Forex trading also termed as foreign currency trading has more to it than just effective utilization of your time, money and the desire to make profits. Forex trading is a venture that calls for a lot of hard work and discipline to be able to achieve a financial gain in the Forex market. As a novice trader, it is imperative to understand that you need to learn Forex trading before you enter the market. Your psychological state and emotional control both play a critical role in determining the risk-reward scenario during your trades. This is especially useful when you are aware of the fact that a particular trade can lead to unwanted results and yet hope for profits in the worst case scenarios. This is a time where you need to be strong enough to make a “stop loss” and stop the trade before your loss increases by a greater value. 

Well, apart from that, there are other personality characteristics that you need for you to become a successful Forex trader. In this post, we will be taking a closer look at the traits you need to have for you to have higher chances of winning at most of your traders. I urge you to be honest with yourself as you read this article as fooling yourself only leads to bitter disappointments. 

Learn Forex Trading – 3 Must-Haves

1) Patience

Sadly, most novice traders begin investing and trading currency with a mindset of making thousands and thousands of dollars overnight. Well, this is awfully far from the truth and if these traders dedicated some time to learn forex trading nuts and bolts, they would have realized this. The truth is, the most successful platforms take a long time to build. Patience is something you need to have while learning the strategies and techniques that work as well as the platforms that work best for you. If you fail to realize this, chances are you will make huge losses, get discouraged and eventually drop the trading venture.

2) Discipline

When it comes to forex trading, discipline is necessary. Not all Forex traders can be able to maintain discipline and follow the rules of their forex trading platform continuously through their losses. Losses in Forex currency trading are usually as a result of not taking the time to properly come up with a trading strategy or even not bothering to back test it.  For you to follow your trading system, you need to be disciplined and know that you will achieve profits over time.

An excellent platform has rules for a reason – to help you learn forex trading. These rules work best when followed. So, if you are the kind of person who learns and sticks to the rules and strategies, then you certainly have what it takes to become a successful Forex trader. 

3) Emotion Control

You might be wondering what this has to do with Foreign currency trading, but I'm sorry to say that it has to do with everything. If you are the type of person who is ruled by their emotions or rather lets emotions determine their decisions business wise, then Forex Trading might not be a great venture for you. Fear and greed are common in Forex trading and making a decision based on any of these only leads to failure. Do not fear to make a trade with a strategy you have thought through and also don't be greedy when making the trade. Remember, it takes time to be successful in Forex trading, so let go the thoughts of becoming rich overnight. 

If you do not have the traits mentioned above, and you don't believe you can learn Forex trading by abiding to the rules, then it would be wise to find another venture to invest your money. On the other hand, if you truly believe you posses or could learn and master these personality characteristics, then you certainly have what it takes to become a successful Forex trader.

Guarantor loans are an excellent way for people who, either through past financial mistakes or because don’t have their own record of borrowing, are unable to access loans through any of the mainstream lenders. They provide a way of circumventing the increasingly rigid conditions that banks are placing on credit.

This type of finance is based upon the use of a person other than the applicant – who can be a family member, a close friend or even a colleague at work – to put themselves and their good record up as security to guarantee that the repayment schedule on the loan will be met even in circumstances where the applicant is unable to do so.

Although this form of credit has exploded in popularity over the last two or three years, it is actually based on a much older form of finance. Prior to the dramatic growth of consumer credit in the UK, the major high street banks often insisted on a form of guaranteed repayments for loans issued to younger people or those who had only recently opened accounts.

Guarantor loans have opened up lending to millions of people who would otherwise be shut out, providing access to relatively large sums of money at lower interest rates for loans offered to other parts of the so-called sub-prime credit market. As with any other form of lending, those who are in possession of all the facts and are committed to maintaining a good financial record will benefit the most. It is also particularly true when you are asking somebody else to come forward as a guarantor – ensuring that you play fair and act by the rules will ensure that you don’t risk upsetting a relationship with a friend or family member and force them into making the repayments on your behalf, potentially affecting their good credit record.

For the guarantor

When somebody asks you to guarantee their loan application you are entering into a financial relationship with that person. Their decisions could, if they are reckless or irresponsible, have an effect on your ability to access credit in the future as well as your immediate financial plans. You will want to be reassured that the applicant is committed to making the repayments and that their income and circumstances are unlikely to change throughout the life of the loan. 

While potential guarantors might feel some sense of responsibility to help an applicant either through family ties or the bonds of friendship, they should be fully aware of the legally-binding arrangement they are being asked to get into. This is not simply acting as a referee as you would when somebody is in the process of applying for a job or taking out a new tenancy agreement. The guarantor will be obliged to step in when something goes wrong and ensure that the repayment schedule is being met or, in extreme circumstances, have to find the money to repay the loan including interest in full. This is a legal obligation and not one which anybody should enter into lightly.

None of us has control over another person’s spending habits or their willingness or ability to meet ongoing financial commitments. Your first step as a potential guarantor is to make sure that the applicant signs up to full financial disclosure – that means a full breakdown of all of their outgoings including rent or mortgage payments, other credit repayments, food budget, heat and light, entertainment and travel expenses. You will also want to be sure about their ability to repay so will need to see payslips and other proof of income. 

Applying for credit may be relatively simple but there are an enormous number of calculations used by lenders in the background. Being a guarantor should be no different – you will want to keep your risk to a minimum. The applicant may enjoy the trappings of success – a good house, nice car and savings in the bank but this may not necessarily mean that they are not susceptible to some form of financial shock at a later date. 

