Personal Finance | Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

How Does Social Trading Work and Is It a Good Idea for You?

December 5, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Social trading is one of the biggest trends in Forex, but a surprising number of people don’t know what it is or why others are doing it. Social trading can be a great option for new investors and it is one everyone who’s just getting started with trading should consider. But how does social trading work? And is it a good idea for you? In this article, we’ll explain exactly what social trading is, why it is so popular, and how to know if it is a good idea for you.

What Exactly Is Social Trading?

Social trading combines social networking with investing platforms. You aren’t paying for an investing newsletter and trying to figure out how to set up trades per the guru’s advice. You won’t need to follow a bunch of financial experts on social media and rush to your trading platform to implement a buy recommendation. Instead, you’re able to network with other traders on social networking sites specifically for that purpose.

How Does Social Trading Work?

Social trading is more than a social networking site for traders. Social trading lets you copy successful traders’ trades just like you’re forwarding a social media post. You can replicate their trades in real time, though this is affected by the amount you have invested. If they buy a particular item, you can set up your account to replicate it as soon as they open a position. You can benefit from their expertise in market trading without having to read a newsletter or figure out how to use that information. Or you can set up your own trades. You’re in control.

The Benefits of Social Trading

Social training has tons of benefits which makes it a great option for new traders. For one, these sites are very transparent. You can often see the stats for each trader and verify that they are as successful as they say they are. This allows you to know for certain they are earning a set profit margin and that the gains they say they’re earning are not the result of a one-time fluke. You can see their open trades, their profits, their maximum drawdowns, and other relevant statistics.

But the biggest benefit of social trading is that you can ride on successful traders’ coat-tails without having to invest massive amounts of time learning their system. This is far cheaper than hiring a financial advisor who may or may not generate the returns they’ve promised. You also have the option of switching methods as soon as you find something better. In all cases, you will earn while you learn. There are also tons of different platforms you can choose from, all with their specificities and distinct communities. Sites like InvestinGoal.com have teams of social trading experts who review various social trading platforms and also provide useful trading advice. They also have a variety of social trading tools you can choose from as well.

Another great thing about social trading is that you can develop a successful trading strategy yourself and sell your strategy to others to make money on these sites. It is akin to selling your advice, but you don’t have to craft a brand as a trading guru. That can be an extra source of income for successful traders, and it generates passive income for the copiers who follow them.

Another clear point in favor of social trading is that you can join these sites and start benefiting from the wisdom of others when you have a small account. You can tap into the expertise of the experts who might otherwise just send a generic newsletter or charge a fortune to manage your account. However, social trading creates a space where the successful traders can share their opinions and issue their forecasts.

Traders can talk to other traders about market conditions and share ideas. However, your social media feed isn’t cluttered with pictures of other people’s lunches and pets. Instead, the conversation focuses on the market, strategies, and results.

How to Know If Social Trading Is Right for You

Social trading does bring risk, especially if you copy the strategy of someone who isn’t doing well or has such a low-profit margin that you don’t earn money after the commission you pay. If you want to try novel trading strategies, social trading isn’t right for you. Social trading doesn’t require you to be a social butterfly, connecting and chatting with lots of people since you can simply connect with a successful trader and copy their trades. However, those who are constantly reading about the market will benefit most from social trading.

What You Should Know Before You Start with Social Trading

Before you start with social trading, you should know what your goals are first. You first have to know if you either want to strictly copy other’s trades, trade socially or be copied by other traders.

While copy trading and social trading do have their similarities, they aren’t 100% identical. With social trading, you’re basically pooling from the community’s knowledge and use this knowledge to make trades. You could also use the community to gauge market sentiment for a particular currency pair or stock. This is particularly good if you already have some experience with trading and want to supplement this experience with expertise and/or data from other members of the community.

With copy trading, on the other hand, you choose certain traders you feel have the same trading philosophy as yours or are consistently making profits, and entirely copy their trades. This allows you to follow a winning strategy without having to understand the markets per se. This is a great option for those who don’t have a lot of experience or don’t have the time necessary to conduct in-depth analysis of different stocks, currencies or commodities.

But if you’re already a seasoned vet and would like to make a little bit of extra money on the side by benefiting the community and sharing your trades, you can do so as well. You’ll get paid a commission based on how popular and successful you are.

Knowing what your intentions are before you start is essential when choosing which broker and platform you’re going to go wwith th, so don’t take this step lightly.

Conclusion

Social trading combines social networking with market trading. It is increasingly popular because of the benefits it brings to all parties involved.

