Start Investing Now Before It Is Too Late!

Accept it many of you are now spending on bills to pay for what you have wanted for years and now you can finally afford it. The last thing you will thing about is an investment for your retirement. It is your choice whether to have fun with spending money now but suffer when you get older or inverse! Take some advice from those with a little more experience: Start investing early in your career. Start from day one and you will never miss that money you're setting aside. If your company has available a 401-K or a TSP program, jump on the band wagon immediately. If you don't have these programs at your disposal, you can still start an IRA and the concepts stated here are applicable as well.

I can guarantee that it really does it make a difference when you start contributing. It is important to invest in your retirement account early in your career for two reasons. First, if you're fortunate to receive matching contributions, you don't want to miss out on those added contributions that are a significant part of your retirement benefit. Second, the longer contributions stay in your account, the more you stand to gain. Your money makes money in the form of earnings, and those earnings in turn make money, and so on. This is what is known as the "miracle of compounding." As money grows in your account over time, the proportion resulting from earnings will become larger compared to the proportion resulting from contributions.

The size of your account balance is going to depend on how much you (and your company if they match funds up to a certain percentage) contribute to your account and how your account grows as a result of earnings on your investments. To get an idea of what your retirement account could be in the future, look at the following projections.

Think this way. Assume that you are an employee eligible for organizational contributions, that you are earning $28,000 each year, and that you receive no future salary increases. You choose to save 5 percent of basic pay each pay period; therefore you receive total organizational contributions of 5 percent. The growth projections below are for an assumed annual rate of return of 7 percent on your investments.

After five years your account balance would be almost $17,000; after ten years your balance would increase to $40,000; and after contributing for twenty years, your account would have a balance of $122,000. Clearly your balance would continue to increase each year. If you contributed for forty years, which is fathomable if you start a job at 23 and want to retire at age 63, your account balance would be $615,000. That's over half a million dollars folks! Just from contributing 5% of your income from the day you start work!

Can this number convince you to start saving money now?

Discount Commodity Brokers

Discount commodity brokers help traders who want live futures broker support. These agents work only from the base of a stock exchange by phone or online. They promise the highest quality service, timely market information and in-depth research. A review of the online sites and services available can help one decide on an ideal choice. One's choice must be guided by consideration of the service and support offered, and the fee the company charges per investment. The credit rating of an online discount commodity broker company is also vital information. Some online companies might have a maintenance fee, while some may not have any.

Discount brokerage firms entered the mainstream in the mid to late nineties. Discount brokerage companies compete with each other to offer low flat rates for trading securities online. Many of them offer special services like access to live news regarding the general markets or a specific market, daily market research facilities, paper trade programs, periodic trade recommendations and a host of other benefits.

Discount commodity brokers' major services include 'discount broker assist' and 'deep discount online futures trading accounts.' Discount broker assist usually creates a way to access pro-commodity futures brokers at discount rates. Pro-commodity brokers help traders who make their own choices and want to put order by phone r. Deep discount online futures trading accounts are easily accessible futures trading schemes that route a person directly to the exchange. They are devoted to offering traders with access to financial and futures markets around the world. The major advantage of an online discount commodity account is fast, immediate execution and intra-day account access.

In the beginning, most traders depended on the full-service futures trading services and gradually moved to discount futures broker assist after obtaining knowledge and experience.

Make Profit From Land Investment

As a private investor, you'll know that it's almost impossible to guarantee a return, no matter how alluring the investment looks. It's always important to assess the risk you may be taking with your money before you commit to investing it.

Land investment is no different from any other savings vehicle. Many people have seen excellent returns on their investment, and land prices in key areas continue to increase; particularly where the need for housing is greatest and land for development is at a premium.

So, can you make money from land? Here's why land could be a good investment for you:

Housing shortage – in the UK, there is still a housing shortage with, on average, only half the new homes needed being built each year. As demand continues to exceed supply in this area, developers will seek new sites and the planning authorities may grant permission on a wider range of sites in order to re-balance the housing scales. This creates a great opportunity for those who wish to invest in land.

