How Much Money Can You Make From Forex Trading?
The question of how much money you can make currency trading is a big one that is asked online quite often, so much so that I decided to write an entire 2,000+ word article on it.
See, while this question is incredibly broad, the money you can make from trading forex can be estimated depending on how much money you have, the leverage you’re using, etc.
So, how much money can you make from forex trading?
You can make anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars a day trading forex; the bigger your bankroll and equity, the more you can invest therefore the more profits you can reach. While there are plenty of forex traders who do very well, the reality is that most forex traders lose money.
The answer to ‘How much money can you make from forex trading’ is unlimited amounts of money, although perhaps the better question is ‘How much money will you make from trading forex?’
Table of Contents
So, How Much Money Can You Make With Forex Trading?
There is no way to predict exactly how much you should make each day in forex trading. The key is to set earning goals that are realistic for your economic situation, how much time you have to invest, your skillset, etc.
Obviously, the better you get at trading forex, the more money you will make. This statement does not come without a warning; as mentioned previously (and many times on this site), most forex traders fail.
The answer to ‘how much money can you make from forex trading’ is unlimited.
Yes, most forex traders come out with negative results.
That said, there’s no reason to get scared if you are willing to put the time and effort into learning how to trade forex.
With the right resources and practice, it is entirely possible to make a full-time living solely off of forex trading (and you don’t have to be rich, either!)
People are drawn to forex for reasons such as:
- Forex requires a lot less starting capital than stock trading (or other investing)
- You can trade forex 24 hours a day, 5 days a week
- Forex is extremely volatile, which means you have the potential to make a much greater return on your investments (compared to other financial investing)
- There are a large variety of strategies and methods you can utilize to trade forex, and you will likely find one that works for you
For these reasons and more, forex is seen as an attractive option to make some money online – however, because forex is so volatile and there is an opportunity to make so much money, you can also lose substantial sums of cash.
As long as you have a realistic view of the dangers of forex trading, you can focus on avoiding these risks and achieving the success that so many others have found with currency trading.
This post will answer the following questions:
- How Much Do Forex Traders Make?
- How Much Do Forex Traders Make a Day?
- How Much Do Professional Forex Traders Make?
- How Much Do Professional Forex Traders Make A Day?
- How Much Money Can You Make Trading Forex?
- How Much Money Do I Need To Start Forex Trading?
This article is intended to provide a practical depiction of how much the average forex trader can expect to make, and also how much professional forex traders usually make.
Also, I hope this post can put to rest some of the fantasies you may have about forex trading, thanks to the faux-marketing and forex scams out there. Unfortunately, a 20% return is not doable every single month – any system or ‘forex robot’ claiming otherwise is lying to you.
Use these answers as inspiration and goals to work towards – with the right amount of hard work and dedication, anyone can reach these levels of success.
How Much Do Forex Traders Make?
The average forex trader can expect to make no more than 5% of your account size back every month.
So, if you happened to have a great month and you gain 5%, that means:
- If you trade with $10,000, you made $500.
- If you trade with $5,000, you made $250.
- If you trade with $1,000, you made $50.
Not to worry – many great forex traders grow their bankroll over time and eventually get to a point where they have an account with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Bill Lipschutz, one of the top forex traders out today, started trading with $12,000
- Ed Seykota started trading with $5,000
- Randy McKay started trading with just $2,000!
Becoming a successful trader is a process, not an overnight occurrence; if you aren’t coming into the forex game with heaps of money, it will take some time before you are one of the big dogs.
Obviously, how much money you can earn in forex trading varies greatly, and the amount of money you do make will change every single month – you might have a fantastic month, turning profits of 30%, just to lose 40% your next month.
This is where strategy and proper risk management comes in – although leverage in forex is great, you do have to proceed with caution if you hope to stay in the game for the long run.
Keep your risk low (especially when starting, don’t risk more than 1% of your capital ever), and make trades that have great risk/reward ratios!
How Much Do Forex Traders Make A Day?
If the average forex trader makes about 1% to 5% a month trading, then following this logic, this works out to returns of 0% to 0.15% a day.
The question of ‘how much do forex traders make a day’ is especially broad – while everyone likes to come out profitable every single day, this is just not how it works.
