Why You Should Quit Trading (Seriously)

Look, I’m going to be direct with you because nobody else will be. You’re going to lose money. Not might—will. And before you start scrolling, thinking this is some reverse-psychology motivational nonsense, it isn’t. I’m not trying to humble you into greatness or some other Instagram guru bollocks. I’m genuinely suggesting you close the platform, delete the app, and find something else to do with your Tuesday afternoons.

The Uncomfortable Statistical Reality

Let me paint you a picture. In 2024, the average retail Forex trader lost money. Not a small amount—substantial money. We’re talking 70-90% of retail traders finishing in the red. And that’s being generous. Some studies suggest it’s even grimmer. The CFTC released data showing that roughly 9 in 10 retail futures traders lose money. Forex? It’s essentially the same casino, just with different curtains.

Now, you think you’re different. Everyone does. You’ve got a strategy (probably inspired by a YouTube video you watched at 2 AM), a money management plan (written on the back of a betting slip), and the sort of confidence that only comes from a 47-pip winning streak on a demo account.

You’re not different. You’re the same as the bloke who walked into my local pub in 2008 claiming he’d “cracked the code” on the EUR/USD. Last I heard, he was managing a Tesco car park.

The Psychological Casino

Here’s what they don’t teach you in the retail trading courses (the ones costing £497 from some lad named “Chad” in Miami):

Trading isn’t a skill problem—it’s a psychology problem. And your psychology is absolutely knackered.

See, your brain is wired for survival, not profit accumulation. When you’re up 200 pips, your amygdala is screaming at you to take the trade off—right now—because what if it reverses? So you close at 195 pips, missing the additional 150. Meanwhile, when you’re down 50 pips, that same beautiful brain convinces you that you’re “just unlucky” and you should add to the position. Because surely it’ll reverse, right?

Spoiler: it doesn’t.

I watched a trader once—genuinely competent at technical analysis—lose £15,000 in three weeks because he couldn’t accept a small loss. He’d add, average down, and pray. By the time he finally closed the position, he was staring at a -£47,000 reality. He told me he thought “the market would come back.” That’s not trading. That’s hope. And hope isn’t a strategy—it’s the refuge of the statistically doomed.

The Cost of Your “Education”

You’re going to spend money. Lots of it. First, there’s the £2,000 course from the guru with the Lamborghini in his YouTube thumbnail. Then there’s the £500 EA (Expert Advisor) that “never loses” and has a 87-year backtest showing 5,000% returns. Then there’s the £300/month signal service, the £150 prop trading challenge, the £400 in “tools” that you’ll never use.

By the time you’ve blown your first real account (and you will), you’ll have spent enough to have taken a decent holiday instead. And here’s the kicker—that money was just tuition for a class you’re going to fail anyway.

I spent £20,000 on trading education across five years before I was profitable. And I was good. I had discipline, risk management, and a working brain. Most of you don’t have those things. Most of you have optimism bias and a Robinhood app.

The Opportunity Cost Is Actually Insane

Let’s do some maths. You’re spending 15 hours a week watching charts. That’s roughly 30 hours per month, or 360 hours per year. At even a modest hourly rate of £25/hour, that’s £9,000 per year in opportunity cost.

Now, let’s say you lose 5% of your trading account per month (which is actually quite good for a retail trader). If you’re trading £10,000, that’s £500 lost per month, or £6,000 per year.

So you’re down £15,000 annually just in money + time, and you’re not even accounting for the emotional capital—the stress, the insomnia, the arguments with your partner about why you need “just one more” trading indicator.

You could literally pay someone £800/month for professional financial advice and come out ahead. But instead, you’re watching 4-hour timeframe charts at midnight on a Thursday, convinced that the next NFP is your ticket to financial freedom.

The Professional Traders Aren’t Like You

Here’s the thing nobody tells you: professional traders who actually succeed don’t look like the retail trading stereotype. They:

• Have significant capital (millions, not thousands)
• Have institutional backing and research teams
• Trade at scales where slippage and spreads become negligible in their overall P&L
• Have decades of experience and multiple market cycles under their belt
• Use sophisticated risk management that retail platforms won’t even allow
• Don’t live off retail spreads or forex scalping

You’re trying to compete with these people on a £2,000 account with a laptop, a broker offering 30:1 leverage, and a YouTube education. That’s not brave. That’s not disciplined. That’s delusional.

What You Should Actually Do Instead

Quit trading. Genuinely. But don’t sit idle—do something:

1. Invest in a diversified portfolio through a proper wealth manager or a low-cost index fund. Yes, it’s boring. Yes, it doesn’t feel like you’re “winning.” But you won’t lose your house either.

2. If you must trade, paper trade for two years. Not demo trading—actually tracking it, recording it, analyzing it. If you can’t beat the market on paper with zero risk, you certainly won’t with real money and fear.

3. Get proper financial education. Not trading courses—actual finance, accounting, and macroeconomics. The boring stuff that actually matters.

4. Take that £10,000 and invest in yourself. A skill, a qualification, a side business. These have actual positive expected value.

The Final Word

I’m profitable. I’ve been trading for 18 years. And even I’ll tell you: most of you shouldn’t be doing this. The game is rigged in favor of those with capital, time, and information—three things retail traders desperately lack.

The harsh truth is that the only people making consistent money from retail trading are the brokers, the course sellers, and the 1% of traders who’d be successful at anything they touched anyway.

You’re not the 1%. I’m statistically confident in that. So do yourself a favor: close the trading platform, and find something where your odds are actually in your favor.

Your future self will thank you—especially your accountant.