learn forex first

Get this simple question right and you’re on the road to currency trading success get it wrong (and most new traders do) and sorry you need to continue with your forex trading education…

Ok, here is your question answer it with no pause, no hesitation and with total conviction and confidence:

Q: I know what my trading edge is ( define it ) and it’s why I am able to win, when the vast majority of forex traders get wiped out and it puts me in the elite 5%.
A: There is no set answer - but some forex traders have what they think is an edge and its not.

So here are some common answers that are totally wrong:

- I follow the news stories currencies move to the facts
- I have an expert or guru who advices me and trust him
- I will make money buying low and selling high
- I can predict forex prices in advance and use a scientific theory
- I have a robot sure it hasn’t been traded and has a simulated track record but the logic is sound
- I trade short term scalping and day trading it’s a great way to make money
- I have great money management and can place a stop

Etc

The above are based upon misconceptions of how to make money in forex and there all wrong.

Most traders look at forex trading and think it’s a walk in the park and easy, the facts say otherwise.

5% of traders experience a quick wipe out and it’s not easy, making the big money in any area of life is hard, that’s why you get such big rewards.

If you want to win, the first point is no one can give you success, so stop trying to buy it. Only you can give yourself success, as success comes from within. Success is based upon, a simple, logical robust trading system, you have learned and you can apply with iron discipline.

Most traders never have the courage and discipline needed, because they don’t learn from the ground up and gain confidence.

How can you take loss after loss (all forex trading strategies have them even the best) and keep going with discipline if you don’t have confidence and accept responsibility?

The fact is forex trading to learn is within reach of everyone - but you must have learned the right way, to have courage, conviction and discipline. This means having an edge, you believe in and is soundly based and the ability to aplly it, even when your losing with discipline.

All the professional forex traders have an edge (it can be anything you like) but in your own head, it must separate you out from the vast majority who burn their equity.

If you don’t know what your trading edge is - you don’t have one!

Continue your forex trading education, until you get one and don’t expect anyone to give you it - you have to work it out. If you can, though and you can apply it with discipline, you can be a winner.

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Forex training is a necessity for anyone with this interest. Forex training is always beneficial for a trader, even if he has a few months of practical knowledge in forex market. Coaching in forex is very important if you want to get into the world of trading currency and looking at charts that would turn out off previously. After your coaching, the charts would be the most beautiful thing that you have ever seen in your life!

Forex training is available via online courses, advanced trading workshops and one on one mentoring. Forex training is a process which requires a continuous effort to apply the knowledge that can be gathered from reading Forex trading books, into practice.

The best place to get some really cool advise on Forex is from someone who is already involved in Forex trading. Investing in a high-quality Forex training material with a proven system that is profitable is a good step to becoming a successful trader in the market.

Online method of learning forex is good for newcomer for it helps him to get prepared with nuts and bolts of the trading market. The reason that Forex training is so vital is because the Forex market is extremely competitive and volatile.

Investing in the proper training is just as important as the amount of money that you will invest in your live trading account. The key goal of the Forex training is to learn a proven system that will allow you to make profits once you start apply the formula and to practice the strategies on a paper trading account to boost your confidence about the winning system.

Ivan Ong is not an expert in Forex Trading. However, he does know some tricks that has earned him US$890.26 in his 8 first trades trading the Forex Market. He is going to show you the exact system that he follow to have such success in Forex Trading. If you want to find out the strategy that he used, click on the link here: http://www.OnlineReviewHub.com/forex/

With the popularity of forex trading since middle of year 2004 when it even overtook the interest in futures and commodities trading, we have seen a lot of forex trading systems being developed. As new technology evolved, we have also seen the power of the desktop computer being harnessed for running trading platforms involving all sorts of forex trading systems instead of using computer mainframes.

The usual way most traders would want to test their forex trading systems is to use a forex strategy builder and back test on historical data, and then to discover what parameters in that trading strategy are important to the results, and to forward test again on past historical data to check the results.

Some traders will merely back test historical data, and then run the system to test on simulated data. If they find that the system could generate good results based on the system parameters, they then adopt the system for actual use in real trading instead of a paper trade.

There is a lesser known way of testing a forex trading system, and that is to actually port the trading system to test it on actual historical individual stock data.

In other words, you can use the forex trading strategy to test it on historical stock data and to check how the system performed with stock market data.