The goal is to be profitable overall, which means at the end of the month (or any span of time) you want to be up.
If you are trading long-term, you will have some bad days.
All you can do is keep going and trading according to strategy, aiming to be profitable over the long-term.
There is no set amount of how much forex traders will make in a day, although it’s not uncommon for certain traders to have daily goals they try to hit.
Now that you are familiar with how much money forex traders make and how much money forex traders make in a day, let’s take a look at how much money professional forex traders make.
How Much Do Professional Forex Traders Make?
Professional forex traders can make a 5-10% return on their capital monthly – the catch is that their accounts are usually huge, well over a million dollars, so that a 10% return can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars every single month.
Obviously, as with all forex trading, the returns will vary widely – even professional forex traders have off months, and then spectacular months where they make up to 50% of their capital back!
Use these big returns as motivation to keep growing your forex trading account.Use these big returns as motivation to keep growing your forex trading account.
How Much Do Professional Forex Traders Make A Day?
While we all wish we could have as successful a day trading forex as George Soros once did, this is unlikely to ever occur.
That said, there are some professional forex traders who are making heaps of money every single day (think more returns in a day then you have in your entire account!)
Speaking conservatively, a professional forex trader can expect to make anywhere from 0% to 1% of their capital.
1% of $100,000 is $1,000.
1% of $1,000,000 is $10,000.
1% of $10,000,000 is $100,000.
Obviously, these are just hypotheticals – but there are certainly some forex pro’s out there making this kind of money.
Again, use this as motivation to keep moving forward! Everyone has to start somewhere.
How Much Money Can You Make Trading Forex?
I hope this post gave you an idea of how much both the average and professional forex trader might make – it’s worth mentioning again that these numbers vary greatly, and I’m sure there will be some people who read this post will disagree strongly (feel free to leave a comment)!
Every forex trader uses a different forex strategy and has different approaches to trading; because of this, questions such as ‘How much money can you make off forex trading?’ are hard to provide a concrete answer for.
If there was one specific strategy for forex trading that worked, every single trader would be successful – obviously, this is not the case.
In order to reach the levels of success that many average and professional forex traders have obtained, you need to create realistic goals and have legitimate grasps of risk/reward ratio, risk management, money management, stop loss, etc.
Risk management is arguably the most important part of forex trading – this is how you stay in the forex game for years to come.
If a forex trader is making crazy 20% returns, that means they are probably risking much more of their capital then they should.
Remember, the key is long-term growth and success.
Utilizing proper risk management is how you stay afloat for years to come and is how you can live off of trading forex full-time!
How Much Money Do I Need To Start Forex Trading?
How much money do you need to trade forex? It depends.
As I mentioned earlier, some of the most well-known forex traders today started with accounts of just a few thousand dollars.
This puts to rest the idea that you need to already be rich in order to make big enough returns on currency trading – this is simply untrue.
Not only myself but many of my friends and colleagues started trading part-time with just a few thousand dollars and grew it to accounts of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So, how much money do you need to trade forex? As much as you have.
If you only have $500, fine – go for it. You certainly won’t make enough to go full-time, but over time you can grow it into something substantial.
That said, I do recommend having at least a couple grand – $2,000 – which I think is the sweet spot for starting trading. While this isn’t enough to quit your day job and trade the forex markets full time, this is enough to get you started and has been proven to be enough to grow into a big-time successful account.
Just make sure that however much money you’re investing in currency trading, you can afford to lose it.
If you do want a chance to make returns on your investment and not lose your money, you must take the time to learn how to properly trade forex and make profitable trades.
Learn to Trade Forex
Figuring out the best strategy for you is the key to trading forex successfully – if you don’t know any strategies or simply want to learn how to trade forex, definitely make sure to properly educate yourself before investing any real money into the markets.
For those who want a program that will teach you everything you need to know to get started in forex and more, go read our post on a mentorship program that is both valuable and affordable.
Also, if you haven’t already, make sure to grab our Free Forex Trading Fortunes PDF – enter your details below to get your copy sent straight to your email today!
How Much Money Can You Make From Forex Trading?
You can really make an unlimited amount of money from forex trading, although typically, anywhere from 1% to 10% returns on capital are expected, per month.
How Much Do Forex Traders Make?
The average forex trader will usually make no more than 5% returns on their capital, per month.