Property prices – of the new homes being built, fewer of them are falling into the "affordable" price bracket. This means that developers are realising higher profits for their projects and can afford to make higher bids for land for future development.

Lifestyle – although rural and suburban land will also rise in value, there is still money to be made in central land locations. Where urban land can be regenerated, it is often turned into multi-function developments; apartments with shopping, eating and recreational activities all within the same site. There is a huge appeal to this type of lifestyle and these developments are still profitable.

Economy – land doesn't have to be earmarked for residential development in order to make a profit. Out-of-town shopping centres, business parks and leisure complexes are still big business and whilst spending is high and these developments increase job opportunities in the area, they are also likely to make money for the landowners.

As always, profits can't be guaranteed. If you buy land that's denied planning permission, you're unlikely to make the returns that are possible when planning is approved, and that's a risk you must assess before you commit your money.

Philippine Real Estate Property Investments

We have this trend of seasonal activity in the overseas property market over the last few years especially from UK market. Statistics from UK Estate Agents showed that from 2004 and 2006 the number of British people who owned a second home abroad soared from 550,000 to 800,000. With a further 5.5 million Brits estimated to be wanting to live abroad, UK buyers are increasingly being tempted by the different cultures, lifestyles and often improved standard of living that other countries, including the Philippines, can offer said Collingz .

Collingz said historical sales figures show that the number of people buying property in the Philippines has a significant peak in the early autumn as many people use their summer holidays to hunt for their ideal second home. Interest in buying abroad can quickly strengthen after a few weeks back in Europe as the days shorten and the weather takes a turn for the worse. PLC has been anticipating the arrival of the British overseas property buyer in the Philippines and sees the UK market, rather than the US, as the place to sell their Condotel units over the next 6 months. Our PLC Global property portal has already seen increased traffic for September from UK buyers and estate agents who want to buy or market our Lancaster Brand of Condo Hotel suites to a UK audience.

UK Tax Payers are also taking advantage of tax incentives and Investing their Self-Invested Pension Plan [SIPP] In Philippine Condotel Investment Real Estate for Rental Income and Retirement. Collingz explained that the Self Invested Pension Plan [SIPP] is a personal pension plan but with one very significant difference: administration is separate from investment content, giving the plan holder freedom to choose for himself and change the investments within it. The long-awaited rules on what savers can include in their personal pension plans were unveiled in April 2006 by HM Revenue & Customs. The Guidance Notes confirm that the Self Invested Pension Plan [SIPP] allows holders to invest in hotels such as the Lancaster Brand of Condo Hotels in the Philippines. The only stipulation is that SIPP holders may not stay in their rooms. With more nights available for paying guests, this not surprisingly increases the room owners' returns. It is estimated there are now more than 70,000 plans holding over £14bn.

A year or so ago, few people in the UK realized that they could manage their Pension Plan portfolios themselves, and even fewer knew that they could invest their SIPP retirement money in homes in the sun which now prove to be among the most popular potential investments to include in a SIPP

If you're considering using your SIPP to invest in real estate, there are some excellent reasons that you should choose Philippine Condotel Investment real estate to drive your retirement portfolio into high profit margins. The Philippines is ideal for this type of investment because a SIPP can establish title to a property in a country whose legal framework recognizes trusts – and a SIPP is simply another form of trust. Investing in foreign real estate is neither as risky nor as tricky as a lot of people would have you believe. While land and housing prices in the U.K. have soared astronomically in the past decade, the world real estate market is a far different story. It's still possible to buy a preconstruction Condotel suite at Lancaster – The Atrium located in Metro Manila, Philippines, for less than GBP £25,000.00

Lancaster - The Atrium is a "Full Service" Condominium Hotel offering Studio, One, Two and Three Bedroom Suites for sale. To be completed and ready for turnover from December 2010, and will provide unit owners with premier residential condo units with the option of enrolling their units in the Lancaster Condotel Rental Pool and earn Rental Incomes [at current purchase levels] of some 8-14% ROI per annum as Owner Non-Residents when not using their units through Condotel Management. This makes Lancaster Suites one of the Hottest Investment Opportunities in the Philippines. The beauty of holding property in the Philippines is the low cost of property taxes and maintenance.

