I am currently living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and it’s basically part work, part holiday. So as I also like to trade forex quite a bit, I thought I would write this article discussing why it is a lot different to working from home, and in some ways a lot more difficult.
1. Screen-Watching Is A Lot Harder
When you are taking a vacation in another country and it is hot and sunny outside, like it is here at the moment, the last thing you want to do is to stay inside all day staring at a computer screen.
Indeed some traders prefer to avoid doing this anyway, but unless you have a system that enables you to enter and exit positions automatically based on certain trading criteria, you won’t have this option and will be forced to spend some of your holiday trading the markets for long periods.
2. Lack Of Motivation And Focus
Another reason why it can be hard to trade forex overseas is because it can be harder to maintain your discipline and your focus when you would rather be doing other things.
A holiday is supposed to be a chance to wind down and relax, and one thing that forex trading definitely isn’t is relaxing.
It can be stressful, frustrating and potentially damaging to your trading capital if you lose focus and / or discipline, and this is all too easy when you are in holiday mood.
3. Broker Problems
There are some forex brokers that cater to an international client list, and accept customers from all over the world. However if you are using a broker that is based in your own country, and you suddenly start logging in using an overseas IP address, you may have trouble logging in to your trading account.
Similarly, you may have difficulty withdrawing some of your funds if you are trying to make the withdrawal from overseas. So these are two common problems that you might encounter whilst attempting to trade on holiday.
4. Time Differences
Finally, unless you are taking a vacation close to your home, there will often be a significant time difference that you will need to take into consideration when trading the markets.
This can make trading very difficult in some circumstances. For example, if you normally live in the UK and want to trade on holiday in Australia, the time difference is about 11 hours, which means that you will have to trade overnight if you want to stick to the same hours.
Plus, you may find that the markets are most volatile during the evening session, for instance, when you would otherwise like to be relaxing at the end of the day.
Closing Comments
In summary, it is generally a good idea to trade a complete break from the markets when you are on holiday. Not only can it eat into your valuable time, but it can also ruin your whole holiday experience if you are constantly thinking about how your open positions are doing, and checking up on them every five minutes.
Alternatively if you are consistently profitable, you could think about taking a working holiday, where you will live in another country for an extended period of time and dedicate yourself to trading during the day and enjoying yourself in the evenings and weekends.
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