The End Of A Dream: Economic Factors Stimulating the Self Directed IRA Investment Market

Unbeknownst to 98% of working people, the 40 year career plan is over. Statistics show that by age 65 less than 2% of Americans can truly retire in comfort without the help of family members or the government. The lackluster performance of the stock market over the past 6 years has dashed many people's hopes of retiring early. It used to be that you could get a great education, get a great job and settle with a company by the age of 25, keep your nose clean, work your way to the top of the corporate ladder, invest in your company's stock program along the way and by the age of 65 retire from the company you sacrificed for with a good pension and medical expenses covered for the rest of your life.

For many hard working people this is now just wishful thinking and a pipe dream.

Today's norms:

The harsh reality is: Corporate down-sizing (e.g. Gillette, Ford, and GM). Corporate bankruptcies - Enron, Worldcom). Companies robbing corporate pension plans and judges standing by allowing it to happen just ask people working for the airlines, illegal insider stock trading, age discrimination, companies cannot afford to pay health insurance premiums because they have sky-rocketed and guess what? People are living longer.

Other forces: World Instability, unfettered nuclear proliferation, September 11th, natural disasters all cooked together.

Yes, the poor performance of the stock market, lower interest rates and the recent real estate boom have contributed greatly to people looking for alternative investment strategies such as opportunities to invest in real estate with a self directed ira and other retirement funds. But, in of itself this phenomenon is not the only outside stimulus contributing to this financial paradigm shift.

For example, the Internet, information proliferation, people's ability to share information on blogs, the availability of online financial software, and access to real time stock quotes have empowered investors like never before to think outside of the traditional array of investment strategies.

Benefits of investing with a self directed IRA account:

It can stimulate a slowing or sluggish economy A self directed IRA plan is great for recession proofing the economy. For example, money freed up from a retirement account if used to purchase real estate enables construction crews employed.

With the ability to look outside the stock market, an investor may find alternative investment vehicles that are safe, secure and tangible that produce higher returns. This is great for investors who nee to make up for lost time.

Is flexible and permits true retirement diversification and wealth accumulation in tangible assets.

Global investing With your self directed IRA LLC with checkbook control, you can invest in international real estate by simply writing a check from your IRA account and without asking for trust or custodial approval.

Granted self directing your retirement portfolio to purchase real estate is not for everyone as there are IRS rules to follow and a new vocabulary to become familiar with. But seriously, what are your legitimate alternatives?

Joshua Geary is an avid writer, business strategist and online marketing consultant. For more information on how to turn your Self Directed IRA into a wealth building money magnet visit his company online at http://www.MyRealEstateIra.com

Healthcare Cost Rises to Almost $2 Trillion

U.S. spending on healthcare peaked at nearly 2 trillion dollars in 2005. The annual report from the National Health Statistics group was released on Tuesday, and stated the main culprits responsible for the increased healthcare cost include doctors fees, prescription drugs, and hospital fees.

Healthcare spending rose from 1.86 to 1.99 trillion growing at a 1% slower pace that the previous year. M&C news reported, Leading the increase were hospital services, which grew 7.9 percent to $611.6 billion and accounted for 31 percent of all U.S. health care dollars in 2005. Rising labor costs amid a sustained worker shortage were major factors, according to the report, one of the most comprehensive available. Doctor and clinical services rose 7 percent to $421.1 billion, while nursing home and related care went up 6 percent to $121.9 billion.

Prescription drug spending increased to 200.7 billion but was slowed by less use of pain relievers like Mercks blockbuster drug Vioxx that was removed from the market. Although spending on some medication was slowed, according to M&C, medication costs contributed largely to the growing share of costs for those covered by private health insurance plans in 2005, the report said. At the same time, brand name prescription drug prices raised an average of 6 percent. Even as the rate of growth for insurance plan premiums slowed, findings showed consumer out-of-pocket spending rose amid growing drug costs, followed by doctor and dental services.

Although it made up just 1.2% of total healthcare spending, the cost of prescription drugs under the program raised the most, 19.2%. These totals included the new Medicare drug cards but excluded the full benefit that began in January of 06.

Click here for more information on ordering from discount online prescriptions.

Joshua Daly is the author of many health related articles as well as the President of ePharmacies.com Joshua's goal is to help consumers save money and make better informed decisions. Click here for more information on ordering from discount online pharmacy .

Better Investing for Regular People - 10 Keys to Success

Where does a regular person get investment ideas and how does he or she differentiate between the good ideas and the bad ones? I will present 10 tools that can help. And you don't have to be an investment professional to understand them.