Stocks and shares normally have less volatility then forex, the difference being trading stocks and shares would involve a study of accompanying volume. In contrast, we are concerned with price and time action in forex and not volume. Further. many forex traders are more familar with trading stocks and shares, and to use a forex trading system on stocks and shares would allow the trader who is transiting from trading stocks and shares to trading forex, an easier way to learn how to trade forex.

A general guideline for testing a forex trading system with individual stock data is this - if you find the forex trading system to perform well with an individual stock data, returning profits consistently, you can have reasonable confidence that the same forex trading system will function as well for trading forex itself. If the forex trading system does not perform well with stocks and shares, the general understanding is that the system may not be robust enough for the volatility and velocity of trades inherent with trading forex.

As always, this is not a dogma, but a general guideline. That is why any forex trading strategy or system have to be tested prior to being adopted for trading.

What is significant is that you can uncover the power of a forex trading stratgey to use on trading stocks and shares in this manner. Some forex trading strategies have been performing very well on stocks and shares, and it follows that these will also perform as well with forex.

Are you still struggling to become profitable trading forex? Discover how you can get help to personalise 3 powerful trading systems from a successful professional forex trader by visiting the author’s blog at http://1forex-trading.blogspot.com

Does the fear of fraud or identity theft keep you from shopping online? Online Shopper’s Survival Guide will safely take you through the Internet. Even if you are already a savvy shopper on the Internet, maybe you would like to start purchasing the higher-end priced products. For example: cars, boats, computers, etc. This book will give you tips on how to do it in a secure way. Author Jacquelyn Lynn, being a victim of identity theft, is exceptionally concerned for the shopper.

In this book you will find:

• Online Shopping Basics
• From Teenagers to Seniors: Generational Issues
• Online Auctions
• The Good, the Bad, and the Bargains of Online Auctions
• Finding What You Want Online
• What You Can’t (Or Shouldn’t) Buy Online
• Buying From Foreign Countries
• Consumer Protection Issues
• Frauds and Scams
• Buying High-Priced Merchandise Online
• Finding Friends, Dates, and Jobs Online
• And Much More…

Online Shopper’s Survival Guide will make you a pro at purchasing online with security. Lynn shares many tricks and tips like finding sites and locating items with the lowest prices, recognizing scams and steering clear of devious e-commerce sites, and how to win online auctions on eBay or other sites for less than you think.

This guide is easy to understand very informative, and a worth while read. Every person who has wanted to shop (or has been shopping) on the Internet can effortlessly learn how to do it with confidence and pleasure.

If you found this article useful, you can also get tons of free investment advice and great finance tips at Invest Money Stocks.

This article was written by Richard Tyler - a happily retired investment guru who ran several successful businesses during his earlier years. He now shares his wealth of knowledge on investment, business and strategic wealth management at Invest Money Stocks. Ignorance is often the reason why some people are unable to harness upon what they already have to make more money while some ‘in-the-know’ get richer every year simply through investments. Richard sees it as a passion as well as a pleasure to share his knowledge and experience and hopes that his website will be a wealth of knowledge for those who need help in investment and wealth management matters. Invest Money Stocks covers a wide range of topics from business management, home budgeting, personal wealth management to stocks investment, options trading, penny stocks trading, forex trading, bonds, technical analysis, fundamental analysis and more.

Why do hundreds of thousands online traders and investors trade the forex market every day, and how do they make money doing it?

This two-part report clearly and simply details essential tips on how to avoid typical pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.

1. Trade pairs, not currencies - Like any relationship, you have to know both sides. Success or failure in forex trading depends upon being right about both currencies and how they impact one another, not just one.
   
2. Knowledge is Power - When starting out trading forex online, it is essential that you understand the basics of this market if you want to make the most of your investments.
   The main forex influencer is global news and events. For example, say an ECB statement is released on European interest rates which typically will cause a flurry of activity. Most newcomers react violently to news like this and close their positions and subsequently miss out on some of the best trading opportunities by waiting until the market calms down. The potential in the forex market is in the volatility, not in its tranquility.
3. Unambitious trading - Many new traders will place very tight orders in order to take very small profits. This is not a sustainable approach because although you may be profitable in the short run (if you are lucky), you risk losing in the longer term as you have to recover the difference between the bid and the ask price before you can make any profit and this is much more difficult when you make small trades than when you make larger ones.
   
