Most guides on how to start trading are written to sell you something. This one is the version I give friends who ask. No hype, no lambos, just the actual steps and the honest timelines, because trading is a skill and skills take longer than the adverts suggest.
Step 1: learn before you deposit anything
Before any money changes hands, learn the basics: what a pip is, what leverage does, what a stop loss is, and how position sizing works. A structured course or education library gets you there in weeks. Random YouTube videos get you there in months, if ever.
Step 2: open a demo account
Every reputable broker offers a free demo account with fake money and real prices. Use one for at least a month. The goal is not to make paper profits, it is to learn the platform, practise placing stops and targets, and prove you can follow a plan when it is boring.
Step 3: choose a regulated broker
In the UK, look for proper regulation, tight spreads on the markets you want to trade, and a platform like MT5 that you can also connect to journaling tools. Check the leverage on offer too: we recommend somewhere between 1:50 and 1:500, and nothing more. Higher leverage does not make you more money, it makes you broke faster.
Step 4: start small with real money
When you go live, start with money you can genuinely afford to lose. We recommend at least £1,000 so position sizing works properly, and ideally £1,000 to £5,000 to start. Risk 1% per trade maximum. Your only job in the first three months is to survive and follow your rules, not to make money.
Step 5: journal everything
- Every trade: entry, stop, target, size, and the reason you took it.
- A screenshot of the chart at entry.
- A weekly review: what worked, what you fluked, what you broke your rules on.
The journal is where traders are made. It turns random outcomes into feedback, and feedback into skill.
How long does it really take?
Honest answer: one to two years of consistent effort before most people are reliably profitable. Anyone promising faster is selling something. The traders who get there quickest are the ones with structure: a plan, a journal, risk rules, and someone experienced to ask when they are stuck. That is the entire reason Affinity exists.