Getting good investment ideas --

Good investment ideas come from many sources. The key is to always be on the lookout. The five sources below cover a lot of ground:

1. Stocks with unusual behavior - this is one of my favorites. This category could include stocks with higher than normal volume, price spikes, options activity, crossing moving averages, breaking trend lines or resistance/support lines, gaps up or down, etc. There are a number of sources for lists of most active stocks (Schaeffer's Research, Wall Street Journal Online, Quote.com, etc.) Briefing.com's InPlay feature (available here at Yahoo Finance) is great for stocks showing unusual price or volume activity, breaking resistance/support, reacting to various corporate news events, etc. Unusual options activity (at Schaeffer's Research) is another indicator that can be useful but requires perhaps a bit more sophistication. News feeds from these sites as well as MarketWatch.com and others are a good way of keeping up with stocks undergoing unusual activity.

2. Stock Screeners - with a screener you can search the stock universe for investments that match your criteria. Many sites also provide pre-built screens that make it easy to generate lists of potential investments. These lists are a great starting point in the hunt for investment ideas. Just be sure to do your homework (see the heading below). Screeners can be found at AOL, Morningstar, MSN Money, CNBC, Zacks.com, etc.

3. New highs or new lows lists - looking to ride an existing trend? New highs lists can identify stocks in a strong uptrend. Know a good stock that is being unfairly punished? New lows can help you identify stocks to watch and wait for until they begin to turn around. The same sites that provide unusual activity or stock screeners also list stocks making new highs and lows.

4. Articles on new trends - these might turn up anywhere. The Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily are good sources but any newspaper, magazine or web site might have an article that catches your imagination and gets you thinking about companies that will benefit. You don't have to be an investment professional to do this. Trust yourself!

5. Analyst Recommendations - analysts are often criticized for being late to identify buy or sell opportunities and some are more successful than others. Still, it's generally worthwhile to read what they think if for no other reason than that it helps provide good background on companies and industries. Analysts are quoted in many places, especially the financial newspapers (WSJ, IBD) and various financial web sites (Zacks.com, MarketWatch.com, TheStreet.com, Briefing.com, etc.) Keep an eye out for them.

Doing the homework --

To determine if your investment idea is good enough to commit money to, you should do some basic research on your own, even if it is just to validate the information you read in an analyst research report. You should be comfortable with the fundamentals of the investment as well as the chart. The following five sources provide more than enough to give you an idea of whether you are on the right track:

1. Finance pages at Yahoo or MSN Money - Read and understand the company profile. This is important! If you don't understand a company's business, you probably shouldn't invest in it. Check a few basic numbers like valuation, PE ratio, a few highlights of the income statement and balance sheet. Is it a large company or a small company? Is it even profitable? Check the list of competitors; one of them might be a better investment.

2. Charts at BigCharts.com or StockCharts.com - what's the trend, is the volume telling you anything, is it above or below its moving average, are there other indicators that confirm your opinion? Also check StockConsultant.com and AmericanBulls.com for automated chart analysis.

3. Search blogs at Google or at BlogLines and be sure to search SeekingAlpha.com - blogs are good places to find out what are others saying about an investment or industry. Bloggers can run the gamut from amateurs to seasoned investment professionals but it always helps to hear a few different opinions. Some of the social investing sites (ClearStation.com, CAPS at MotleyFool.com, StockPickr.com, SocialPicks.com, etc.) serve a similar purpose and it can be fun to participate in their communities.

4. Check EDGAR - company SEC filings are available online. Get the details on the revenues, expenses, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, debt, risks, stock option accounting, etc.

5. Google search - You never know what might turn up just by doing a general search on the name of the investment. Articles on your potential investment might be on lesser known industry-oriented web sites; these can often be quite informative if you can handle the industry-specific language.

With these 10 tools in hand, investment success should be a little less mysterious. If 10 seems like too many, a few that you become good at using will certainly help keep your portfolio in shape.

By the way, links to all of these tools are available on the Investor Toolbox page at the Trade-Radar.com web site.

Salvatore Mangano (TradeRadarOperator) -- an individual investor who writes often about investing and is a regular contributor to Seeking Alpha.

http://blog.trade-radar.com

Trader's Daily Routine Checklist

Most traders go day to day trading on the fly, take a position when it "feels right", especially in the heat of the moment when prices are just moving without them. Not preparing for what lies ahead for the day, week or month can be a costly endeavor. Many don't come with a plan, much less a checklist to prepare for the day. Many professionals are preparing two to three hours even before the market opens. It only shows how serious they value their work and money.

