Back To Even…and Beyond: My Story of Financial Success.

It was August of 2008, and I watched as Jim Cramer, host of the CNBC show, Mad Money, practically ordered viewers to liquidate their holdings in the stock market. Supposedly Wall Street was about to collapse. Upon hearing this, I smugly took a peek at my 27% year-to-date investment returns, and laughed at the crazy man.

I confidently held onto every investment ...and then of course, I watched them all dwindle in the coming months. By the end of the year, my 401K was slashed in half and my other investments disappeared like a cloud of smoke.

For a short period of time, I blamed my loss on greed and arrogance. But when I realized it was no use dwelling on the past, I saddled up the horse and I looked toward the future. I challenged myself to get back to even. I got back into stocks and bolstered my portfolio by sensibly diversifying. I also started to take the advice of the mad man that I ignored in the first place, Jim Cramer.

Eventually, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel that I had dug myself into. To my surprise, most of my returns came from Forex. With the help of some knowledgeable friends, I gained some information on the incredibly volatile and lucrative Forex market. I learned the basics from my friends and a couple of helpful websites. There are many broker scammers out there, but my friends directed me to Oanda. Oanda had great reviews from their clients, and receives an A+ review from me as well. In my opinion, customer reviews are a priceless tool. Why try things blindly when you can hear about other people’s experiences first? For this reason, I’m always on the hunt for feedback from people who have had success. Personal testimony always sells it to me. My personal favorite method of hearing about people’s investing/trading experience is in the form of forums or blogs. One particular blog stands out in my mind as very helpful. I've provided the link to you below. I encourage you to read about some of this person’s experiences. I got lots of invaluable information from reading his blogs, especially in respect to the Forex market.

With a healthy portfolio and smart Forex trading, I got back to even fairly quickly and didn't stop there. I hope my success story gives you the drive and passion to also succeed. With a little determination and effort anyone can get back to even...and beyond! Best of luck in all your financial endeavors!