Tips to Take Trading to the Next Level

Last Updated on June 16, 2023

If you’re a trader, you don’t need us to tell you that it’s a fast-paced world where those that succeed and do well possess a certain type of skill and personality. You need to be an independent thinker with analytic and numeracy skills. You need to be patient; be good at-risk management, and you need to be very disciplined. Do you tick all these boxes? Are you about to start out and try your hand at trading? Perhaps you’ve been active for a few months and now you want to take things to the next level? If so, the following tips will get you there.

Sort Out Your Finances

You’re going to need a bankroll to get started so let’s start with the basics. You are going to have to risk some of your capital and you’ll undoubtedly experience some losses along the way, so you need to be prepared for that. Now is the perfect time to take a good hard look at your finances. Are you paying back a loan with a high interest rate? Do you have credit card debt? Perhaps you’re struggling to pay back your student loan?

If one (or some) of these points apply, you must take steps to pay off your high interest debts. If you’re wondering should I get a personal loan, then perhaps the answer is yes. Personal loans are ideal as you will not have to put any of your assets at risk and they normally come with low interest rates compared to other types of loans. By paying off the high interest debts and lowering your monthly expenses, you’ll have more breathing room when it comes to your available bankroll.

Use a Trading Plan

Like most things in life and business, having a solid plan in place can be the difference between success and failure in trading. It’s this plan and clear strategy that will prevent you from making bad moves that are based on hunches or gut feelings. Skip this step and you’re never going to be able to manage risk and be disciplined in your trades. Every trader, regardless of experience and qualifications, knows how important both aspects are. You need to understand value vs growth trading strategy, among many others. So what should your plan include? It should outline the following.

• Your motivation for getting involved
• The type of trading you plan to do (swing/position/arbitrage etc.)
• The time you can commit
• Your goals
• Available capital
• Personal risk management rules
• Steps for record keeping

Treat Like a Business

If you’re serious about making money, you should get serious about how you approach trading. You might not want to take things too serious from the very start but any professional will tell you that acting like a business owner will make a huge difference to profits and job satisfaction. So what do you need to do? We’ve already covered the most important two steps to get capital and create an in-depth plan that will work for you.

Just like real business owners, it’s now your job to research and strategize so you can reach your full potential. Is there a course you can take to learn more about the markets and the type of trading you want to do? Perhaps there’s some software out there that will make your life easier when it comes to finding potential trades? Answering these questions is down to you so give this research the time it needs.

Should I Use Technical Indicators?

Have you thought about using technical indicators? If not, you should. These technical indicators are mathematical calculations based on historical price and volume data, and they can help you to identify trends, momentum, and potential buy/sell signals. Now you’ll get a visual representation of data, and you can stop making moves based on guesswork. Some examples include moving averages, relative strength index, and volume and momentum indicators. Be sure to do your research before choosing which ones align best with your goals.