No trading is complete without a routine to make good trading habits in preparation for the trades. No good trading results come from lack of preparation. Once a routine is carried out consistently, trading success will come consistently. A basic checklist below will get a new trader started. Modifications can be made accordingly to fit the trader's preferences (use of fundamental or technical analysis), trading style (day, swing, position) and markets (single or multiple markets).

Before market opens
1. Check the day's economic calendar for any scheduled reports and announcements for the day-- This part covers the fundamental analysis. He will be checking the expected numbers against reports that will be publish during the day, recalculating the numbers to find value. (This is typically for the trader whose major strategy is based on fundamentals).
2. Draw up analysis for changes in the fundamental news & reports (interest rate changes, jobless numbers, specific company earnings etc.) to reflect to current market conditions.
3. Check the chart for overnight price action-this is mainly for a trader who trades using technical analysis. Normally he will check to see if the prices have violated any support/resistance area or any numbers that he considers important enough to confirm or reject the current direction or market conditions. In forex, the most popular indicators and tools used are:
a. Fibonacci numbers
b. Floor pivots (daily, weekly, monthly)
c. Support/Resistance areas (daily, week, month)
d. High/Low/Open/Close
e. MACD, RSI, Momentum, Volume, or other indicators.
4. Write a trading plan This step provides the trader to write out his plan for the day, how many trades, how much to risk or make, where he'll be taking the position and where he'll exit, and how large the position size he's going to take.

During market hours
1. During market hours, the trader has a few options at hand:
a. Set alarms to notify crucial levels to trade to change positions that need to be made. (This is for swing and daytraders)
b. Watch news channels (optional) such as CNBC or Bloomberg to make sure there are no sudden economic or political news around the world that may impact market movements such resignation of a president, or terrorist attack on oil field, etc. (This is for daytraders).
c. Monitor the charts and indicators continuously, trendlines, pivots, and redrawing Fibonacci levels. (This is for daytraders).
d. Take positions as dictated in the trading plan. If the setup had appeared during the trading session that was written in the trading plan, execute it accordingly.

After market hours

Trader's Daily Routine Checklist Who Have Signal-Service or Newsletter Subscriptions
1. Check/read newsletters from paid/unpaid subscriptions from signal service, news, analysis, etc. and compare them to trading plan. Analyze them accordingly to be sure these fit into the trading plan.
2. Strategy portfolio management and maintenance-recalculating and verify if the balances are correct and if any instrument has gone outside the percentage of the portfolio. If for example an instrument that was made 30% in gains, these gains must be settled: either by reducing the holdings or hedge with another instrument to ensure the gains made or reduce exposure of the originally instrument.
3. Write/Revise the trading plan for the next day, which pairs to buy/sell, how many or how much, and tactically at what price to buy/sell and exit.

It's not mainly about checking everything and read all the information out there before the market opens. It's about be satisfied with the retaining content that works for the trading system. But most important, creating a routine that becomes the foundation in building success in investing or trading.

Larry Swing CEO & Head Swing Trader swing trading with mrswing.com theboss@mrswing.com +1 (281) 968-2718 Yahoo & Skype ID: larry_swing

Ways To Increase Targeted Web Site Traffic

When it comes to making money off a web site, there is one key element that must be present. That element is traffic. If traffic is low, the returns will be, as well. If traffic is high, and web masters have learned how to increase targeted web site traffic, the returns should be better than average. There are all kinds of ways to increase targeted web site traffic that dont necessarily cost an arm and a leg.

The reasons to work to increase targeted web site traffic are many. Whether a web site is designed to act as a sales outlet or its simply an informational site that hosts affiliate ads, text ads or other such paying promotional spots, the way to garner money is to garner interest in the site itself. Unless a sites operators have learned how to increase targeted web site traffic the pages could get lost in the ether, so to say.

Driving traffic to a site involves learning how to increase targeted web site traffic. There are four major things any web site can do to increase targeted web site traffic and hits without spending a fortune on graphics and designs. Lets look at each.

Keywords

Search engines are often the mode most people use to find new web sites. Getting good placement in most search engines involves the use of keywords and key phrases. When these are used correctly, its possible to increase targeted web site traffic. Keywords are nothing more than the words a person might use to find a site like yours. When these are used in the titles of articles, in the articles themselves and on the pages, its possible to increase targeted web site traffic.