A GBP £25,000 Condotel suite may set you back GBP £100 in property taxes per year, and maintenance costs are similarly low. When you add in the tax-protected status of investments made in your IRA, and the 12-16% returns through rental income through the Condotel advantage, you have an incredible ROI on a purchase of Philippine Condotel investment real estate" enthused Collingz.

What's the downside about owning Philippine Condotel Investment real estate as an SIPP investment? You cannot reside at your investment property as long as the SIPP is titled as the owner of the property. The self directed pension plan rules about benefiting personally from your investments are strict - you are not allowed to make use of any property owned by your SIPP, or you risk losing its tax-protected status and worse yet you could face penalties from HM Customs & Excise. You can, however, rent out your SIPP investment for steady income - putting the profits and cash flow into your SIPP, or sell your Philippine Real Estate Investment for immediate profit, as long as those profits remain inside the SIPP. If you're looking for an unusual and high earning investment for your SIPP, then take a serious look at owning Philippine Condotel investment real estate. It can help kick your SIPP earnings into high gear.

With an impending slowdown of the UK housing market and failing pension plans, many investors are turning to using their SIPP's to invest in overseas properties and earn tax-free or tax-deferred income. This creates an outstanding opportunity for by offering self-directed pension plan vehicle to invest in the Lancaster Suites Atrium Tower preconstruction units.

With preconstruction property appreciating at some 20-30% per annum not only does the Real Estate Appreciation look good but the rental income is in excess of what many Pension Plans offer for the same or similar investment. Beth Collingz says that many new investors are looking to replace failed pension plans and other future saving schemes with a solid investment in Real Estate. "Clients are looking for investments that will give them an income for retirement as an alternative to traditional private pension plans that have failed. Most company pension plans are insufficient as are Government Pensions. Bank rates for Savings accounts are at record lows. Savvy investors are now looking for a more solid investment with potential for monthly income. Condotels in the Philippines fit the bill".

This potential, high rates of rental returns from Condotel Investments, currently from 8% up to 14% per annum, opens up a huge market not traditionally looked at by Real Estate Agents and Brokers whom all so often run around looking for normal residential profile "buyers" without looking at the by far bigger picture of investments, investing and retirement. "We're here to help our clients, educating our clients and advising them of emerging investment opportunities. Self-Invested Pension Plans and the Lancaster Suites Atrium Condotels, fit this bill exactly"; adds Collingz.

Beth Collingz
PLC International Marketing Networks

Investing In Equestrian?

The majority of us regular Joes wish we had more money, but it seems the only way to make more money, is to actually have money in the first place, i.e. to invest.

This is not strictly true. There are many ways of investing small amounts of money, some of them you would not necessarily class as "investing" but investing by definition means - laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit.

Now take betting on a horse for example, I'm sure your significant other isn't going to buy into it when you tell them that you are investing, but by definition, you are. Every investment has an element of risk to it, betting on a horse of course, has a little more!

The other kinds of investing "Alternative Investments" are usually the area of collectors and hobbyists, but these can also generate a decent return on your money. This includes everything from art, antique furniture and wine to vintage cars, stamps and toys.

When it comes to wine, there is a convincing argument that as an investment, it produces returns comparable to equities and the cost of fine wines will keep on rising.

There are many other avenues to pursue when you are not wealthy enough already to invest your money into property and real estate. Taking a look in your attic to see what delights you may find could be a start.

The internet holds lots of information in regards to ideas for investing, there are bonds to consider, stocks and shares, gold or silver, even currency! Investing need not be for the privileged people, even us, the average Joes can start investing somewhere along the spectrum. Remember you have to start somewhere, and take your first little steps, but always think BIG.