4. Over-cautious trading - Like the trader who tries to take small incremental profits all the time, the trader who places tight stop losses with a retail forex broker is doomed. As we stated above, you have to give your position a fair chance to demonstrate its ability to produce. If you don’t place reasonable stop losses that allow your trade to do so, you will always end up undercutting yourself and losing a small piece of your deposit with every trade.
5. Independence - If you are new to forex, you will either decide to trade your own money or to have a broker trade it for you. So far, so good. But your risk of losing increases exponentially if you either of these two things:
   Interfere with what your broker is doing on your behalf (as his strategy might require a long gestation period);
   Seek advice from too many sources - multiple input will only result in multiple losses. Take a position, ride with it and then analyse the outcome - by yourself, for yourself.
   
6. Tiny margins - Margin trading is one of the biggest advantages in trading forex as it allows you to trade amounts far larger than the total of your deposits. However, it can also be dangerous to novice traders as it can appeal to the greed factor that destroys many forex traders. The best guideline is to increase your leverage in line with your experience and success.
   
7. No strategy - The aim of making money is not a trading strategy. A strategy is your map for how you plan to make money. Your strategy details the approach you are going to take, which currencies you are going to trade and how you will manage your risk. Without a strategy, you may become one of the 90% of new traders that lose their money.
8. Trading Off-Peak Hours - Professional FX traders, option traders, and hedge funds posses a huge advantage over small retail traders during off-peak hours (between 2200 CET and 1000 CET) as they can hedge their positions and move them around when there is far small trade volume is going through (meaning their risk is smaller). The best advice for trading during off peak hours is simple - don’t.
9. The only way is up/down - When the market is on its way up, the market is on its way up. When the market is going down, the market is going down. That’s it. There are many systems which analyse past trends, but none that can accurately predict the future. But if you acknowledge to yourself that all that is happening at any time is that the market is simply moving, you’ll be amazed at how hard it is to blame anyone else.
   
10. Trade on the news - Most of the really big market moves occur around news time. Trading volume is high and the moves are significant; this means there is no better time to trade than when news is released. This is when the big players adjust their positions and prices change resulting in a serious currency flow.
11. Exiting Trades - If you place a trade and it’s not working out for you, get out. Don’t compound your mistake by staying in and hoping for a reversal. If you’re in a winning trade, don’t talk yourself out of the position because you’re bored or want to relieve stress; stress is a natural part of trading; get used to it.
12. Don’t trade too short-term - If you are aiming to make less than 20 points profit, don’t undertake the trade. The spread you are trading on will make the odds against you far too high.
13. Don’t be smart - The most successful traders I know keep their trading simple. They don’t analyse all day or research historical trends and track web logs and their results are excellent.
14. Tops and Bottoms - There are no real “bargains” in trading foreign exchange. Trade in the direction the price is going in and you’re results will be almost guaranteed to improve.
15. Ignoring the technicals- Understanding whether the market is over-extended long or short is a key indicator of price action. Spikes occur in the market when it is moving all one way.
16. Emotional Trading - Without that all-important strategy, you’re trades essentially are thoughts only and thoughts are emotions and a very poor foundation for trading. When most of us are upset and emotional, we don’t tend to make the wisest decisions. Don’t let your emotions sway you.
17. Confidence - Confidence comes from successful trading. If you lose money early in your trading career it’s very difficult to regain it; the trick is not to go off half-cocked; learn the business before you trade. Remember, knowledge is power.

The second and final part of this report clearly and simply details more essential tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.

1. Take it like a man - If you decide to ride a loss, you are simply displaying stupidity and cowardice. It takes guts to accept your loss and wait for tomorrow to try again. Sticking to a bad position ruins lots of traders - permanently. Try to remember that the market often behaves illogically, so don’t get commit to any one trade; it’s just a trade. One good trade will not make you a trading success; it’s ongoing regular performance over months and years that makes a good trader.
2. Focus - Fantasising about possible profits and then “spending” them before you have realised them is no good. Focus on your current position(s) and place reasonable stop losses at the time you do the trade. Then sit back and enjoy the ride - you have no real control from now on, the market will do what it wants to do.
3. Don’t trust demos - Demo trading often causes new traders to learn bad habits. These bad habits, which can be very dangerous in the long run, come about because you are playing with virtual money. Once you know how your broker’s system works, start trading small amounts and only take the risk you can afford to win or lose.
4. Stick to the strategy - When you make money on a well thought-out strategic trade, don’t go and lose half of it next time on a fancy; stick to your strategy and invest profits on the next trade that matches your long-term goals.
5. Trade today - Most successful day traders are highly focused on what’s happening in the short-term, not what may happen over the next month. If you’re trading with 40 to 60-point stops focus on what’s happening today as the market will probably move too quickly to consider the long-term future. However, the long-term trends are not unimportant; they will not always help you though if you’re trading intraday.
   
