Forex is not the type of activity that allows people to jump in without skill. That is, unless you like flushing money down the toilet (if that's true, I'll be happy to let you mail the money to me instead). In order to actually make money and gain some skill, practice is needed. In this case, there is no substitute for some experience.
As luck would have it, in this particular industry you can open a forex practice account free of charge at almost any forex broker that will allow you to practice trading under real market conditions with fictional money. This way, the first time you lose your shirt trying to trade big and make crazy profits, it will only be a fictional shirt.
Finding a forex broker
The first thing you'll need to do is find a forex broker. There are many different brokers out there and they all support different types of software and different tools for trading. You'll need to find one that you feel comfortable with the customer service they provide and the tools they offer. My advice would be to try at least 3, before making a final decision and settling one any particular broker.
Trading with Leverage
The forex markets are not exactly a friendly place to beginners. It takes some getting used to. Retail forex accounts are set up in a way that resembles a loaded gun. Handled with respect, everything goes fine, but a little carelessness can lead to major injury.
The first thing you need to understand is that trading forex involves using forex leverage. The basic concept of trading with leverage, sometimes called trading on margin, is that you can control a large trade on the market with a smaller amount of money in your account. The simple way to explain this is if you have 4:1 leverage and want to open a $100 trade on the live market, you'll only need to put up $25 from your account to make that happen. The unique thing in forex trading is that you cannot lose more than what is in your account, so there is no way to end up with a negative balance. However, that doesn't mean that you can't quickly lose your money, leverage needs to be treated with respect, as I said earlier, it is indeed a loaded gun.
Finding a Forex System
One thing typically experienced by new traders that are desperate to find a way to profit, is an endless search for the perfect forex trading system. I won't say that there aren't some good systems out there, but there are far more junk systems than good systems. The best way to evaluate a trading system is by trying it. You'll probably find plenty of sales pitches for "great forex systems that will make you rich", but most of the time the person getting rich is the person selling the system. There are systems out there that can be bought that are worth something, they are just hard to find. Think twice before buying anything that you don't get a chance to test first.
Coming Into Your Own
Once you've had a chance to test some trading systems and be involved with the market for awhile, you'll start to come into your own. This is not to say that you'll be an expert after a few weeks, the learning process will be endless. However, you will come to a point where it will make sense to start trading with some real money.
A good rule of thumb is to start small and only use money you can afford to lose all of. This will prevent you from having an overly emotional response to trading conditions. You have to learn to master trading for pennies before you can trade for dollars.
Opportunity
Forex trading provides some great investment opportunities, but it's not a get rich quick scheme. Similar to other investment methods, it takes time and some skill to make money. Be patient with yourself and learn from your mistakes and you can succeed.