Avoiding suspicious activity reports in cash transactions

Many people ask "just what is considered illegal or suspicious activity when moving cash?" Some people have gone to the bank with the cash proceeds of a garage sale or a car sale on the weekend, and recounted horror stories of multiple questions by bank employees and have sometimes been reported to the government as suspected criminals.

The reality is that such reporting is very plausible. Most western countries have enacted cash transaction legislation that mandates it. In Australia, anything over $10,000 must be reported to regulators, and any amount under that that bank staff deem suspicious. Likewise in the U.S. So, if you're unusually scruffy-looking and wander into a bank with $4,000 cash to deposit, it's very possible you will be reported by the teller. (See our article Money Laundering Defined on the web site www.powerprivacy.com for details on U.S. Currency Transfer Reports, or CTRs.)

Here's a list of most things that can trigger staff's suspicion and get you reported next time you go to the bank. Banks will not give you a list of or even admit the existence of these criteria, regardless how much you ask:
- A customer refuses to provide identification or explain the purpose of a transaction.
- A customer has a known criminal background and engages in substantial transactions.
- A customer is ignorant of basic facts regarding the transaction or is unconcerned about rates, taxes, etc.
- A customer is controlled by another person, particularly where the customer appears unaware, infirm or elderly and is accompanied by a non-relative.
- A customer conducts cash transactions when his/her employment or business does not ordinarily generate or require such amounts of cash.
- A customer repeatedly sends or receives wire transfers of any dollar amount when his/her business does not normally require or originate such wires.
- A customer has no apparent source of income, yet conducts repeated transactions.
- A customer offers a seller a gift, gratuity or bribe to complete a transaction.
- A customer divides transactions into smaller amounts to avoid identification or reporting requirements.

Suspicious Customer Behavior
- Customer has an unusual or excessively nervous demeanor.
- Customer discusses your record keeping or reporting duties with the apparent intention of avoiding them.
- Customer threatens an employee attempting to deter a record keeping or reporting duty.
- Customer is reluctant to proceed with a transaction after being told it must be reported.
- Customer suggests payment of a gratuity to an employee of the financial institution.
- Customer appears to have a hidden agenda or behaves abnormally, such as bypassing the chance to obtain a higher interest rate on a large account balance.
- Customer who is a public official opens account in the name of a family member who begins making large deposits not consistent with the known legitimate sources of income of the family.
- Customer makes a large cash deposit without counting the cash.
- Customer frequently exchanges small bills for large bills.
- Customer's cash deposits often contain counterfeit bills or musty or extremely dirty bills.
- Customer who is a student uncharacteristically transfers or exchanges large sums of money.
- Account shows high velocity in the movement of funds but maintains low beginning and ending daily balances.
- Transaction includes correspondence received that is a copy rather than original letterhead.
- Transaction involves offshore institutions whose names resemble those of well-known legitimate financial institutions.
- Transaction involves unfamiliar countries or islands that cannot be found in an atlas or map.
- Agent, attorney or financial advisor acts for another person without proper documentation such as a power of attorney.

Suspicious Customer Identification Circumstances
- Customer furnishes unusual or suspicious identification documents and is unwilling to provide personal background data.
- Customer is unwilling to provide personal background information when opening an account.
- Customer opens an account without identification, references or a local address.
- Customer's permanent address is outside the bank's service area or outside the country.
- Customer's home or business telephone is disconnected.
- A business customer is reluctant to reveal details about the business activities or to provide financial statements or documents about a related business entity.
- Customer provides no record of past or present employment on a loan application.
- Customer claims to be a law enforcement agent conducting an undercover operation, when there are no valid indications to support that.

