First of all, trading is not a short-term proposition to get rich.

Anyone who says otherwise, needs to spend some time thinking about doing before speaking inside a jail cell.

No…

Trading is a lifestyle that you’ll need to adapt and integrate into yours and your family’s financial future.

Whenever you start something new, especially for a financial gain, you’ll need to make some form of sacrifices.

In today’s article we’ll discuss the four sacrifices every successful trader will make.

The money is not going to just fall into your lap. You’re going to need to put in the time to work through the process of successful trading.

As a new trader you’ll need to read as many books, websites and forums on how to trade. 

This will prepare you for what trading is all about.  

Then you’ll need to take time to learn which: 

•    Markets you wish to trade
•    Method you’ll use to get in and out of your trade. 
•    Money you’ll risk to grow your portfolio 
•    Mind you’ll need to adapt to avoid any unnecessary emotions from taking over and interfering with the process.  

Then finally you’ll need the time to back-test, forward-test and actually trade on a daily or a weekly basis.  

This time can range from 5 minutes a week, which is what I follow with the MATI Trader System, to 5 hours a day if you’re more of an aggressive intraday based trader.  

No matter what career you pursue, you’ll need to sacrifice the necessary time to learn the ins and outs of it.

Another inevitable sacrifice you’ll need to make is to take money out of your savings to trade. 

I say savings because you should never risk any money you can’t afford to risk or any money that you use on a monthly basis to finance your life.  

Once a month as you get paid, deposit just 5% of your savings into your trading account.  

This way you’ll be able to grow your portfolio at a faster and a more sustainable.

The other side of money you’ll risk is of course, with every trade you take.  

Most successful traders out there risk around 1%, 2% to 3% per trade, in order to make a 2%, 4% or even a 6% gain on your portfolio. 

You’ll need to sacrifice the THRILL of trading and exchange it for FOCUS.  

Trading should be seen as a business rather than playing the lottery once a week. 

As much as I have loved trading the MATI Trader System for the last 18 years, I’ve also taken it very seriously.  

Before you commit any money into the markets, you’ll need to have a solid watch list, trading system and money management rules to follow methodically. 

This way you’ll have a mechanical approach to trading without the thrill, when you bank a profit or without the devastation, anger and disappointment. 

Remember that a winning portfolio is not about taking a few trades but the 100s of trades over time.  

Make sure you have the focus for when you trade in the week and sacrifice the thrill for on the weekends when the markets are closed.  

The final sacrifice you’ll need to make is to make space.  

Make sure your trading desk is clear of any distracting books, devices and objects that have no aid to your trading. 

A cleaner and clearer trading desk will prevent a number of distractions for when you trade which could result in unnecessary stress, anxiety and worry.  

Also you’ll most likely need to make space for just one more monitor. 

By having two monitors, you can use one for your trading platform to buy, sell and modify trades. 

The other monitor will then be used for your charting platform to analyse, assess and seek more trading opportunities. 

Are they actually sacrifices? 

Coming to the end of the article, I’ve just realised something.  

These four ‘sacrifices’ you’ll make as a professional trader – Are they sacrifices or are they just opportunities you can take for trading to be smooth sailing? 

Trade well,

Timon Rossolimos

Founder, MATI Trader

PS: If you found this article helpful let me know by e-mailing timon@timonandmati.com or click here to let us know in our MATI Trader chat room.