Link trading

Another great way to increase targeted web site traffic is to trade links with other similar or complementary sites. This can be achieved by simply e-mailing the owner or manager of another site or by getting involved with services that exchange links. This way to increase targeted web site traffic generally doesnt cost anything other than dedicating a small space to the exchange site for its own link.

Keep content fresh

One of the things that helps increase targeted web site traffic is to keep a site fresh and interesting. The more its updated, the better. This can help keep the same users coming back to learn and read more and it can assist in better search engine placements and link exchanges, too. Dont discount this for helping to increase targeted web site traffic.

Learning to increase targeted web site traffic isnt very difficult and it doesnt have to cost a lot of money. With some careful planning, almost anyone can have a site that gets a fair amount of hits on a daily basis.

Milos Pesic is a Marketing and Adsense expert and runs a highly popular and comprehensive Adsense Secrets web site. For more articles and resources on Adsense related topics, Adsense tips and tricks, Adsense arbitrage, Adsense templates, Adsense traffic, Adsense alternatives and much more visit his site at:

=>http://adsense.need-to-know.net/

Finding Real Estate In Wichita KS

Wichita is largest city in the state of Kansas and, as may not be known by many people, is also known as the Air Capital of the World. This epithet was given because this city is a hub of aircraft manufacturing and is home to six major aircraft manufacturing companies. Wichita is also home to the McConnell Air Force Base. A recent estimate shows that Wichita has a population of about 360,000 and is ranked as the 51st largest city in the United States.

The 2000 census suggests that there were 139,087 households and 87,763 families residing in the Wichita. The median household income in the city was $39,939 and the median family income is $49,247.

Wichita is vulnerable to extremes in weather, with the average low temperature being 17.6F in January and the average high temperature being 94F in the month of July. The city also witnesses violent thunderstorms and occasional hail and lightning.

The Wichita school district and parts of the Haysville and Derby school districts bolster the education system in the city. Public schools include Wichita Heights High School and Wichita Southeast High School. A number of colleges and universities like Butler Community College and Newman University have been prominent members of the educational fabric of Wichita.

This city has always been a favorite point of reference for filmmakers and this phenomenon may be found in films like Twister, Firewall, A League of their Own, and Arlington Road. The city has various attractions of which Botanica and The Wichita Gardens are most famous. Every May, the Downtown and Old Town areas of Wichita play host to the Wichita River Festival.

Wichita is rather active in sports and this as evidenced by the fact that the city has its own baseball, indoor soccer, arena football, rugby and ice hockey teams.

A pioneer in the Wichita aviation industry was a company named TravelAir that employed over 600 workers in the 1920s. It ran well, employing hundreds, until the stock market crash in 1929 when a large part of the workforce had to be laid off. In the pre and post war periods, Wichita has always been a significant hub for entrepreneurial business activity with companies like Mentholatum, Pizza Hut and White Castle all being founded in the city. To ensure that the entrepreneurial spirit continues to flourish, Wichita State University formed a Center for Entrepreneurship.

Like much of the Midwest, Kansas, and especially Wichita, is slowly growing and in terms of real estate. Housing is affordable and there are plenty of bargains available for both savvy and novice investors.

The first step when looking for real estate in Wichita is to speak with a mortgage professional. It is important to know exactly how much you can afford before you begin to start seriously looking to purchase a new property. You should also take the time to speak to speak with a number of real estate agents. It is important that you work with an agent that you are comfortable with and that you trust.

MyRefi.com offers an extensive amount of Wichita KS Real Estate information and resources. Search for Sedgwick County KS Real Estate or get pre-approved for a Kansas Mortgage today!

Currency Trading or Stock Trading, The Choice Is Yours

Stock trading has been a sought after resource for hundreds of years.

Companies undertake stock trading to increase finance for growth and new projects, with each percentage of the stock representing a part ownership or share in the business. When the business does prosper and makes a surplus, the value of its stocks increase. Stock owners can dispose of their shares for a gain or keep the stock with a view to even greater profit in the future. On occasion, companies will issue dividends with the proceeds being distributed to share holders.

Stock are traded on stock exchanges, with most transactions being handled by means of brokers who charge a commission or fee for this service.

American stock exchanges embrace the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ). Most stocks are exclusively listed on one exchange, though big companies may have listings on a number of exchanges.