Suspicious Cash Transactions
- Customer comes in with another customer and they go to different tellers to conduct currency transactions of less than $10,000.
- Customer makes large cash deposit containing many $50 and $100 dollar bills.
- Customer opens several accounts in one or more names, then makes several cash deposits that are less than $10,000.
- Customer conducts unusual cash transactions through night deposit boxes, especially large sums that are not consistent with the customer's business.
- Customer makes frequent deposits or withdrawals of large amounts of currency for no apparent business reason, or for a business that generally does not generate large amounts of cash.
- Customer conducts several large cash transactions at different branches on the same day, or orchestrates persons to do so on his behalf.
- Customer deposits cash into several accounts in amounts below $10,000 and then consolidates the funds into one account and wire transfers them outside of the country.
- Customer attempts to take back a portion of a cash deposit that exceeds $10,000 after learning that a currency transaction report will be filed on the transaction. <

Monitoring Your Finances Reveals Priceless Lessons

A most important element for building wealth is to measure it. The people I know that have continually increased their net worth track it in order to direct it and stay motivated to reach ever higher financial goals. Seeing the quantifiable results of your spending and investing decisions is the first step to take control of them. Contrarily, the people I know in the worst financial shape have no idea where there money is spent and are too afraid to know what their net worth might be because it won't be pretty. Which extreme more closely matches your attitude? As Dr. Deming says, "You can't manage what you don't measure." Think of it: if you were seriously wealthy, you'd spend some time every week managing some aspect of money. Well, if you want to improve your financial condition, a beginner version of a money management and tracking method is required. In addition, the more money you build up, the more financial assets and obligations there are to monitor. If you don't have your financial tracking in place before you acquire them, I'd bet that you won't own them for long.

If you don't see and feel the gains and losses of your financial decisions – you are playing the complicated money-game of life without any scorecard. This is how so many people with decent paying jobs and insurance still get into financial trouble. You need to have navigation reference points to know if you are steering toward building wealth or destroying wealth. It is by monitoring your net worth that you'll start to uncover the financial impact and consequences of your decisions.

The starting point for financial measuring is a simple statement of net worth (or balance sheet). If you have never heard this term, it is a list of the current market price of everything that you own and what you owe to others. The difference between these two numbers is called your net worth, and this is the number that you want to measure and increase every single month.

As with a business, once you start measuring the financial consequences of your behavior you can begin making your own personal spending rules. For example, if most of your monthly income is spent at restaurants, try making a rule that you only go out twice a week. If you're spending too much money on gasoline you need to find several ways to reduce it. Simple insights and subsequent rules like these will help increase your net worth, which will lead to bigger insights and develop into bigger gains.<

If you find that you have a lot of debt that is decreasing your net worth, or possibly a negative net worth, then what rules about debt are you going to create for yourself? After you get some money saved, where are you going to put it? How much time are you willing to spend monitoring it? How much effort are you willing to exert to educate yourself about investing? These questions will aid in building your investing rules. Eventually you'll have rules for spending, saving, employing debt, and investing that will shape your personal plan for you to start moving your net worth in a sharply positive direction. Think about adding a rule to read a new financial book each year. Your financial statements and financial rules can be as simple or sophisticated as you want to make them. If you keep making even baby steps forward, it may become no big deal to have specific rules for retirement planning, tax implications, entity structuring, evaluating investment real estate, checklists for buying mining companies, or selling a company you've built.

When you have calculated your first statement of net worth, you start having the ability to plan for purchases and payments. As a simple example, if your auto insurance bill arrives once a year, you can calculate how much money that you need to set aside each month to easily pay it when it arrives. Or if you are getting a new car, you'll be a lot happier planning for the initial costs before you get squeezed at the end of the month and end up paying a few bills late.

After you get comfortable with a net worth statement, you can move on to an income & expense statement. Then move on to making projections for all of your statements. And creating scenarios such as: How much is a reasonable goal for retirement income for you? How much net worth will you need by when? How are you going to increase your income, increase your savings, increase your investment returns? The answers will be built upon the financial habits, tools and education that you'll develop, but it can all start with your first net worth statement.

