5 common mistakes that you should avoid when you trade

If you are just starting to trade, it’s important that you are sensible and don’t rush ahead with it. Trading, when done well, can be profitable, but if it’s not, you could find you don’t make quite what you were hoping for. Trading is one such area of expertise that people are looking to take up in the hope they can reap the profits. Here we take a look at some of the most common mistakes that you should avoid when you trade to ensure you bring in the maximum profit and have the most positive experience.

Not having a plan of action

There is a lot more to trading than just investing your money and hoping for the best. You need to have a solid plan of action that will detail what you’ll do in a host of eventualities. You need to know where you want to put your money and when you will withdraw your funds or raise them.  Whether you are doing Futures Trading or another form of trading, having a plan is one of the most vital things for success. A lot of people end up just playing a guessing game and having no real strategy which leads to them losing out.

Putting in too much money too fast

We’ve all been guilty of letting our excitement get the better of us at one time or another, but in trading, you need to try and avoid this. It can be tempting to throw a lot of money at one area, but if this specific thing were to crash, you could stand to lose very quickly. Instead, when you are just starting out and learning how everything works, just start with a demo account. This will enable you to get to grips with trading and how it all works, without putting your funds at risk. When you do futures trading with a broker online platform it’s important to be aware of the risks involved, such as margin and leverage. Leverage essentially means you can multiply your position size to be worth more than you put in, yet it can be highly risky, as losses can exceed your investment. Other pitfalls include a fluctuating interest rate risk, liquidity risk and settlement & delivery risk. Each of these can leave your funds at stake. By using a demo account you can practice without losing capital. Then once you feel confident, then you can place more money in.

Not cutting your losses when you should be

In trading, sometimes you just need to accept that you aren’t going to make as much money as you might hope. This can be difficult to accept and a lot of people decide to ignore the fact and hold out hope that it might end up being a profitable decision. If it doesn’t, you could stand to lose out on funds unnecessarily. Instead, keep an eye on the market, and if it looks like things might be taking a dip, cash out before you make a loss. It’s much better to keep an eye on the bigger picture and ensure you don’t let your emotions get the better of you. No matter why you’ve gone for a specific stock or currency to trade on, keep your own feelings out of it and view it as a pure business transaction.

Not speaking to an expert

When you are looking into trading, it’s a good idea to speak to an expert who knows what they are doing, particularly if you have never had anything to do with trading before. Speaking to someone that not only knows what they are doing but also has an idea of how the market works can be a real benefit to you on your trading journey. They can advise you on the best decisions to make and help you to understand why certain things can help you to succeed.

Not keeping an eye on the market

When you are trading, you need to keep a close eye on the market and ensure you are up to date with what is happening. This can help you know where to invest and what is expected to go up and what is expected to go down. Look for tips and keep your eye on the economy to get an idea of what is going on and what the predictions are too.

These are just a few common mistakes that you can make when trading that you should avoid. Trading can be tricky, but when done right can bring in a profit. Because of this, you want to give yourself the best chance of success and ensure you are in a good standing to reap the rewards. Have you recently turned to trading in order to make money or take up a side hustle? If so, what are some of your top tips that helped you along the way to succeed? Let us know in the comments we’d love to hear from you and find out what we can put into action to help us do well.