Very few people have not heard of Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge. However, since he is known mostly for his love of money, lack of kindness, and hatred for the Christmas season, it seems like folks have forgotten how sound his business practices were. In fact, his principles were so sound that it is obvious Scrooge would have been an excellent foreign currency trader. The next time you find yourself undecided over the latest trading news, consider the qualities of Scrooge.

Focus on Preserving Your Funds

Scrooge was a miser yet his greed would have benefited him in his trading decisions. When you are taking a look at forex news online it is easy to immediately start thinking about doing what you can to multiply your money. This is natural, but it is also a mentality that can easily lead to impulsive and reckless trading. It may sound counterproductive but if you concentrate on ‘not losing’, the profits will follow shortly thereafter.

Cheapness

At the beginning of the story you can see Scrooge grumbling about giving his assistant a paid holiday for Christmas Day. He does not just consider it inconvenient, he compares it to stealing. While this is certainly taking it to extremes, his reluctance to spend money would be an asset to him as a trader. Take time to look for brokers with low spreads, low overnight fees, and additional bonuses while thinking very carefully about paying extra for anything.

Be Willing to Spend

This might sound like a contradiction, but think about Scrooge’s position.

He was cheap and would often be unwilling to spend a dime more than necessary. That is the key. If he did spend money he made sure that he would be able to make it back in profits. What this means for traders is that it is alright to put money into the foreign currency market but only when there is a high probability of success. Perfect your strategy, trust your indicators, and do not hesitate to take a position.

Dedication

Say what you will about his personality, but nobody can deny the fact that Scrooge was a hard worker. Many people get into foreign currency trading expecting it to be an easy ride all the way through. Although it may not seem difficult to spend all day executing orders, that is because most of the real work is mental.

Towards the end of the classic Christmas Carol, Scrooge did see the error of his ways in regards to people. However that does not mean there is nothing to be gleaned from his financial practices. Despite his original failings as a human being, prospective foreign currency traders can make real money on the market by applying Scrooge’s mentality to their transactions.