Have you recently taken notice to the travel bloggers invading your Facebook and Instagram accounts? They’re constantly posting pictures of their adventures, whether it’s dancing under the lights of the Eiffel Tower or rock climbing in the Himalayas.
Have you ever wondered how they do it? How can they afford to take all of this time off of work? Let alone afford all the plane tickets…
The answer might just surprise you.
While some rely on mommy and daddy’s trust fund, many of them have actually found financial freedom in the investment industry. Swing trading is a great way for beginners to dip their investment-hungry toes in the water.
Why? Because you can start with little to no money, so anyone can do it.
Interested in the nomad life? Read on to learn more about swing trading basics and how it could help you ditch your 9-5.
What Are the Swing Trading Basics?
To understand swing trading, you have to have basic investment knowledge.
In short, investors put up their own money in hopes that whatever they’ve bought grows and returns their money plus some. Traders specifically purchase (while the price is low) with the intent of selling again (once the price goes up). Traders can invest in futures, stocks, forex, or options.
Swing trading is a style of investment trading. Swing traders are considered long term traders, as they will hold onto their purchase for several days to weeks.
Another style of trading is day trading, which is where traders will buy and sell trades within the same 24 hours.
Swing trading typically yields higher rewards than day trading. The goal here is a higher profit over a long term trade. This can be risky unless you have enough funds in your account to withstand the movements of the market.
You can start swing trading with as little as $100, depending on the broker.
When Will I Be Rich?
Yes, there are many traders who make thousands of dollars in a single sitting. No, they didn’t learn to do it overnight.
Trading takes months of practice and even years before a trader gets really good. One of the reasons it seems like they popped up overnight is because no one talks about how much money they've lost practicing or how many hours they've spent learning.
Since there aren’t any college courses on trading, traders have to rely on self-education. That means lots of Youtube videos and googling. Some websites even offer courses for forex, futures, and options trading.
Be sure to do research on a course before you purchase it, as these courses are not federally regulated.
The Road to Financial Freedom Is the One Less Followed
The long and the short of it is, financial freedom is not something that happens overnight. Trading takes a lot of time and energy to master, and even the best traders have much to learn.
If you’ve learned the swing trading basics and are interested in learning more, check out this article on online trading and investment options.