I have always been interested in stocks, stock exchange and the like. But to trade stocks you need to know who to speak to and where to go. And even if you use some of the modern day platforms to trade currency, futures or shares, it is normally very costly and risky. So I never really did much trading, besides through brokers in unit trust funds and the odd share.
One thing became certain for me, the unit trust funds essentially exist to make the traders and brokers rich. Even when they perform negatively, they still get their fees, and they grab big amounts when it does well. So you lose at the bottom and only gain slightly at the top. Not a good deal in my view, but over years you can build a nice nest egg that looks like it is a good return.
Crypto has changed the way I look at things for two reasons. Firstly, transactional cost is FAR lower, and secondly you do not need the middle man. You do however need to research and think for yourself. But with a cautious approach you may make very nice return. Where in my country we are happy with a 5-7% return PER YEAR and if you are aggressive a 12% return per year, I have been making an easy 10-20 per month. Just to put it in perspective. With $1000 , normal returns are less than $100 every year. And you can not touch the $1000 for a year!
In crypto you can make $100 every month ... that is $1200 every year for $1000 dollars.
What do you need to do this.
- You need some money
- You need a strategy
- You need to spend effort
Money
There is no such thing as free money right? Right. You must do something. By just writing this article I am earning money. Probably about 5 Dollars. If I do this 20 times a month I will have $100 ... that is enough to start playing a little. Of course I have moved fiat money into crypto as well. I do not believe this talk of bubbles and so more. Bitcoin may be highly priced and earning multiples there on your money is hard. But you can make lots of small profits ... they add up.
Strategy
What is your risk profile. How much do you need the money you are investing. What is your goal, retirement or to buy a new car or a overseas trip. Or just party money. All of this will determine your strategy. To invest without one is not just dangerous but stupid. You will not go on a trip without having a plan. There are many strategies, and of course these I will mention in a later post.
Effort
If you do not read and research, investing is no better than gambling. You do not have to know everything, but if you treat this as a job and do a little every day, watch the prices and stay on top of trends, you have a far better chance to make high returns.
Do not be scared to dip your toe in, but first learn. Take a $100 and invest. But remember, first watch and learn, then create a strategy, and then STICK to that strategy.
Great post! I used to trade currencies, but it was very time consuming. Not to mention all the brokers going under for ripping off customers. Oh yeah not to mention the bots. Oh the bots, makes it hard to compete in short time frames.
I've seriously considered crypto trading, but I think it would just take my focus and money away from some easier to profit, longer term trends, such as blockchain, gold, commodities, EV's etc.
You are very right in terms of time, and yes. markets of all kind generally are manipulated, crypto more so as its base is quite small. Yet, you can do well if you play the game and put in some effort. Nothing in life is free.
true enough