One of the most popular new ways to make money online is in the Foreign Exchange market (also known as Forex or sometimes FX) market. It is the buying and selling of different currency pairs. Forex trading has grown in popularity in recent years and is rapidly becoming one of the best ways to make money online. For newcomers, there is somewhat of a learning curve, but it is not as steep as in many other businesses that take years to understand.

If public companies have shares that you can freely buy and sell on the market, then countries have currencies. That is the easiest way to understand a currency: it is the value of that country in pretty much the same way a share represents the value of a company. Now, a company share value is an expression of what people agree to pay for it, based on a number of criteria: company performance, brand power, rumors and so on. Consequently, a country currency is evaluated against another country currency, based upon a set of criteria too: the economical situation of both countries, political news, media manipulation and so on.

As in every other profession, there are processes and details to be learned and integrated. Once the basic foundation has been laid, a newcomer to the FX arena can gain some confidence in making the right decision. This is a concept that many experienced investors still haven't grasped. In order to make consistent profits in the forex trading market, a disciplined simple method has to be employed on a regular basis. There are times when even the best strategy is going to result in a loss. But the most important thing to realize is that in the long run, losses can be minimized, while the profits are expanded to produce a long term wealth stream.

Because there are fewer currencies to analyze than stocks, many investors come to the erroneous conclusion that forex trading is an easy alternative to the stock market—but it isn’t. To be a successful forex trader, you need to have skill, discipline, patience, focus, objectivity and confidence. You also need to have a comprehensive understanding of geopolitical events that impact global currencies on a minute-by-minute basis.

It is estimated that out of the hundreds of thousands taking advantage of the currency market to make money, only 10% are able to make a successful full-time profession of it. If you have hopes of becoming part of that 10%, start now by education yourself and working on those great trading habits you are going to need. Only when you have the skills and capital in place will it be possible to pull up a pool chair every morning and be at work.