6. The clues are in the details - The bottom line on your account balance doesn’t tell the whole story. Consider individual trade details; analyse your losses and the telling losing streaks. Generally, traders that make money without suffering significant daily losses have the best chance of sustaining positive performance in the long term.
   
7. Simulated Results - Be very careful and wary about infamous “black box” systems. These so-called trading signal systems do not often explain exactly how the trade signals they generate are produced. Typically, these systems only show their track record of extraordinary results - historical results. Successfully predicting future trade scenarios is altogether more complex. The high-speed algorithmic capabilities of these systems provide significant retrospective trading systems, not ones which will help you trade effectively in the future.
   
8. Get to know one cross at a time - Each currency pair is unique, and has a unique way of moving in the marketplace. The forces which cause the pair to move up and down are individual to each cross, so study them and learn from your experience and apply your learning to one cross at a time.
9. Risk Reward - If you put a 20 point stop and a 50 point profit your chances of winning are probably about 1-3 against you. In fact, given the spread you’re trading on, it’s more likely to be 1-4. Play the odds the market gives you.
   
10. Trading for Wrong Reasons - Don’t trade if you are bored, unsure or reacting on a whim. The reason that you are bored in the first place is probably because there is no trade to make in the first place. If you are unsure, it’s probably because you can’t see the trade to make, so don’t make one.
    
11. Zen Trading- Even when you have taken a position in the markets, you should try and think as you would if you hadn’t taken one. This level of detachment is essential if you want to retain your clarity of mind and avoid succumbing to emotional impulses and therefore increasing the likelihood of incurring losses. To achieve this, you need to cultivate a calm and relaxed outlook. Trade in brief periods of no more than a few hours at a time and accept that once the trade has been made, it’s out of your hands.
    
12. Determination - Once you have decided to place a trade, stick to it and let it run its course. This means that if your stop loss is close to being triggered, let it trigger. If you move your stop midway through a trade’s life, you are more than likely to suffer worse moves against you. Your determination must be show itself when you acknowledge that you got it wrong, so get out.
    
13. Short-term Moving Average Crossovers - This is one of the most dangerous trade scenarios for non professional traders. When the short-term moving average crosses the longer-term moving average it only means that the average price in the short run is equal to the average price in the longer run. This is neither a bullish nor bearish indication, so don’t fall into the trap of believing it is one.
    
14. Stochastic - Another dangerous scenario. When it first signals an exhausted condition that’s when the big spike in the “exhausted” currency cross tends to occur. My advice is to buy on the first sign of an overbought cross and then sell on the first sign of an oversold one. This approach means that you’ll be with the trend and have successfully identified a positive move that still has some way to go. So if percentage K and percentage D are both crossing 80, then buy! (This is the same on sell side, where you sell at 20).
    
15. One cross is all that counts - EURUSD seems to be trading higher, so you buy GBPUSD because it appears not to have moved yet. This is dangerous. Focus on one cross at a time - if EURUSD looks good to you, then just buy EURUSD.
    
16. Wrong Broker - A lot of FOREX brokers are in business only to make money from yours. Read forums, blogs and chats around the net to get an unbiased opinion before you choose your broker.
    
17. Too bullish - Trading statistics show that 90% of most traders will fail at some point. Being too bullish about your trading aptitude can be fatal to your long-term success. You can always learn more about trading the markets, even if you are currently successful in your trades. Stay modest, and keep your eyes open for new ideas and bad habits you might be falling in to.
    
18. Interpret forex news yourself - Learn to read the source documents of forex news and events - don’t rely on the interpretations of news media or others.

John Gaines

online trading, currency trading, financial service

A veteran of online trading, John Gaines offers the financial services industry his perspectives and expertise on a variety of trading systems and financial instruments, including forex, CFDs, futures, options and stocks.

Investing a great amount of money is no joke. Much more when you are trying to invest on a dynamic and highly demanding business as the foreign exchange or forex. This is the reason why most of the time, only those that are already experts in the business are trying their luck in this trade. But did you know that it does not have to be that way? That an ordinary investor can be a valuable and bankable trader in forex too? That is when you do enroll yourself to various forex educations available in the web. You can even join ‘webinars’ or web seminars that are manned by senior forex specialists.

