How Long Did It Take You to Become a Funded Trader? I'm Close but Sometimes I Slip Back and Have to Start Over

Hey everyone,

I’m currently working on becoming a funded trader, and it’s been a real journey. Sometimes, I feel like I’m so close to reaching my goal, but then boom, something happens—I slip back, and I have to start over again. :sweat_smile:

It’s tough, especially when you think you’re making progress only to hit a setback. I know the road to becoming a funded trader is full of ups and downs, but I’m curious—how long did it take you to get there?

Any advice, tips, or stories from those who’ve been through it would be greatly appreciated. Just trying to stay motivated through the grind.

Thanks in advance! :pray:

I’m not funded yet, but I’m on the 2nd phase challenge on FTMO, and I’m also trying hard to get funded; hopefully first-time lucky. It took me around just over 2 months to pass my first challenge, and that was tough. I’m staying positive and consistent with my strategy, although I had some days where I made bad judgments, but the important thing is to move on from it.

@Sam
Interesting, I thought I could pass the first challenge in about a week. I was almost there, but then I had two stops that took me back to break even. Now I have to start again. What pairs do you trade and what is your account size?

@Jessie
I trade four FX pairs: EUR/USD, USD/CAD, USD/JPY, and AUD/USD. I’m from the UK and started the FTMO challenge with £70,000. I suggest that you shouldn’t try to put a time on how fast you should pass your funded challenge; it gives you extra pressure when pretty much all prop firms have given unlimited duration to hit the target profit required.

@Sam
Thanks for this advice.

I read this yesterday; it might help you as it has done for me (specifically the last sentence):

"Day trading reeks of impatience. In my opinion, there are several attributes to an unsuccessful trader and these are some of them; greed, desire for action, and fear of missing a profit. What do they have in common? Impatience. I think day trading appeals to people that want to make the quick score. They want to buy a system and immediately be on the road to riches. You will find this is not the case.

In futures trading, patience is a virtue. You have to wait for the opportunities to present themselves. Then you make a move."

@Briley
Thanks for this. Are you a funded trader?

Jessie said:
@Briley
Thanks for this. Are you a funded trader?

I’ve been funded 3 times but kept making the same mistakes. I’m in the process of doing it again with a different mindset.

Everyone in this sub can trade; it’s just greed and impatience that ruins everyone, in my opinion.

@Briley
So did you give up or are you still in there? Yes, true; everyone can make money in Forex, but just greed and impatience. I have tested it all and am still learning. Thanks.

Jessie said:
@Briley
So did you give up or are you still in there? Yes, true; everyone can make money in Forex, but just greed and impatience. I have tested it all and am still learning. Thanks.

I’m going for it again but taking it slowly; what’s the point in rushing it? You just end up blowing the account.

I’m a funded trader and get paid from it regularly, but I still sometimes fail challenges. You’ll get there, bro.

Bruno said:
I’m a funded trader and get paid from it regularly, but I still sometimes fail challenges. You’ll get there, bro.

How was your journey of the first step? Any tips and suggestions?

@Jessie
It was a long journey, bro, not gonna lie; I failed many, many challenges, but I got there. Just keep pushing and believe in your strategy. Also, most importantly, risk management!

Bruno said:
@Jessie
It was a long journey, bro, not gonna lie; I failed many, many challenges, but I got there. Just keep pushing and believe in your strategy. Also, most importantly, risk management!

Thanks. Sometimes I don’t use stop loss, lol, and this has affected me so many times. I always assume price will come back again.

@Jessie
Bro, please always use stop losses; you never know what price will do. Always use a stop loss!

Bruno said:
@Jessie
Bro, please always use stop losses; you never know what price will do. Always use a stop loss!

How do you determine your stop loss? Because I used to use stop losses and usually get stopped out when price is reversing.

@Jessie
Maybe use a wider stop loss and lower your lot sizes. What strategy do you use? I normally place mine at areas of liquidity or something to do with my entry point so that if it hits my stop loss, my trade idea is invalid.

@Bruno
I do trend following using moving averages.

Jessie said:
@Bruno
I do trend following using moving averages.

Have you seen consistent profits? I don’t trade that strategy so I can’t really help with stop loss placement. I would recommend trying to find a YouTube video or someone who is profitable with the same strategy to get advice on stop loss placement.

@Bruno
Thanks for this advice; I will look through it via YouTube.