You need to start thinking more like an adult doing business and less like a kid who snuck into the cookie jar. This game of trading will eat you for lunch if you don’t get those emotions under control first and foremost. This includes fear, excitement, greed, impatience, etc. Not that you’ll never feel an emotion, but you control them, and not let them control you.
I used to teach Forex classes and lost $70K in real money and another $85K in potential profits from selling too soon. When I lost my first $10K, it took a few years. I was making the same mistakes over and over. Then, after I figured out Forex, my ego got the best of me with crypto where I lost another $60K despite being very good at trading. Even the pros screw up.
I say this because here’s your first lesson:
- NEVER trust anyone who doesn’t talk about their losses. NEVER.
- Always, always get proof of claims and make sure they don’t “doctor” the proof.
Now, as far as whether to let someone else manage your money or not, this scenario sounds like two kids playing in a sandlot if I’m being honest. Given that, I’d say don’t. If you don’t want to learn, then just put your money in an index fund in the stock market and go about your life.
If you want to learn, then your first year at the very least should be with paper money (fake money) on a demo account. You have to remove your emotions from this to win at it, and losing real money will make those emotions much worse. Never start with a live account.
Also, if you’re broke and doing this because “OMG OMG you need money NOW,” then don’t. Get a job first. That desperation will bankrupt you.
If you have the money to spend, spend it on tutors and courses. When I first started well over 15 years ago, I paid $2K for a tutor, and it was the best $2K I ever spent. Despite that, I went on to lose $10K in Forex… even when knowing better. All thanks to emotions and my ego. It’ll only be harder if you don’t have an idea of what’s going on.
In closing, do not even think of making real money with this for the first year at least. That’s not your goal. Always, always start this journey when you can afford to pay rent and buy groceries. The reason 90% of retail traders lose is they get into it for an “OMG” moment and don’t stick with it through the failures. No matter what a course says, you won’t master this market in the first year. And if we’re being real, it’ll take several years to get really good at it. No different than college.
If all that didn’t scare you away, then hope your journey is an awesome one. 