Online forex education is chopped into many different courses. These involve workshops, practices, and trainings that will provide not only knowledge and skills but also build the attitude required for a successful trader. Part of the education is to teach you on how to gather fresh researches and forex charts to accompany your big decisions of buying and selling. You will also be taught about how to tabulate your own platform, and to pick the perfect type for your account.

As soon as you are all set, a demo account will also be provided for you to do practice bidding on. This will help you establish your skills during final and live dealing environment. There is nothing for you to worry on because these demo workshops are free of risk, just to boost your confidence relying on your own abilities and capabilities

Although training and education in Forex can be a great help it can also be extremely expensive. We have reviewed software that not only offers you a platform on which to trade but also one on one consulting and training from forex experts. Check out our forex trading software reviews to see some of the best trading software and training packages available online.

Back in 1997 major financial slump rocked number of countries in Asia, an event that became known as “Asian currency crisis”. Effected countries included Taiwan, Thailand South Korea and others. One of the memorable comments of the time came from one of leading Thai politicians. He blamed this whole mess on speculators, with George Soros being the main culprit. The remarks went so far as to public statement of “not being able to guarantee his safety if he visited Thailand”. Quite ominous.

The fallout in South Korea was brutal. The US Dollar has about doubled in value against the Won, with USD-KRW moving from just above 800 in early 1997, to 1600 by the year’s end. Local stock market suffered similar fate, as did all areas of economy. Perhaps most telling was an enormous spike in unemployment, as the jobless rate soared to almost double digits, with about 9 million people out of work.

This author observed the aftermath first hand, during one of his business trips to South Korea at that time. Collapse of once high flying conglomerate Daewoo under burden of debt. The sight of many construction projects suspended or stopped all over Seoul and Pusan. Daily failure of scores of small business. It was good time to visit South Korea, due to low prices, but very difficult period for residents.

The country has rebounded nicely since then and became one of Asia’s most dynamic economies. KRW strengthen considerably reaching level 900 against USD in 2007. The stock market has recorded double digit gains in four of the last five years, gaining 32% in last year alone. Korean companies like Samsung Electronics Co, and Hyundai Motors Co, have established themselves as some of the world’s leading corporations.

Things have changed in 2008. Challenges like high oil prices, inflation, external debt and account deficit have shaken investors confidence. While many countries have seen outflow of funds into the dollar, this process became especially painful in South Korea. The Won has become the Asia’s worst performing currency, loosing 20% to date. Stock market was no better, falling 25%, with farther sell off of equities expected.

These developments created widely spread comparisons to situation from 1997 and were quick to be picked by the press. International Monetary Fund disagrees with this assessment and expressed confidence by saying that South Korea is a mature and resilient economy with country’s fundamentals much stronger than a decade ago. Korean financial authorities, however, felt obligated to act by intervention on Wons behalf in the open market. This seemed to stop the bleeding for now.

What can be expected next? In all reality, 1997 type sell off is extremely unlikely. As South Korean economy is cooling down together with the rest of the world, Seoul might not be able to stop bleeding of the stock market but there is one thing they can do- keep intervening on behalf of its currency. Unlike before, there are huge foreign reserves, about 250 billion dollars worth of, and they can be used to support Won.

Very likely scenario, as of this writing, is continued fall of Korean equities, in tune with broader stock declines. The Won should also keep dropping, but in much more measured and steady pace. Central Bank has not mentioned what the comfortable level for USD-KRW is, but as we noticed over last few years, major trends are very powerful and can go through any “line in the sand’ drawn by anybody.

Current rate is around 1150. Even with expected interventions, Won can easily weaken to 1300 and maybe 1400, but far short of the previous low of 1600. Also, one shouldn’t look for a fast move, but rather steady depreciation, lasting a year or two. This is not a situation for active traders, but for those who prefer longer term positions current development might present good opportunity for farther selling of KRW.

Mike P. Kulej is a Chief Forex Strategist for Spectrum Forex LLC. He specializes in mechanical trading systems as explained on http://www.spectrumforex.com . Spectrum Forex LLC offers numerous services to individual traders. He also publishes trading blog http://www.fxmadness.com. With questions and comments e-mail him at kulej@spectrumforex.com

A lot of people think that the cost of living just naturally goes up; they rarely wonder WHY things cost more than they did ten years earlier. The few people who do put some thought into it think that the cost of buying things increased because manufacturing companies want more profit. Others think that the manufacturers HAVE to increase their prices because the cost of THEIR raw materials has increased, but this would beg the question, why did the cost of the raw materials increase?