Protecting Your Finances When You’re Out Of Work

October 31, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Being unexpectedly out of work as the result of an injury or job termination can be a very stressful event. If you’ve been caught off-guard by this temporary or permanent leave from your job then you might be worrying about your finances. Perhaps you’re waiting to be fit enough to return to work, or perhaps you’re searching for a new job. Either way, you need to make sure that your costs are covered whilst you’re out of a wage. These pieces of advice should help you to protect your finances whilst you’re not working.

Make money from home.

You might not be able to head into the office if you’re injured or unwell, but that doesn’t mean you’re unable to earn any money. In the modern age, you can use the internet to bring in additional sources of income. You could start freelancing, for example. You could find ways to sell your talents. Maybe your profession involves writing, web development, or graphic design; whatever your area of interest, you could use freelance sites such as Fiverr to earn some money from it. You could also consider making money through sites such as Amazon by selling some goods on there. There are so many ways to make money from home if you start thinking outside the box. You might be stuck in the house, but that doesn’t mean you should be without an income. Of course, there are other ways to supplement your finances…

Get financial support.

If you’ve ended up out of work on a temporary basis as the result of an accident then you might want to research your options in terms of financial support. When you’ve been injured as the result of an event that wasn’t your fault then there are often legal routes that can get you some sort of compensation to cover your costs for medical bills or time taken off work. Maybe you were injured as the result of a road accident because of negligence or improper truck maintenance. Whatever the case, it’s important that you assess all possible routes to get the financial support you deserve for the time you’ve had to take off work. You don’t have to let your personal savings take a hit if you were injured as the result of an accident which wasn’t your fault.

Start budgeting.

Of course, one of the smartest ways to protect your finances when you’re out of work is to simply start budgeting. You might find that you’ll have more than enough money to cover your costs whilst you’re not working if you reduce unnecessary expenditures. You need to track both your sources of income and your outgoings. Budgeting is all about spending within your means. The best way to do this is to pinpoint any expenses that could be cut out of your life or simply reduced. Maybe you’ve developed some bad habits that you could give up, such as smoking or drinking too much. Maybe you could save money on your weekly shop by using online coupons to get a discount. The point is that you could improve your financial situation by cutting down on your monthly expenses.

What are ten bad financial decisions to avoid in your 20s? [Answered]

October 6, 2018 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

Personal Finance Mistakes of 20 Somethings

Whether you’re starting your career, mid-career, or nearing retirement, financial decisions play a big part in whether you are successful or not in this thing called life.

Financial problems create stress, cause relationships to tear apart, and bad choices can often have ramifications throughout your life.

So getting your financial house in order is critical.

So when I came across this post in Quora, I had to tackle it…

What are ten bad financial decisions to avoid in your 20s?

Here’s my answers…

#1 Staying at one company for more than 3–5 years. This is a time for learning and growing. You need different experiences (even if in the same industry) to provide perspective that will help you be successful as you enter your 30’s.

#2 Not starting a side hustle. We’re in an age where there are hundreds of ways to earn extra income and build skills that can be used in the future. All while pursuing a passion project or interest. You can even take a hobby and make it self-supporting.

#3 Spending what you earn (or more). Most people find they spend what they make. Then when life happens (car breaks down, medical bills, etc.) you go into debt on the credit card. Then you continue a downward spiral that is hard to extricate yourself from. Spend radically less than you earn…I’m thinking 25–50% saved from what you earn. This also allows you to be less dependent on a job or have seed money to start a business if you choose too or hit your retirement goals faster.

#4 Incurring student loans. Now I recognize that this often has to be addressed sooner than your 20’s. But going the trade school or community college route (at least for 2 years) and then working while in school, will both build good work/study habits as well as set you up for a debt-free future.

#5 Associating with the wrong people. They say you are who you associate with. Hang out with people who spend everything they earn and more. Or people who bring drama with them like a cloud. Or those who want to party all the time and not worry about work. You’ll find yourself doing the same.

#6 Worrying about what others think. Life’s too short to not live life on your own terms. Know that there is no “right” path. And those who think they do know the path often find themselves derailed and lost later in life with things don’t go according to their plans.

#7 Not getting married and having kids. Although getting married young does bring other challenges, many people think you have to get your career in order first. And although you can achieve much with the extra focus that not having romantic relationships distracts you from, you can’t go back in time. This is especially true of women who want careers. Many women who wanted to have it all found they couldn’t have children because they waited to long (even with in vitro). And although they can still have very fulfilling lives, there often is that sense of loss too.

#8 Thinking “I’m too young” to do that. There are some jobs where being older is a benefit. And there are others where youth wins out. Know that you always have options. Don’t sell yourself short.

