Interest rates are reasonably healthy in the UK at the moment, particularly in comparison with the 1980s, however interest rates are a lot higher here than they are in the Eurozone, Switzerland, America and Japan.
Did you know that you can borrow the capital you need for your house purchase in Euros, US dollars, Swiss Francs or Yen instead of Sterling? This means that you could take advantage of the lower interest rates elsewhere, securing the loan on your house.
These 3 month money market interest rates allow you to compare UK interest rates with other countries:
As you can see, Sterling is significantly higher than some of the others. However, you will lose out on some of that advantage because you will pay a premium to borrow currency from another country. Still, if interest rates continue as they are at the moment, then there are still large savings to be made.
You're probably wondering why, if the savings are so good, only 1% of UK householder mortgages are taken out in overseas currencies? Unfortunately, there are other factors to consider.
Interest rates - can be unpredictable and even though they have been stable for years, anything unexpected could happen to affect them (eg the 9/11 attacks). If interest rates in the country you were borrowing from increased, then you would lose a lot of the advantage between the foreign currency mortgage over the standard UK mortgage.
Exchange rates ? herein lies the most unpredictable area of risk. Because you borrowed in Euros, for example, the loan must be repaid in Euros. If the Euro/Sterling exchange rates were linked and increased and decreased at the same rate, then it wouldn't be a problem, but of course that's not the case.
If Sterling strengthened against the Euro, then you will be quids in. To repay the loan, you wouldn't need to convert as much Sterling into Euros, and you would make a big saving. That's the scenario that makes the foreign currency mortgage so attractive.
However, if Sterling falls against the Euro, then you will be out of pocket, having to repay effectively more than you initially borrowed. It's a huge gamble, and your home will rest on it. Your home will be at the mercy of the exchange rates, so you could win, or lose, a significant amount of money.
To get a foreign currency mortgage you will need a deposit of at least 20% for your house purchase, so you will need to have a good cashflow to arrange it.
There is an alternative to the above, one that represents less risk. You can link your UK mortgage to an interest rate in a different country. This means that you are not gambling on the exchange rate, but you will still be subject to the interest rate, in the hope that they will not at any point exceed the UK interest rate. There is less risk involved, however these kinds of mortgages do tie you in for a longer period, ie 5 years, and the redemption penalties will be more than nominal. There is a certain degree of flexibility though, and you can often transfer the mortgage to another property if you want to pay the loan off early.
The above option is particularly popular with mortgages linked to the Swiss Franc interest rate, because their interest rates have stayed at beneath 1% for the last four years. The Eurozone interest rate is also very stable, and has not moved in five years.
Whatever your decision, and even with a UK mortgage, it's a gamble and deserves a lot of thought. It's probably worth talking to a financial specialist about it. There's big savings to be made, but have you got the stomach for it?
Epidural Pros And Cons
WHY We Want To Day Trade Versus Position Trade
1) We want to spend only a few short hours each day trading, sometimes just a few minutes!
2)We don't want to hold any overnight positions!
3)We don't want to hedge!
4)We want the fun of the quicker action and quicker profits!
5)We want more profits with less risk!
So keep these goals in mind as you learn our trading techniques!
Be patient in your learning process and keep in your awareness that if you learn this trading system successfully, you will have a cash cow system FOR LIFE that is safe, independent, portable and highly profitable. It will give you the freedom to quit your J.O.B. (Just Over Broke) and travel the world and earn a great living, with just a portable laptop and your debit card!
The currency pairs are made to swing, so trade with ease and without fear. Quickly close out a losing position...don't dream/hope that it will turn back into profit! It often doesn't!
Don't be radically bullish or bearish, swing trade within the trading range of the day, go with the short term trend.
If you can develop the mental and emotional disciplines to trade according to these guidelines, you'll do very well and become very successful!
Ideas About Trading in the Different Time Frames
Each person needs to experiment with the different time frames and moving averages to find out what he/she is most suited for, time-wise and personality-wise. This takes time and lots of practice and patience in your demo account.
If you have a J.O.B., then what we teach is perfect for you if you can trade during the busiest hours, between 3 am to 11 am EST. Even 1 hour of trading in the 1-5-10 or 15 minute chart will make you enough money for the day. You can do multiple scalping trades in the 1 and 5 minute chart, or one trade in the 10 or 15 minute chart, and then go to work. If you get lucky and hit a breakout or breakdown, no matter what time frame you are in, you can make as much as 30 -100 pips in a few minutes! YOU ONLY NEED 20 PIPS A DAY TO BE RICH!
Some people love scalp trading, which are quick trades in the 1 and 5 minute charts for small but quick profits; and some love day trading, mostly done in the 10 and 15 and 30 minute charts, which simply means you close out all positions before the end of the trading day.
If you do one or more trades in one day that rides the price up and down and you close each position out, that is called day trade swing trading. And some prefer swing trading over the course of several days or weeks, which I call position trading, mostly done in the 1 or 2 or 4 hour charts.
We personally scalp and short term day trade, which is really just one-day swing trading. If you use a 1 or 5 minute chart with a 20 pip initial stop loss with a 10-15 pip trailing stop after breakeven, and/or a 10-50 pip limit, you will do very well without big risk or staring at your computer screen until you fall asleep or go blind!
Our motto: get in, get out and go play!
The beauty of this method is that you don't have to have your PC on all the time or be glued to it or worry about overnight positions. The trade-off is that the longer plays make more money, although, they do carry more inherent risk. So again, staying with your trade in the beginning until you've moved your stop to a breakeven, is your first goal, and this is true for every time frame you decide to trade in.
Keep a trading journal
Finally, it is a good practice to keep a simple trading journal. This way you can keep track of your trades and progress and be able to analyze, improve and hone your trading skills.
Simply include the time you entered and exited the trade, the currency pair, the chart time frame (this is important), and the strategy (breakout, trend or top or bottom). Also include write down what happened and what you could have done differently for future reference.
Not every trade can be a winner but in order for you to be a consistent winner, you need to do two things: keep your losses small and manage your margin conservatively.
We recommend that you trade no more than 5-10% of your account size in each trade. 5% is safer. It's easier to make up the losses, when they happen, and they will happen!!! And ALWAYS use stops!
Learn to manage your money wisely...invest small amounts each time and keep your losses small and when you're in profit, let your profits run with a trailing stop.
What "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" says about trading:
"It's not gambling if you know what you're doing. It is gambling if you're just throwing money into a trade and praying. The idea in trading is to use your technical knowledge, wisdom and love of the game to cut the odds down, to lower the risk. Of course there is always risk. It is financial intelligence that improves the odds."
Robert T. Kiyosaki
"Knowing how to take a loss for the trader is as significant for him or her as learning to overcome the fear of death was for the samurai warrior."
Robert Koppel
What's the best way to stay positive no matter what? Celebrate your losses! Get up and dance, do a little jig, blow a horn, yell yippie, another loss! Remember, you love the game and winning and losing are both part of the game!
Both Michael Challiner & are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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