The INDI Trading Company Limited

What Are the Specific Benefits of Exercise?
Longevity and Aging
Exercise, even after age 50, can add healthy and active years to one's life. Adding workouts that focus on speed and agility may be even more protective for older people. Flexibility exercises help reduce the stiffness and loss of balance that accompanies aging. Simply walking regularly can prolong life in the elderly.
Moderately fit people, even if they smoke or have high blood pressure, have a lower mortality rate than the least fit.
Studies continue to show that it is never too late to start exercising and that even small improvements in physical fitness can significantly lower the risk of death.
Resistance training is important for the elderly, because it is the only form of exercise that can slow and even reverse the decline in muscle mass, bone density, and strength.
Cardiovascular Health (Heart Disease and Stroke)
Heart Failure. In one study, patients between the ages of 61 and 91 increased their oxygen consumption by 20% after six months by engaging in supervised treadmill and stationary bicycle exercises. Performing daily hand grip exercises may improve blood flow through the arteries of patients with heart failure. Traditionally, heart failure patients have been discouraged from exercising. Now, exercise is proving to be helpful for many of these patients and, when performed under medical supervision, does not pose a risk for a heart attack.
Stroke. According to one analysis, a group of 11,000 men, men who burned between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a week (about an hour of brisk walking five days a week) cut their risk of stroke in half. The benefits of exercise on stroke are uncertain. Groups who burned between 1,000 and 2,000 calories or more than 3,000 calories per week also gained some protection against stroke but to a lesser degree. In the same study, exercise that involved recreation was more protective than exercise routines consisting simply of walking or climbing.
General Guidelines. Inactivity is one of the four major risk factors for heart disease, on par with smoking, unhealthy cholesterol, and even high blood pressure. Children should be especially encouraged to exercise every day to prevent heart disease later in life. Exercise does not increase the maximum heart rate, but a fit heart can pump more blood at this maximum level and can sustain it longer with less strain. Exercise even helps reverse some of the effects of smoking. Children should be especially encouraged to exercise every day to prevent heart disease later in life. Like all muscles, the heart becomes stronger and larger as a result of exercise so it can pump more blood through the body with every beat. For preventing heart disease frequency of exercises may be more important than duration. The resting heart rate of those who exercise is also slower, because less effort is needed to pump blood.
Effect on Coronary Artery Disease and Cholesterol Levels. People who maintain an active lifestyle have a 45% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease than do sedentary people. A recent study reported that moderate dietary changes improve cholesterol levels and so lower the risk for coronary artery disease only when an aerobic exercise program is also followed. Regular aerobic exercises -- brisk walking, jogging, swimming, biking, aerobic dance, and racquet sports -- are the best forms of exercise for lowering LDL and raising HDL cholesterol levels. It may take up to a year of sustained exercise for HDL levels to show significant improvement. Burning at least 250 calories a day (the equivalent of about 45 minutes of brisk walking or 25 minutes of jogging) seems to confer the greatest protection against coronary artery disease. Even moderate exercise, however, reduces the risk of heart attack, but in terms of raising HDL levels, more is better. Resistance (weight) training offers a complementary benefit by reducing LDL levels. Triglycerides, which rise after a high-fat meal, can be lowered either with a single, prolonged (about 90 minutes) aerobic session or by several shorter sessions during the day. One study indicates, however, that short-bursts of exercise actually increase LDL oxidation -- the process that makes LDL dangerous to the heart -- so individuals should always aim for a consistency in their exercise program. Before engaging in any strenuous exercise, it is advisable to consult a physician.
High Blood Pressure. No person with high blood pressure should start an exercise program without consulting a physician. Before exercising, people with hypertension should avoid caffeinated beverages, which increase heart rate, the workload of the heart, and blood pressure during physical activity. In one study, for example, moderate exercise (jogging two miles a day) controlled hypertension so well that more than half the patients who had been taking drugs for high blood pressure were able to discontinue their medication. Studies have shown that high-intensity exercise may not lower blood pressure as effectively as moderate intensity exercise. Sedentary people have a 35% greater risk of developing hypertension than athletes do. Studies indicate that regular exercise helps keep arteries elastic, even in older people, which in turn keeps blood flowing and blood pressure low. Studies have indicated that T'ai Chi, an ancient Chinese exercise involving slow, relaxing movements may lower blood pressure almost as well as moderate-intensity aerobic exercises.
Diabetes
Regular exercise, even of moderate intensity, improves insulin sensitivity. Aerobic exercise is proving to have significant and particular benefits for people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes; it increases sensitivity to insulin, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, and decreases body fat. Diabetes, particularly type 2, is reaching epidemic proportions throughout the world as more and more cultures adopt Western dietary habits. In fact, studies of older people who engage in regular, moderate, aerobic exercise (e.g., brisk walking, biking) lower their risk for diabetes even if they don't lose weight. Anyone on insulin or who has complications from diabetes must take special precautions before embarking on a workout program (see, What Are the Hazards of Exercise?, below).
Effects on Bones and Joints
Back Problems. One of the most common complaints of modern men and women, lower-back pain, afflicts up to 80% of all Americans. The best exercises for athletes with bad backs include swimming, walking, and cross-country skiing. High-impact sports, including aerobic dance and downhill skiing, should be avoided. An appropriate exercise program focusing on flexibility and strengthening the muscles in the abdomen may help prevent back problems. However, the classic full sit-up (raising your head and shoulders off the floor up to your knees) may aggravate back pain and should be avoided by anyone at risk for lower back problems. Yoga stretching is beneficial and can be incorporated into the warm-up and cool-down periods.