Stock trades were traditionally viewed as long term investments. So called 'blue chip' stock trading, ( those having proven value over numerous years ) will often form the basis of an investment portfolio. Short term trading is a comparatively new experience made plausible with the arrival of Internet marketing. These short term or "Day Traders" try to gain a trading edge arising from large daily fluctuations in the market, by buying and trading numerous times in one trading spell. It is somewhat risky, and any proceeds realized are reduced by broker commissions charged on each deal.

Stocks may occasionally be bought on margin, meaning that the investor borrows currency to buy the stock. Margin rates are commonly about 50% with the investor able to borrow as much as half the value of the stock.

Currency or FOREX Trading

The Foreign Exchange Market is entirely different to the stock exchange. By comparison to the stock exchange, currency trading is essentially a short term market. Most traders open and close deals within a 24 hour spell and at times within a few minutes.

Numerous currency trading trades can be made in one day without building up a big brokerage fee because currency trading trades are commission exempt. Brokers earn payment by setting a spread percentage of the difference between asking and selling prices.

Foreign Currency Exchange Trading is the largest monetary market in the planet. It handles transactions worth $1.5 trillion every day. in contrast, all the American stock exchanges together handle transactions worth around $100 billion every day . The vast quantity of currency trading means that it is one of the most liquid markets in the world.

There is always a buyer and seller for any type of currency because the world economy relies on the movement of goods between countries. The stock market offers less liquidity than the FOREX market as participants may elect to retain their investments, or alternatively, shift on to alternate markets.

It is worth noting that foreign currency trading is not located in any one place. Trading markets are located world wide and because of diversity in time-zones trades can be made 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, while stock exchanges have more restricted trading hours. While it is feasible to trade on exchanges world-wide, each exchange is an independent entity and operates for just 7 hours a day. There is no way to buy or sell a particvular stock that is only traded on one stock exchange when that exchange is not open.

Additional advantages of currency trading that should be noted are that it is more predictable than stock trading.

It follows well determined trends; and allows high leverage when compared to the stock market and it does not command a large investment, as small accounts can get you started with much less than $500

Antony Wilton has been a long term investor in both stocks and currencies. His web site is considered an Authority Site on this topic, with hundreds of currency trading related articles and valuable advice. See for yourself at =>http://www.currencytradingdiscovery.com

Real Estate Investment 2005 - The Hottest Countries for Investment in 2005

Whether you are a real estate investor looking for a steady and safe investment in a proven market or a real estate speculator willing to gamble on the unknown and undiscovered in the hopes of gaining a significant ROI (return on investment), this article covers the real estate investment hotspots for 2005.

A recent UK government report discovered that there was a 250% increase between 2000 and 2004 in the number of Britons buying property abroad solely for investment purposes, and this trend does not seem to be limited to the UK nor does it seem to be slowing down!

The global stock markets seem to be in decline, there is a worldwide pension crisis looming and we have uncertainty in the Middle East, in the UK the housing market is unaffordable, possibly over inflated and unlikely to bring significant returns for investors late in on the game and so more and more of us are looking further a field for our investment opportunities. This has led us to look around the world for the next big thing - the next real estate boom.

So whats hot for 2005?

The latest EU entrants are proving of continued interest to the property investor as are those countries in line for EU ascension in 2007.

The likes of Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic and Cyprus who joined the EU in 2004 were hot before they joined and have proved solid for investors already in the market and are looking like safe bets for 2005 as well. Growth is set to be steady, the economies of these countries are improving and investor confidence is strong.

Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and even North Cyprus who are lining up for ascension consideration in 2007 have solid emerging real estate markets which are proving of interest to the property speculator. Clearly the risk involved in investing in countries not already in line with EU fiscal and legal legislation is greater, however, so are potential returns.

The attraction of such markets to property speculators is quite simple these countries are working hard to improve infrastructure, attract inward investment, stabilise their economies and promote tourism, and ultimately they are hoping for EU ascension as this brings with it vast potential for economic advancement. In the meantime these countries often have deflated real estate markets offering incredible property bargains and undiscovered and under exposed tourism potential all of which adds up to potentially significant returns for anyone in on the real estate investment game.

Eastern Europe is opening up thanks to the budget airlines carving swathes of routes into all corners from Ljubljana to Salzburg, from Krakow to Riga and also thanks to overseas property investment clubs. It is now possible to invest in overseas property funds meaning your money can go far further than you ever have to!