As a guarantor, you will want to know that the loan the applicant is seeking is not too large to cause them problems should their income or outgoings change dramatically at a later date.

Ensuring that the applicant plays by the rules will be your major concern and so you may want to consider drafting a written agreement with him or her that ensures ongoing financial transparency. If the applicant is reluctant to do this, you might want to reconsider your offer to avoid greater difficulties and the prospect of a rupture in the relationship once the loan has been taken out.

Both guarantor and applicant will need to be clear about what each is committing to, what the total amount of interest and fees on the loan will be, what circumstances would cause the lender to oblige the applicant to repay the loan, if the guarantor has to put up assets as security and when the guarantor will be released from their obligations on the loan.

Hard-headed decision

The applicant might be a guarantor’s son or daughter and the natural inclination will be to want to help. But this is a hard-headed, financial decision, the ramifications of which may impact upon the guarantor’s financial security. When the borrower does not keep up with repayments, the lender will start chasing the guarantor. When the guarantor does not make good on the amount outstanding, the lender might then start legal action against him or her.

Article provided by Mike James, an independent content writer in the financial sector – working alongside a selection of companies including Solution Loans, a technology-led finance broker with many years experience in advising clients of their most suitable type of credit.

Are you getting to retirement age? If you are, do not despair because now is the time for you to enjoy your life. After all, you have worked long enough and hard enough, and now you deserve a rest. But, life after work is not a doddle, especially if you don’t have the cash. A lot of people at retirement age suddenly realize they never took care of their financial situation when they had the chance, and now they are paying. The result is that a lot of people on the verge of retirement are turning to annuity policies. But, are annuity policies beneficial to retirees, or are they full of hot air? The answer is they are very beneficial, and here’s why. 

No Limits

Unlike a conventional 401K, an annuity contract has no limits to the amount that you can deposit at any one time. For example, if you have come into a lot of money and you want to store it away, you could put everything into the annuity policy. With the 401K, on the other hand, you could only put in a specified amount. For anyone who wants to ‘catch up’ for retirement, an annuity policy is incredibly beneficial. It is a safe place to store your money regardless of your age or how much you have to store.

Lowers The Tax Bill

But, there is another sinister advantage of depositing as much money as you can at one time, and it revolves around tax. When you put money in an annuity, you lower your tax bill. The money is not taxed, obviously, and the annuity policy is also not taxed. In many ways, it is like laundering money, but it is one-hundred percent legal! In the long run, that will save you a lot of cash. So, you can either use it for your retirement. Or you can give it away if you don’t have time to spend it. Either way, at least the taxman doesn’t get their hands on your dough!

Pay Outs At Your Request

Most annuity contracts will pay out whenever you call them to tell them you want to cash in on the policy. Of course, that is dangerous because you can get hold of and spend your money before you reach retirement. However, let’s just presume you are responsible, and that is not an option. If you are responsible, it gives you more leeway with regards to your career. For example, you might save enough to retire early. All you have to do is get in touch with the company and cash out. For more info on cashing out, go to Money Up Front.

Compliments Other Pension Plans

The odds are that an annuity policy will not be your only plan. Most employers enter into retirement plans with you (401Ks) to ensure you have some money when you retire. In this case, when you do retire, you will have plenty of money to help you live comfortably. 

An annuity policy acts as a compliment to every other policy and retirement plan that is active.

Most people are constantly looking for ways to make more money. If this applies to you, then check out four cool things you can do for some extra cash: 

Sell Your Old Things

There’s every chance you’ll have some old things lying around your house. You never use them anymore, so what’s the point in keeping them? Instead, you should be clever and start making some cash. Round of all your old stuff and sell it here http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/selling-basics.html. It’s quick and easy to do, and you’ll make money. All you have to do is create an account, take pictures of your items, then list them. You can put them up for a ‘buy it now’ price, or let people bid for them. When they buy it, you package it up and send it to them via a courier service.

Get A Part-Time Job!

If you have some spare time on your hands, it’s time to make the most of it. You can start earning some extra money by getting a part time job. You won’t have to work long hours every day, just a couple of shifts here and there. Some people work on the weekends to give their wallets something extra to enjoy. There are plenty of part-time jobs on offer, like this one http://www.jobapplicationcenter.com/department-store-job-applications/family-dollar-application/. If you look around, you’ll find similar ones, department stores are hiring this time of year. Work for a few months during Christmas and you could have extra cash in your pocket. 

Start A Blog

Blogging has become a very good source of income for some people. If you run a successful blog, you could make lots of money. It could, potentially, be a full time job for you. But, if you’re looking to make something extra on the side, it’s still a worthy idea. Start a blog in your spare time and get writing about something you love. Promote it well and get people reading it. Then, you can monetize your blog by placing ads on it! The more viewers you get, the more money you’ll make from advertising. It’s an ingenious way to make money while having fun too. 

Start A YouTube Channel

Speaking of fun ways to make money, it doesn’t get much better than starting a YouTube channel. YouTube has become massive; it’s now a genuine way to earn money. Many people are starting businesses via this site! You can create a channel and start uploading content. Get enough people watching and you can start earning money. YouTube will make you a partner and start putting adverts on your videos. It’s the same as it is with a blog, the more views you get, the more money you make. An awesome thing you can do to get some extra cash in your spare time!

So, if you’re short on cash and want to earn more money, try some of these ideas. If you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, you can do a few of these things at the same time!