Step 2: Setting up financial goals

Before we go to the section of setting up a trading plan. You first need to know what your goal is that you want to achieve before you work on a trading plan/strategy.
As you may know, a plan can’t function if there is no end goal. In this article I will describe one example.

Start trading by opening an account here or choose a broker that fits you best

Example 1: 1000 dollar extra income per month.

Let say you want to earn a 1000 dollar extra per month besides your job with trading. On a yearly basis it means that you have to make a profit of 12.000 dollars. In the financial markets there are a few instruments and strategies that can help to achieve that goal. But based on your available time and budget you need to choose in which market you want to trade in.
Based on the 1000 dollar end goal, your weekly goal should be 250 dollars of profit.

Whatever amount of money, activities or dreams that you want to achieve. You need to define it in weekly and monthly goals.

Don’t go crazy and set unrealistic goals like a 1 million dollars of profit with a budget of 100 dollar a day. That’s too crazy!

I usually work with yearly , weekly and daily goals in excel. It looks like this:

Weekly goal

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Goal = 250 dollar profit
50 dollar profit	60 dollar loss	100 dollar profit	20 dollor loss	30 dollar profit	75 dollar profit	75 dollar profit	Goal achieved

Its important to review your excel sheet or goal sheet everyday because it keeps your focus on track on achieving your dream.

I work with weekly goals system to monitor my year goal progress.

So if you sometimes miss the weekly goals, it’s fine as long as you know where you are in the progress in achieving that yearly goal. In the next chapter I will discuss how to setup a trading plan.

Start trading by opening an account here or choose a broker that fits you best

* 80.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Plus500. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

JUMP TO SECTION

Step 1: Introduction
Step 2: Setting up financial goals
Step 3: Trading plan
Step 4: Trading journal
Step 5: How to recognise buying signals

Step 1: Settings up financial goals

Go to Step 3: Trading plan

Learn how to make money by reading our trading articles

All 12

Plus500 Review: Is Plus500 a good broker?