How Much Do Forex Traders Make A Day?
The average forex trader will usually make anywhere from 0% to 0.15% returns, per day – the number varies.
How Much Do Professional Forex Traders Make?
Professional forex traders usually aim for 5% to 10% returns on their capital, per month.
How Much Do Professional Forex Traders Make A Day?
Professional forex traders make up to 1% a day returns, give or take. The number varies.
How Much Money Do I Need To Start Forex Trading?
The number varies; you can start with $100 or $1,000,000 – the more money you have, the more profit you can make.
I’m a full-time forex trader, happily making money from the comfort of my own home.
I help others find financial freedom and success with forex trading.
Can I Really Make Money Trading Forex? — An Honest Answer
The short answer to that burning question is: ‘Yes, you certainly can make money trading Forex’. But you didn’t come here just for the short answer, did you?
A more comprehensive answer would be: ‘Yes, it simply wouldn’t exist if people didn’t make money from it . That said, the percentage of people who make money is small and there are a number of reasons why’.
Better still, do you want to know what those reasons are? Well, lucky you, because we’ve summarised the most common traps beginners fall into that and how they can avoid them.
Plus, at the end of this article, you’ll have the chance to sign up to The Ultimate Guide To Forex Trading, our Free Trading Course, which would normally cost you £2,500 . Getting an online Forex education is truly your best chance of making money trading Forex.
Starting with an insufficient amount of knowledge
A lot of beginners are interested in Forex trading for the wrong reasons. They falsely perceive Forex trading as a get rich scheme. An easy way to make money that requires minimal effort. Quite frankly, this a myth.
If this is your perception of what Forex trading is, you are certainly not ready to start trading. (Now would be a good time to close the other tab you have open which is right now begging you to sign up now and make millions!)
Trading at this point will likely lead you down one of two roads. Either you’ll lose a considerable amount of money on bad trades or you’ll end up very disappointed by your lack of success and likely quit trading altogether.
The first and most logical thing you should do is get a currency trading education . That old phrase ‘knowledge is power’ is very true when it comes to Forex. The more you know about how Forex works, the less likely you are to make a loss.
But just reading this one article is not enough. Just reading a handful of Forex trading articles is not enough. Just reading the financial column in the morning paper is not enough. Without an education in Forex, how do you suppose to utilise any of that information?
The mentality a beginner needs to adopt is to look at Forex trading as a business. And any business needs a well-thought-out growth strategy.
As a beginner, it is highly likely you will not make a sizable profit for quite some time, maybe even years depending on how much time you can dedicate to learning.
Beginners should ideally focus on small gradual gains over time . Instead of thinking of quick short-term gains, think of the potential profits you could make over a specific period of time.
Not understanding risk management
As we mentioned in the introduction, only a small portion of retail Forex traders actually make a profit. Depending on where you look, a lot of retail traders lose money. Some even claim as many as 96% of retail traders do , though the exact number is highly debatable.
Why does this happen? Well, this mostly boils down to a poor understanding of the risks of trading Forex .
Traders should know how much they are willing to lose on a trade . They need to set goals: when they should enter a trade; when to take profit; when to get out before things get worse.
They should stick to these goals and shouldn’t change their plans at the last minute on the possibility of making more money if the market moves quicker than expected.
Of course, the market may shoot up immediately after you take profit and you may miss out on a higher gain. But you need to accept this and move on .
Traders can also take measures to balance out any potential losses. Here are two great ways you can do this:
- Diversify your portfolio . This is where you start investing in various different instruments in different areas. This is a wise idea because if you invest solely in one instrument and that instrument loses a lot of its value, you risk losing your entire investment. Think of it like not putting all your eggs into one basket.
- Hedge your investment . This is where you trade on two different instruments that typically conflict with one another. Usually, when one goes up in value, the other goes down and vice versa. This way you can attempt to reduce your losses if one of the instruments loses a lot of value.
These goals should also change with the market as well. You should be constantly adapting them as situations change, taking into consideration the different factors that affect the market.
However, in order to do this properly, analytical skills are essential. By closely examining the market, traders are able to spot trends and highlight the highs and lows . Armed with this information, they can set realistic goals.
Whether the market appears to be on the rise, on the decline, stagnating or highly volatile, your goals should reflect this.
