Question:
Is it possible to trade currencies part time and still make a decent amount of income?
Answer:
The short answer to this question is: yes!
Once you become accustomed to putting on trades, you will develop the habit of setting up your trades so that you do not have to be present to execute them. Typically, this is achieved with the entry order, a limit order and a stop loss specification. After analyzing the markets, you will have developed a certain idea as to where it will be going (up or down) and as such, you’ll be able to place such orders and then literally, walk away from your trading station and charts and carry on with other activities in the day.
If the market moves in your favor, your order will automatically be activated and hopefully, if there’s a profit triggered should the market hit your limit order, you will see your account increase by your targeted profit-taking amount without you even being present!
This is the power of what the forex market can offer in the way of trading part time. Once you’re skilled enough, you’ll be able to trade this market without too much of a commitment of time on your part.
Generally speaking, the bulk of your time will be spent analyzing charts to make decisions about where the market’s going so that you can place orders.
Now, there is one caveat here: if you plan on being a day trader, getting in and out of trades on the lower time-frame charts, then you’ll most likely be glued to your seat and computer screen for hours on end, each day. Because those charts are so erratic and move far too quickly, you will not be able to take the time to plan a trade in the same fashion as you would if you were trading an hour chart or longer. That said, some traders enjoy the chaos of the smaller time frames and that’s perfectly fine. If you’re that kind of trader, you will enjoy getting in and out of trades within minutes or even seconds, just to scalp for a pip here and a pip there along the way. I’ve tried this, and it worked (I was able to capture a lot of pips), but it was extremely stressful and so I do not prefer to trade this way!
Overall, if you intend to plan your trades out and then execute them via “future orders,” then you’ll really be able to experience just how “part time” this market can really be.