Its possible to invest in funds which purchase and manage real estate in Spain, Slovenia, Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia etc., etc. These funds work just like any other general investment fund. The investors money is pooled and the fund managers then purchase a range of investments in this case a range of properties in various locations and manage them.

Anyone looking to invest in such a property fund should expect a minimum investment of around $10,000 - $20,000 with a 1% upfront fee, a 1% management fee and a performance fee. Obviously charges and investment rates vary from fund to fund and returns are not guaranteed.

There is still room for expansion in the popular property hotspots of Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. The markets in these countries are proven, strong and ever popular, and if you head off the beaten track, away from the main tourist destinations and airports you are still likely to find significant real estate investment opportunities.

New flight routes and new areas of interest in these European destinations are attracting more real estate investors month on month and the word in the market is that if you are interested in these countries you should consider the northern parts of Costa Almeria or Costa Calida in Spain for example, the Costa de Prata in Portugal or Languedoc, the Cote dAzur and surprisingly, Paris in France.

Further a field Dubai and Florida are established, proven markets with room for growth, Bahrain and Canada are countries worth considering, as are New Zealand and South Africa. The latter is of particular interest to speculators as it is set to host the world cup in 2010, the Rand is weak, the political situation is stable, it is possible to buy yourself out of crime hotspots and the scenery is diverse, breath taking and stunning and the property market is definitely hot!

If you are considering real estate investment for the first time or are keen to increase your presence in the real estate investment market place, make sure you are comfortable with any investment before you go ahead and sign on the dotted line. Read around and do plenty of research - the internet is a great place to start research the country you are considering investing in, and any investment, real estate or legal company you are considering getting involved with. Seek independent advice and always keep in mind that the value of any investment can go down as well as up.

To your success cheers!

Rhiannon Williamson is an experienced publisher who has produced articles for leading travel and tourism guides and financial magazines. Her specialist knowledge about both travel and finance gives her site Shelter Offshore the unique ability to literally cover every single aspect of moving & living abroad - including the often less discussed offshore tax advantages that can be available when leaving our homeland.

Forex Trading Software

If you are looking to get started trading the Forex, you will find that there are numerous software programs available (both web based and desktop based) for you to use in your trading. In fact, most brokers offer clients a software package for free or as part of their trading account. Usually the software that comes with your trading account is a very basic "bare bones" model. Sometimes, more features are available for a price. The software packages your broker provides can be an important consideration in choosing a broker. You may want to download and try some different packages using a demo account. This will give you a better idea of which software package you find most suitable to your unique style of trading.

Forex trading software comes in two basic flavors - desktop software, and web based software. Which one you choose to work with depends on your preference and other more technical factors. Obviously, the Forex market is very dynamic and you need to have the most reliable up to date connection to the data as possible. Your internet connection speed is a factor here, and if you can afford it, you really should be connecting via broadband.

Your internet connection speed is just one of the factors you should consider when selecting forex trading software. The biggest consideration should be one of security.

Generally speaking, web based forex software is more secure than a desktop based software package. Why is that? Well, with a desktop software, your information and data is stored on your hard drive thus making it vulnerable to numerous security issues. If your computer became infected by a virus, your personal data and the integrity of your trading system can become compromised. Likewise, in the event of hard drive failure, your important data can be lost. Then there is the threat of prying eyes accessing your trading systems.

Luckily, if you choose to go with a desktop based software for your forex trading, you can do some things to limit the risks. For starters, a dedicated computer just for trading the forex would be a wise investment. Due to the popularity of forex trading, there are computers made specifically with a forex traders needs in mind. Even if you cant afford a dedicated machine, you should still apply the following tips to your trading computer:

* Password protect your trading software and personal data
* Make regular backups of your trading data
* Use a anti virus program and keep it up to date
* Update your trading software regularly

If you choose to go with a web based trading software, allot of the security and maintenance issues are handled by the provider. Online based forex systems are hosted on secure servers, the same type of servers credit card processing is handled on. This gives you a great deal of protection, as your data is encrypted. Also, backups and mirrors of your account data are made by your software provider to protect you from data loss.

Aside from the security considerations, you may find that an online based trading software is simply more convenient. There is no software to download as the software runs in your regular web browser. This means that you always will have access to the latest versions and features. Also, if you travel you will certainly appreciate the ability to log in and trade from any computer with an internet connection.

As you can see, there are many options in forex trading software. You ultimately should choose to work with the software that you personally find easiest and most intuitive to use.

For more information on Forex Trading Software and Forex trading systems, visit our sites, Forex Investing, and Forex Today