We’ll answer those questions, but for now let’s see how a typical trade might go. In this example we’ll have two tradesmen, a carpenter and a blacksmith (we’re still in the era when people traded with gold and silver remember).

The blacksmith wants a bench which the carpenter can make, so the two come to an agreement on the price which is, say, two ounces of silver. Now, if the blacksmith already has the silver, he can simply exchange the ounce of silver for the bench, or perhaps pay one ounce as a down-payment and then would pay the other ounce upon receiving his finished bench. Both are happy with this arrangement.

Now, if the blacksmith doesn’t yet have the money, but he knows that an upcoming job shoeing some horses is going to bring him enough silver, he can offer the carpenter an IOU; a PROMISE that he will pay the carpenter as soon as he has the “money”.

In the first instance, they were trading via commodity, the first kind of “money”. In the second, they were using promissory “money” (and IOU). The third way they could trade is if they used fiat-money, that is a token (a small medallion perhaps) that a king (emperor/government/dictator) determined has a certain value.

Enter the COIN! Coins have been used by rulers as currency for thousands of years. These are in effect, pieces of metal (metal being very durable and long-lasting) that have a specific value.

Originally, coins were minted (where the word ‘money’ comes from) by PRIVATE companies. People would take their gold or silver to these trusted companies and these companies would divide the metal into fixed amounts (say 1/20th ounce each) and then stamp them with their OWN seal, guaranteeing that the metal was exactly that weight. They would, of course, charge for this service, otherwise they’d go out of business very quickly!

The word ‘dollar’ is a corruption of the European word ‘thaler’, which was a coin minted in the early 16th century in a town called Joachimsthal. The coin was called a Joachimsthaler, which was later shortened to simply a ‘thaler’ (the letter ‘a’ being pronounced ‘ah’). The original dollar was actually 1/20th of an ounce of gold.

As some people became wealthy( because of the products and services they produced for others), they had a problem. They didn’t want to keep their coins at home where they might be burgled, nor did they want to risk being robbed by carrying it with them each day. So other types of service companies appeared which were simply, secure warehouses.

These privately-owned warehouses would charge an agreed fee to securely look-after people’s gold and silver, and would give the people a slip of paper showing how much weight of metal was being kept in the warehouse(in England it would be weighed in ‘Pounds’ of silver). When the owner of the metal wanted some to use, he would simply take his slip of paper to the warehouse where his metal resided, and exchange it for the paper. If he had some left in the warehouse, he would be given a new slip of paper telling him how much he had remaining.

To make things even simpler for the owner of the metal, he would sometimes offer the slip of paper ITSELF as money, rather than going to the bother of traveling to the warehouse and taking his gold out. As long as both the metal owner and the person he was buying from trusted the warehouse (had confidence that the owners would give the bearer of the slip the amount of gold that it referred to) then this system would always work and no metal had to be carried around.

These warehouses were, of course, the first banks. But the banks soon realized that the rulers of their country (dictator/government/emperor/king etc.) didn’t like what they were doing. Why? Because the ruler didn’t have any CONTROL over the money! If they couldn’t control the money, how could they possibly control the people? (Whoever can afford an army controls the population).

So, in every country over the years, the rulers of those countries HAD to stop these private banks from trading. How did they do this? Continued in Part III.

Luke Hawthorne has been writing for over 12 years. His interests include flying airplanes, scuba-diving, skiing, paragliding and making money. (http://www.lukehawthorne.com )

As you transition through life, you are making many changes and going through many different stages. With a life expectancy of 78 (5 years longer for women), when you turn about 40, you are entering what is known as middle age. Everyone goes through this transition, but not everyone experiences the same thing. Often times, men, more than women, will feel the brunt of these changes at this mid-point in their lives.

When do the trials and tribulations of everyday life turn into a midlife crisis and how do you know you are in it? Good question. It really depends on the degree to which you feel you can handle it. How deep in your inner disorientation do you feel? How much has your self-esteem and confidence affected your ability to function? How often do you second guess your choices? What’s causing the confusion about who you are or where your life is going?

