I can't remember the first time I remember being fascinated with other people's money and the money of other countries. I know I was really small, because I was less than 8. We moved churches when I was about 8 or 9, and I remember being in the first church I ever attended (I was born on a Wednesday and in the church nursery at 40th Street Baptist in Oklahoma City that same Sunday morning!) I know that someone in our church had traveled to Israel and other parts of the Middle East. They brought back coins and currency that I had never before seen. I remember the coin was about the same size as our American nickel but it was a different shade of silver and it felt different between my teeth. Yes, I really did use my teeth to test the metals. Maybe I'm weird, or more likely I saw my Grandpa Edwards doing that and it looked like he knew what he was doing; so I did it too!
Money, not the love of it, has always been such an interest to me. I learned about trading in my 9th grade Civics class. To think that people including my parents would work for money, collect it, trade it, spend it, exchange it, and even give it away for nothing! I saw both my parents and my grandparents literally putting money in the church collection plates; most weeks someone gave a coin or two to learn how to give and give freely. I was told by my Granny that I could either keep it for myself or give it to the Lord by virtue of dropping the coins into the plate. My Aunt Wilma and probably my mom as well, told me later that God didn't need my money, He just wanted to see what choice I would make. It felt odd to me knowing that God knew me and He'd already know what I would do no matter which choice I made! Money was strange to me.
The Stock Exchange, and by that I mean the New York Stock Exchange, was something that only RICH people talked about. It wasn't talked about in our house, that's for sure. It was only mentioned now and again by some adult here and there, and then my dad would say something about never being interested enough to find out more about it. That was it. We weren't interested. I couldn't imagine ever becoming interested because if Daddy didn't do it, we didn't do it. So, what happened? Why was it that only a few years out of my high school years did I decide that I wanted to learn more about being a stock broker? I knew it would somehow involve Math, and being allergic to Math I wasn't sure I could even handle the trade if I got a break and went into it. I had to think about this one.
When I was in Hollywood, and living in a huge roomy 11 bedroom mansion that belonged to none other than the commodities giant Bernie Cornfield, I became VERY VERY interested in money and how it all worked. He wasn't necessarily aware that he was teaching me, but he was the best tutor ever in that I learned exactly how to lie, steal, and cheat my way into the business without being in the business. I remember thinking I could do the exact polar opposite of whatever it is that this guy and his wicked henchmen were doing and I could be on the right side of the equation! That was my thought process anyway.
Time was just not on my side. I left Hollywood, went to work selling insurance, fell in love, made a baby, married another guy, made two more babies, and in between selling insurance, divorcing, raising kids, being fired at least a dozen times, and getting my education -- somewhere in there, I lost the drive I had to learn how to trade stocks and bonds. I never even REALIZED you could sell and trade MONEY! That wasn't something I thought could even be possible. Maybe if I had realized that money could be openly traded, I would have tried a bit harder, but yeah, like I said, it would have involved Math! I think I had to wait for the internet to be created before ever thinking about trying something like figuring figures in my own mind. Nope!
FOREX, or the Foreign Exchange, is the largest trading market in the world. It literally trades more than Five Trillion (with a T) Dollars on a daily basis. I think that should spark anyone's attention. Anyone with a brain would want to know more about it, and since I actually do have a pretty good brain, I know I knew I wanted to know more about getting involved. The year 2020 was a crusher for some but for me, being locked up and unable to do more than surf the net made it a bit easier for me to find videos on YouTube and books online about currency trading. I've been hooked on the training and the studying of it now for over two years. I'm just about ready to start putting all I know into actual practice. I've told people I will pretend and pretend well using Monopoly money before I put my own real money into it. I am Scottish at heart you know....I don't give up a penny when or if I don't have to.
I've looked at the entire process from top to bottom and I've decided that for me, for my personal personality, I would and am considered a Bull Trader. I am an optimist, and will do better (I think) when the markets go up! The Bear is a bit of a brute at times, but he serves his purpose. You can't expect the markets to climb all the time - - there must be a flux, there much be a balance, and there must be a downside; a time to sell. You know the adage "Buy low, sell high". Well, you have to learn it to earn it, and you can't do either if you're just sitting on the sidelines watching! There comes a time when all the watching won't do; that time has come.
I'm looking at a Summer of Forex! I'm hoping the Summer of 2022 will be full of fun times, good times, high times, Bull times, and even with the most fabulous of trade strategy inventions, the Stop Loss, I am hoping to love the little bears now and again as well. Maybe I can burn the "candles" at both ends and control my emotions when I can't control the pips! If I've learned ANYTHING from the videos and the books, it is to never trade when excited or heated, but do so only when my mind is steady, thinking, clearly thinking, and know when to end the position. I'm hoping there will be a gentle learning curve for me; I don't mind losing as long as I'm learning. Dropping 1% of my investment is a good and fair price to take home a greater lesson on how to do it differently next time. The thing is, the next time may turn out differently even if it was exactly the same! The market is not a friend but a flowing river with ebbs and lows all day every day - - the raft is the most important part not the water; bring your oars and know when to slow down or even when to pull off to the side and wait.
If you don't know about FOREX and you've never heard of it, I would greatly recommend you watch a few videos from The Trading Channel and Trading 212. There are hundreds of idiots on YouTube trying to get you to buy their Bitcoin and selling lies about wealth happening overnight. Please, think, and ignore that type of hype. You have a brain - use it. If you've been in the same boat I've been in, and you're thinking about it, looking into it, maybe reading up on it, and learning what you can, I suggest you watch the videos 2 or 3 times and begin to think about what your plan may look like. It will certainly be a bit different than mine. Everyone trades differently. That's another really really cool thing about it. You can trade your way! (You don't need any license either, not if you're only trading your own money.)
Because I'm rather optimistic and a fan of the Bull, I have taken to buying a few cute t-shirts that reflect my new hobby or interest. I think my favorite one is a t-shirt with the question "Is it Monday yet?" No one really likes Mondays - - but people who trade in and on the FOREX do! Monday is the day it all begins and you can trade 24/7 around the clock if you wanted to all the way through Friday afternoon. Keep in mind, Monday comes earlier than the Mondays of the Central Time Zone - - Monday comes on Sunday! How did that happen? Well, it's a good thing. I'd say wish me luck, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm Scottish by heart; luck is for the Irish.
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