Investing : Online Forex Trading - The Basics

Forex trading has become extremely popular the world over and has people from all different countries and backgrounds trading like only the professional traders could do just a short time ago. Until recently Forex trading was performed mostly by major banks and large institutional traders. The technological advancements that have occurred of late have transformed Forex into the playground of average traders like you and me.

It's easy to find an online FX trading system, platform or software that can make it easy and fun to trade the market. Simply browse the web and you will be inundated with many exciting offers and promotions. There are many firms that sell or even give away free training software, charts or other useful tools for your future in Forex trading.

Foreign currency trading is done in pairs or combinations. For example, trading the Dollar versus Yen, the Euro vs. the Dollar or the British Pound against the dollar. The most popular currencies that are used for trading and investment purposes are the United States Dollar (USD), Japanese Yen, British Pound, Euro and Swiss Franc. The make up the major portion of all currency trading.

When you come across these currencies in the market you will see them written as a pair: USD/JPY (U S Dollar and Japanese Yen), EUR/USD (Euro and U S Dollar), USD/CHF (U S Dollar and Swiss Franc) and GBP/USD (British Pound and U S Dollar).

The vast majority of all day trades of foreign currency involve these five major currencies. Your goal as a trader is to pick out which currency will appreciate against another. If you can find or develop a system that will allow you to choose the correct direction a currency will be taking it is possible to make good profits in the FX market.

Most trades on the FX market are done by Forex brokers and dealers at major banking institutions across the globe. And since it is a world wide market that makes it a 24 hour a day market. The brokers or dealers work in different shifts so that major institutional traders can perform their trades 24 hours a day around the clock.

However, don't be alarmed. You do not have to be awake all day and all night to trade the market. It is a simple matter of placing stop orders with brokers to buy or sell at pre-determined price levels even while you are sleeping. If your pre-specified price points are met the order will go through as planned. If your price points are not met the orders will not be placed or carried out. This is the key to stopping potentially big losses. You'd hate to be asleep when the market turned against you without a way to get out. Having specified price levels can save you a lot of stress in the market place. With stop orders you don't have to constantly follow your currencies every second of the day. You can place your orders and then go about your normal daily routine.

The FX is unlike stock exchanges in that stock exchanges can be very volatile. The FX market is ordinarily a great deal smoother and doesn't gyrate up and down as quickly or rapidly. The market is actually very easy to trade and is very liquid, meaning you can get your money in or out at any time. Placing an order can be done in a matter of seconds. If you have the temperament for this type of activity it can be a very worthwhile endeavor.