Making money from your Android phone

The reality is that we all have 24 hours a day, from the richest man in the world to the poorest. My daughter keeps saying ‘it’s not fair’ when I make some decisions she does not like. We live in an unfair world. Some of us were born into poor homes and others into the middle class and rich homes due to no fault of ours. However, when it comes to time, everyone gets the same amount every day — 24 hours. What we do with those hours determines the results we get.

Success in any area of endeavour takes time and effort. There are no shortcuts. There is always a price to pay. If you need time to start doing something, you have to stop doing something else that is not moving you towards where you really want to go. Something simply has to give way. You can’t continue the same way and expect new results.

A football coach has to put forward 11 players. If his team is complete and he decides it is very important he bring in a new player, one player has to be dropped. It is as simple as that. He cannot field 12 players.

People often give the excuse of not having enough time and money to embark on a new venture. The football coach knows there is a choice to be made. There is no room for complaining or giving excuses.

If something is important enough to you, you will create the time by dropping some none value-adding activities. If we were paid for the time spent on social media or watching TV, most people would be financially independent by now. I have seen people who have no money but they show up at events wearing the most expensive aso ebi of the day. We always make time or get the money to do what we consider important to us.  If you ever catch yourself saying you don’t have enough time or money to embark on a certain venture, it either means you have not fully bought into it or it is not important enough to you.

I will go into a bit more detail on online stock trading and Forex.

Online stock trading

Online stock trading is not new in Nigeria. This facility has been available for some years now. You can buy and sell in the Nigerian stock market from your phone. You can set your entry and exit price and go do something else if you want to be a day trader.

To get to this place, there is a price to pay — investing time and money to learn how to trade online in the stock market. You need to have a stockbroker. Some wrote in to ask for recommendations for a reputable stockbroker. You can ask for recommendations from friends, family or colleagues who already trade in stocks. Also, you can do your research online. You can find out the biggest, most customer friendly and easiest to do business with etc. There are many forums online where investors interact and you can make their deductions from their comments or ask for a recommendation. This is time well spent.

The starting point is not registering with a broker to get online to start trading. The starting point is learning how to invest in stocks, understanding what you are doing, deciding your path (fundamental, technical or both), setting goals and working towards them.

When trading online, you can win or lose. There are fear and greed to be dealt with. You need to get a firmer grip on your emotions to be able to trade online.  It is by continuous learning and practice that you hone your skills to trade profitably. You have to start small and grow gradually. It takes time to get there. Reading an article cannot turn you into a stock investor overnight; that is why you need to get your priorities right. You have to do the work necessary to achieve the result you desire. There are no shortcuts.

Online forex trading

Online stock trading and forex trading have many similarities. The volume in the forex market is much higher, hence higher volatility. Forex is a race car compared to a Sedan (stock trading). The risk is higher, so is the rate of returns if you know what you are doing.

When you invest in the money market, you have to raise the money you need to invest all by yourself. The risk is zero but the returns per annum are a small fraction of your capital (three — 12 per cent per annum). It will take years to double your money. You need the patience of Job (of the Bible). This is a good place to start investing, as you need a solid reserve and springboard to launch into higher risk and return investments.

With forex, you need a fraction to start (the broker loans you money to trade with) and you can grow your account up to 10 per cent or more (for example) in a day if you know what you are doing. This is much higher than the infamous MMM. You can also lose your deposit if you don’t know what you are doing.

The key issue is investing in knowing what you are doing (enrol in a school, etc). You cannot acquire the skills overnight. You can speed up the process when you invest as a team with a successful forex trading expert coaching the team, using tools that analyse the market for you. Many people who lose in forex fly solo.

There are tonnes of articles and free e-Books you can read while waiting to make the decision about which school to enrol and which team to join. Education is not free. It will take some months to recover your investment from proceeds of your profitable trading, based on your commitment and focus to learn and follow instructions. If you think education is expensive, you can try ignorance.

After all said and done, it depends on your wants and the willingness to pay the price.