This is a super tricky question because there is no right or wrong answer.
What is important is that you first use a demo account to prove that you are a profitable trader before you start risking a cent of your hard earned cash on any real live trades. I have had countless emails from traders who are contacting me for the first time, telling me how they have blown XXX amount of dollars, trading a live account and they’ve never had a clue if they were profitable, or if the method they are using is profitable. This is gambling, not trading.
Use a demo first to become a profitable trader. Don’t listen to all the hogwash about how you need to trade a real account to get the experience, etc. That will come when you move to a real account, but until then, you need to know if you are profitable or not. It is pointless going to a live account if you have no idea if you are profitable or not.
How much money should you be trading with? This is going to vary so widely for a number of reasons. What $10,000 is to one person is not the same to another, even within the same country. This is because we have things like family situations, some people have kids and mortgages, whilst some are just uni-students.
Then, $10,000 in some parts of the world is much more than in others. So, to answer this question, the best way to put it is this: you should NEVER EVER risk money that you cannot afford to lose. If you need the money for food, rent, or bills, etc., you should not be making trades with it. The smallest amount you can open an account with is $200 and if that is all you have to start with, then that is fine. Start from there, skip your daily coffee, and start building – and use the power of compounding!
