#1 – You don't need a huge sum to live off to be considered as “trading Forex for a living”. What a lot of the gurus and Instagram posts are that of big profits, flashy cars and hoes, (not of the garden variety)…. if you ask me, that's just extravagance.

If you can make money from your account, consistently and if you're living off the money, technically you are trading Forex for a living (that is if you have no other source of income, but come on, that seldom happens, right? In Singapore, there are hordes of part-time jobs out there).

#2 – You need a supportive spouse.
Money and expenses are very real, at least in Singapore. Spouse management is the key to a long trading career – more so as you are trading Forex for a living. Stick with the facts, your wins, your losses, don't trade stupidly. Remember, even if you can stomach huge losses, your spouse can put your trading hobby (or life) to a quick stop. Please treat her (or for ladies, him) with respect. And use money management. 2 percent rule, or whatever percent rule you have.

Divorce is expensive. (i.e. 10k+). Please save the money for trading. A good spouse will see you thru your bad times as well as good.

#3 – You need as minimum expenses as possible.
you ideally should have no major financial commitments or a supportive spouse (see above) to help with the expenses at first.

#4 – You should have a trade idea that is consistent and build on it.
i.e. you probably should use 1-2 trading methods that work and are consistent. e.g. using variants of the MA crossover technique, or whatever have you. Please be consistent. Don't jump and change trade methods just because you hit some stops (you ARE using stops, right?)

#5 – It gets horribly lonely and tiring.
Ever wake up at 2 a.m. to hear an old lady speak? I never did that as an employed job holder. Staying in on Friday nights on major events is normal when you're trading Forex for a living. Waking up at 5-6am (Asia session) is normal.

#6 – Relatives and friends find you weird.
“I trade currencies.” “Oh, you mean you're unemployed!”. “oh, it's like gambling, right?”

#7 – I get a lot of weird requests.
I get weird phone calls from binary options brokers, they tend to pretend to ask me questions first…. yeah, right. Questionnaires indeed.

#8 – Everybody has their own idea of what is right, which will mess you up if you let it. This guru says you can't trade short term, it won't work, this guru says why trade long-term when you can trade short term, this guru says options are the best…… guess what? This guy says a 28 percent return in 6 months is bad…..You need to backtest and implement a method which works best for you, which you are emotionally able to handle trading the best! Everybody is different! Then everybody starts comparing returns… OMG, no, please. Design something that works for you! For your own personality! Traders unknowingly can destroy other traders with their comments.

#9 – I don't know what to put on my LinkedIn
Erm….. trading Forex for a living? I'll be looking for a part-time job soon…. but “Deliveroo Rider” sounds bad as well. Oh well. I'll figure something out.