Risk management, of course, becomes a lot more complicated when we take into consideration leverage and other trading tools offered by brokers. Understanding how to use them is vital.
There are a number of ways to get around risky trades. Here are two of the most well-known:
- Stop-Loss orders . Often abbreviated to ‘SL’, Stop-Losses are orders you can place on most broker platforms that allow you to close your position if the value of a currency pair decreases to a certain point.
- Take Profit orders . This order is where you set a certain price to sell your currency pair. This is useful because if the market suddenly starts to lose its value after reaching this point, you would have already profited before this happens.
While the above two are highly useful to have, the best way to mitigate risky trades is to understand what you are risking in the first place.
Chasing losses
Chasing losses is originally a gambling term . It is what emotional traders do and is a surefire way to lose more and more money.
This is when a trader makes a loss and then tries to make the money back by making further trades, sometimes increasing in size.
Why is this a horribly bad idea? Because these trades are motivated by a desperate feeling to regain what you lost instead of any insight into where the market might be going.
Of course, it is very natural to react in this way. But the thing about trading is that it shouldn’t be reactive, it should be orchestrated with set goals, goals based on good research.
While it is very possible that the market could shoot up, it also very possible it could plummet to a new low or just stagnate. And all the while this is happening — if you are just staring at one currency pair — you could be missing great opportunities to trade elsewhere.
On top of that, your next trade could be just as bad as your first one or worse and you may try to make back that money with another trade, and then another.
What you have done is stopped trading and started gambling . You may as well be in a casino. It can become a vicious cycle that ends with you completely out of pocket.
The most successful Forex trader s won’t waste their time in this way. Instead, they need to be able to accept their losses, learn from their mistakes , move on and then look to the next opportunity to make a profit.
Forex trading, when done well, can reap handsome rewards. When done badly can be like sitting at a roulette table.
Not having a plan
Having a plan is the number one thing all traders should have to make their trades effective.
Traders who are highly organised and able to plan out their day and even their week tend to be more capable of avoiding risks and putting their emotions to one side .
Having a plan also allows you to try new things and develop an effective strategy. Devising a strategy that works for your trading style is one of the most important things you can do.
But a plan doesn’t just involve setting up your goals, as we mentioned above. It also means saving time to learn new things .
Learning Forex is not like going to school or university and leaving with a piece of paper that makes you a qualified trader for life. And, likewise, trading Forex is not like a standard 9 to 5 job.
It should be looked upon as a never-ending process. The minute you stop teaching yourself new things about the Forex market you are leaving yourself exposed to making mistakes.
And when we say learning, we don’t just mean picking up new skills, we mean understanding new developments, ways of thinking and technology.
Overtime economies and industries change . While these changes can often be slow, if you don’t pay attention to them, they can sneak up on you.
It is also important to realise that people are forgetful. You’ll never remember all of the things you have learned and you should be open to refreshing yourself every so often by going over topics to be sure you still understand them.
Someone who doesn’t regularly keep up to date with financial developments will likely make some big mistakes.
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Key takeaways
If there’s anything you should remember from this article it’s these key points:
- Have the right attitude towards trading Forex . It’s not a get rich scheme!
- Never stop learning . Knowledge most certainly is power!
- Understand the risks involved . We implore you, this is absolutely vital!
- Plan your approach to Forex trading . Be meticulous in your learning and think out every trade.
How can I make sure I don’t make the same mistakes?
Do you want to avoid these pitfalls and stand a better chance of making money with trading Forex? Here’s your chance.
We at Trading Education specialise in online trading courses and are proud to announce that we are giving away our £2,500 Forex course, The Ultimate Guide To Forex Trading, completely for free .
Why are you giving it away for free might you ask?
Well, that’s because our Forex education course is being paid for by our partners who seek to educate beginners and to prevent them from making losses when they start trading.
What can you learn from our free trading Forex course?
Our free Forex trading course covers all the major areas related to Forex trading and is broken down into 4 chapters. Topics include the following:
- Foundations of Forex
- Setting up charting software
- The mechanics of Forex trading
- Advanced analysis
- Strategy in Forex
You can find out more about our free Forex trading course here .
With our Forex education course , you can benefit from a personalised approach that you will not see anywhere else.
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