A true midlife crisis may take years to resolve and you may feel helpless, disappointed, distressed, entrapped or just bored. Sometimes you think it’s easier to hold on to your “youth” and just ignore the changes. Getting past the crisis is difficult and it is really a process that may encounter a lot of resistance on your part. Plus, when the resistance turns into drastic or unrealistic lifestyle changes, it could lead to long-term consequences, often difficult to remedy. However, once you become aware of your discontentment, you can do something about it.

You may be aging, but it doesn’t mean you’re getting old. Midlife is an exciting time. According to Marianne Williamson, author of “The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife,” she says, “What we have called middle age need not be seen as a turning point to death. It can be seen as a magical turning point to life as we’ve never known it, if we allow ourselves the power of an independent imagination.”

With children older or out of the house, you have the opportunity to spend time on things you most enjoy. Make it a fun time of your life. Even though the crisis is bound to transform you, you will also be transforming what it means to go through midlife. Therefore, set new goals and develop new hobbies. See, explore and discover who you are now. It’s a time for rebirth and renewal. Re-examine your past choices and commitments and revise them into an exciting and different journey ahead. Refocus your time and energy on doing new things that are more important to you, like going back to school or planning an adventurous vacation.

This all takes courage and work, but the ultimate goal is something extraordinary, revealing a new expression of yourself that embraces your giant leap into living your life.

Amy Sherman, LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor in private practice. Amy is the author of the ebook, “Distress-Free Aging: A Boomer’s Guide to Creating a Fulfilled and Purposeful Life.” For more information, go to http://www.bummedoutboomer.com sign up for her free newsletter and receive a Special Report on Overcoming Adversity. She can be reached by email at amy@bummedoutboomer.com or by phone at 561) 281-2975.

It’s been well publicized lately that the housing market is on the brink of a crisis - in fact, the crisis has hit the US already. As mortgages become harder to come by and homeowners begin to struggle with rising interest rates and lower demand from buyers, the market is faced with a vicious circle in which prices keep falling, but there are not enough mortgages being offered to increase demand.

What happened? - a timeline

The problems can be traced back to the housing market in the US, in which people with poor credit history (known as ’sub-prime’ borrowers) were allowed to take out mortgages - many of whom subsequently could not keep up with payments.

Many of these mortgage debts had been ‘bought’ by UK banks, meaning they were now responsible for receiving the repayments. However, due to the amount of times these debts had been bought and resold, it was often difficult for banks to predict how much of the debts would be repaid.

When many of these sub-prime borrowers began to fall behind on repayments, it hit whoever ‘owned’ the mortgage debts - meaning both the US and the UK were affected. This is what became known as the ’sub-prime mortgage crisis’.

What is happening now?

UK banks’ losses have in fact been small so far - but there is a risk that they could get a lot bigger. For this reason, they are very cautious about new lending, and so they are tightening the criteria needed to qualify for mortgages.

The knock-on effect of this is that houses are harder to sell, meaning prices are getting lower. However, lower mortgage availability means that demand isn’t getting any higher - so house prices are likely to fall further - and so the cycle continues.

The Bank of England has acted on two fronts. Most significantly, they have swapped £50bn of secure Government Bonds in return for banks’ mortgage debts - effectively a show of confidence that sub-prime losses will not be as big as the banks feared. This move is designed to calm the insecurity that is causing the tighter lending policies and prevent any particularly dangerous drops in house prices.

Additionally, they have lowered the basic interest rate in order to convince banks to lower mortgage interest rates - but this is currently not working, and so the problems continue.

What happens next?

There are mixed opinions amongst the experts:

RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)

* Predict that house prices at the end of 2008 will be down by 5% from the end of 2007

* Sales will be down by 40%

CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders)

* House prices at the end of 2008 will be down by 7% from the end of 2007

* Sales will be down by 35% to 770,000 sales

Although the extent of the predictions vary, nearly all experts agree that the housing market is increasingly on the downturn. House prices have only fallen slightly so far - but if the trend continues, the housing market will decrease in value significantly in the coming months.

The US have already been through what the UK is going through now - a tightening in lending criteria combined with fewer mortgages - and they have seen some sharp falls in house prices. Many economists believe the UK will follow this pattern.

Banks need to continue borrowing and lending, if a little more carefully than before, if the market is to recover. If they don’t, house prices will continue to fall, and it could be years before they begin to rise again.

Melanie Taylor is associated with http://www.GregoryPennington.com one of the UK’s leading debt management companies, providing debt help, debt advice and debt management plans to over 40,000 clients.