#9 Not learning enough and focusing too much on the dollars. In your 20’s you’re building the platform for your future. Your career may vary but the skills and relationships you develop in your 20’s will often pay off down the road in ways you never imagined. If you aren’t learning, move on.

#10 Not having fun! Life is too short not to have fun. And you’ll find out soon enough that there were opportunities you passed on that you wished you didn’t. Go take life by the horns and make the most of it.

What are some “Bad Financial Decisions” you think 20-somethings should avoid? Or ones you think we should all know about?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

How To Make An Extra Income

September 3, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Make extra money on the side

If you’ve come to realise just how expensive life really is, then you are probably trying to figure out ways to make money so that you can thrive in this world as a pose to constantly worrying about how you’re going to afford the next meal. Nobody wants to scrape by forever, they want to have that financial freedom that allows them to do whatever they want to do without having to feel guilty about it. If your full time job isn’t giving you enough to be comfortable, then you may begin to consider doing more. It may be as simple as having a word with your boss and mentioning if there’s any possibility of a raise, but be prepared for them to tell you no. If that’s the case, you could then ask if there are any opportunities to work more hours so you can earn more that way, but again, you may end up disappointed. If you don’t get the answers you want, then it may be time to take things into your own hands and come up with ways you can make an extra income. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to turn it into your sole income and leave your mundane job behind.

Here are a couple of ideas to get you thinking.

Delve into the world of trading

If you’re good with numbers and tend to be quick on the ball, then you may want to consider having a look at trading. Essentially it’s all about buying and selling finances such as stocks and bonds. If you don’t know a lot about it then it can be rather confusing in the beginning, but fortunately, there are plenty of companies like e-mini futures that can give you all the best tips in order to be successful. The better you get, the more money you will begin making. There is a lot of money to be earned in this line of work, but it is also very risky too, so it’s important you always have your head screwed on in order to get the best outcome. (And income!)

Fill out paid surveys and reviews

This by no means will make you hundreds overnight, in fact, you only earn a few bucks here and there, but it’s still something. The more time that you have on your hands, the more surveys you can do, meaning the more money you will be able to make. This tends to be good for people that are off work due to an injury, illness, or because of bank holidays, as each survey normally only take around five minutes of your time, so bear in mind you could fit at least twelve in one hour, if not more depending on how quick you are.

These are only a couple of ideas, but you can see the dramatic contrast of what is out there for you to do, so it all just depends on what kind of attention you’re willing to give.

Protecting Your Home Before The Winter

August 13, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Winterizing Your Home

Now that summer is starting to fade away, we need to think about preparing our homes and our vehicles for the winter. As the temperature drops and we end up needing more layers, we are also more likely to encounter issues with our cars, pipes and the home in general. If you want to avoid anything happening to your house during the winter period, here are some amazing ways that you can protect it in advance.

Seal your doors

The doors and windows of the home are all too often taken for granted by us when we are looking at new jobs to do around the house. However, your doors and windows can have a huge effect on the security and the heat in your home overall. If you want to keep the heat in your house throughout the colder months you need to make sure there are no gaps in the windows and none under the doors. You can use sealant and draught excluders to help lock in the heat.

Get a better heating system

Before the cold weather kicks in it is the perfect opportunity for you to get rid of your old heating system and put in a new one such as trace heating. When you have had a heating system for many years it can be under increasing risk of failing, and the last thing you want is your heating breaking down during a snowstorm. Do your checks in the next few weeks before it gets cold and if you start to spot any issues you can get it fixed ready for the winter.

Wrap your pipes

Make sure that you remember to wrap the pipes which lead into your house at the end of the summer before the cold weather kicks in. It is a job which many of us can forget but it is crucial to do to prevent the pipes freezing over and blocking any flow into the house. Make sure that you do this job now before you forget because it could be a lifesaver during the winter.

Insulate

Insulating the home comes without saying, as it is insulation which helps us to lock in the heat during the colder spells and stay nice and toasty inside the house. If you haven’t already got insulation in your home now is the ideal time to get the job done. You can think about insulating the walls, the roof and even the floors if you want to to keep everything warm and make sure there is no way for heat to escape in the colder months of the year.

Light it up

Candles are a godsend when the days start to get shorter and nights become colder. Not only do they provide a lovely soft light for us to enjoy in the evening and a cosy atmosphere, but they also give off heat which will keep us nice and warm on even the coldest nights. Get yourself a couple of large jar candles which can last for a few weeks during the autumn and winter and you will be able to enjoy that feeling of warmth and soft light all through the season.