impact in how they treat their Forex account. I will try to keep this post very short (hopefully so) and straight to the point.
We all started our trading journey with one common goal which was to make money (still is the main goal). Most of us did not really have any idea of what will be expected from us in order to reach that goal. We were never taught about the fact that trading will require us to be able to manage ourselves and keep our emotions in check. We all learn that along the way. If you are reading here and you are still struggling, just know that it is very possible to overcome yourself (these emotions are yours akere). I’ll give you 2 tips today that have helped me in my own trading journey. You can choose how you’d want to view your own Forex account using the tips that I am about to share.
I have my favorite saying which is “my account, my rules”. I always say this even to my mentees when they start sounding like they want me to take decisions for them (giggles). I always tell them that they must create their own rules “their accounts, their rules”. A few years ago when I was still trying to figure out different ways to keep this as real and less stressful as possible, I decided to view my account as a business and also as an investment. Let me share this in detail.
1.View it as a business
I am aware that a Forex account is not really classified as a business. If you can actually decide from today to view yours as a business like I did, you will witness a huge mindset shift in terms of how you treat it. If you can make your mind to believe that your Forex account is a business, you’ll be likely to apply all the principles that we apply on businesses. Principles like keeping the records of your stock, knowing how much you spend on your stock, how much do you pay for other required services to keep your business running smooth and so forth.
Imagine if you can get your mind to think on that level, you can definitely see change. If you view your Forex account as a business, you will also understand how important it is to nurture it like we do with other businesses. Most traders fail not because they can’t trade, not because of their trading strategies but because of their emotions and the fact that they view their accounts as a cash cow of some sort. Viewing mine as a business has shaped my mindset and has worked wonders over the past few years. I don’t really care much about the fact that Forex account is not classified as a business. In my books and for this purpose, it is. My account, my rules. Try it and see if it won’t work.
2. View it as an investment
Viewing it as an investment will simply mean that you will appreciate every growth that you see in your account because investments are unpredictable akere (I just could’t say this without my adding my favorite word). If you view your account as an investment, you would never complain about not doubling your account every second day. You will also understand it as this one investment where you are actively involved in its day to day growth. You’ll always be happy even when you manage to make only 5% per month. Consistency will matter the most to you. You will also understand that you won’t be making exactly the same percentage month after month and you”ll be OK with that. There are some traders who are very unhappy even when they are actually doing very well. They just can’t recognize their own greatness. A happy trader is a well performing trader. Try this as well and see if it won’t work.
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I always try to provide practical solutions/tips and I hope this one helps as well. If you find it helpful please share it with your peers. Thank you for stopping by.
Why Is It A Must To Choose A Trading Strategy That Suits You?
Hi, if you just stumbled upon this blog, you are welcome. If you like what you see, please do subscribe for my weekly posts. To subscribe, look for the “Subscribe” button on the sidebar, put your email address and click “Subscribe” you should receive an email to confirm your subscription (email could be on spam folder). Click on the subscription link to confirm and you should start receiving my posts in your email whenever I publish a new post. To my subscribers, thank you so much for showing interest in my blog posts/Forex tips. You give me the reason to continue sharing.
Today I want to talk about something that might be your biggest downfall. We are mostly introduced to Forex Trading through social media where we are invited to some seminar. Forex seminars are all about introducing us to the idea and not really about the realities of trading. Most of us just dived in without understanding what is expected from us or what to expect except the money making part.
There’s one Forex market and thousands of ways to trade it. There is no one way to trade the markets but there’s definitely that one trading strategy that suits your lifestyle and personality. I am all about sharing my own experiences and practical solutions/tips that will help to improve your trading no matter how you choose to trade. But since I am the author here, I will refer a lot to how I personally trade and how it has made my life easier. Of course this has everything to do with me choosing a trading strategy that suits my lifestyle and personality.
Do you know the kind of person that you are?
You cannot separate yourself from being a trader. There’s only one you. Your personality plays a big role in how you’ll perform with your trading. I have been trading for so many years and I have tried lots of methods which in the end were not really accommodating my lifestyle and personality and that led to frustrations. When I finally found the one trading strategy that suits my personality, I never looked back. When I decided to offer my coaching services, I knew I had to cater for the individuals who are also like me. Read more about my private mentorship HERE.
Mind your lifestyle and personality
Let’s say you are a trader who also has a 9-5 job, a business or still studying. Clearly you cannot afford to stay up all night babysitting your trades. You really need to consider a trading strategy that will not require you to stay up all night, or a trading strategy that will not require you to stay glued to your trades the whole day. You definitely need a good night sleep for you to be able to concentrate in class, function/perform well in your job or business. It makes perfect sense right? These are the people that I cater for, the people who are like me. We want to trade but we also do not want to be consumed by it as we also have a life to live. Not everyone is like us though. All I am saying is, you need to look at your lifestyle and your personality. If how you trade right now is not accommodating those two, you are probably feeling miserable already, hence you need to re-think your plan.
This post is not about which trading strategy works and which one doesn’t. I don’t know how you trade and I am not here to tell you how you should trade. It is all about whether you can work with your chosen trading strategy or not. Does is suit your lifestyle or not? Does is accommodate your personality or not? If it doesn’t, the time to change is now. No matter how great that trading strategy can be, if it doesn’t accommodate you and your needs, then you shouldn’t use it.
A great example of this would be someone who wants to trade all day at random times, that person cannot juggle a job, school, business, parenthood plus trading, remember there’s only one you. That person cannot survive trading with me because as mentioned above, my method works better for someone who wants to have a life apart from trading. Finding out should not be a challenge. Just ask yourself these two questions. Does it suit your lifestyle and does it accommodate your personality? If it does, you’ve won the first battle and the next step would be to practice it over and over again without breaking until you cannot get it wrong.
To me, it makes no sense to switch from one strategy to another while overlooking your lifestyle and personality. How are you going to master something that makes you so miserable? Before I decided to consider my lifestyle, I was always so grumpy my son even said I control the mood in the house. If you are keen in knowing how I stopped all the chaos and drama that was going on in my life at that time, you may like to read this post HERE. These are the tips that you can use to make your own trading less challenging. Thank you for stopping by. I hope this helps. If you think it does, it means more people need to see it. Please kindly share with your peers.
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