Need Advice on Starting Capital. First time investing

First Time Investing 🎓
1

Hi everyone!
I’ve been studying forex for the past 3 months and developed a trading strategy that seems fine for me. I’ve been testing it on demo accounts and seeing consistent results, but now I’m ready to go live and honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed about how much to invest initially.
My situation:

  • Developed a swing trading strategy focusing on EUR/USD and GBP/USD
  • Maintained 8% monthly returns on demo
  • Have $15,000 saved for trading (money I can afford to lose)

My strategy:

  • Focus on major pairs during London/NY overlap
  • Risk 1-2% per trade max
  • Hold positions 2-5 days typically
  • Use technical analysis + economic calendar timing

My question: How much should I start with?

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Dear TortuousMicrobe7072,

Always demo with the same amount you would use in a live account. If you plan to trade live with $5,000, then test your strategy on demo with the same $5,000. In my opinion, three months of testing is too short, I would recommend at least six months. An 8% monthly return target is too high, which suggests that your strategy will operate with high risk, potentially leading to your account being wiped out. You should also use an account size that allows you to properly size your positions to just 1–2% of your total balance. It’s crucial not to start on low timeframes. Stick to at least the H1 (1-hour) timeframe or higher, anything below that is not suitable for beginners.

Regards,
Chris

1 Like
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I was in a very similar position about a year ago. I had been demo trading my swing strategy (also on EUR/USD and GBP/USD) for 4-5 months before going live but wasn’t sure how much to start with. So I’ll share what worked for me:

I started live with $2,000 - about 15% of my total trading capital. Here’s why:

Psychology changes when real money is on the line, even if you’ve been killing it on demo.
I wanted to test execution, spreads, withdrawals, and my discipline with small stakes.
With TradeEU Global, I still had full access to tools like economic calendar integration, position size calculator, and risk controls even with a small account.

After 2 solid months of consistent results and NO emotional blowups, I added another $3,000, then scaled gradually. Now I’ve got my full capital in there, but it was a staged approach that helped build confidence.

Extra Advice:

Start live with $1.5k-$3k max
That’s enough to trade micro/mini lots with 1-2% risk per setup, and still keep perspective. TradeEU Global allows you to scale sensibly without pushing into over-leverage.
Even if you’re trading small, treat it as if you’re trading your full capital. That helps you stay professional and assess whether your system holds up under real-world pressure.

Execution, slippage, platform reliability, and most importantly your emotions. I’ve had zero issues with TradeEU Global on execution or withdrawals, which gave me the peace of mind to scale up.

Even if it’s $50. Doing this early builds confidence that your broker pays out. I’ve made 10+ withdrawals with TradeEU Global - all processed in under 24 hours.

You’ve done the prep. Now treat live trading as the final part of the test phase, not the finish line. Start with small and scale once your edge proves itself again.

Good luck and feel free to ask if you want help setting up risk parameters or broker stuff! :raising_hands:

4

Dear DeanWrl,

according to BrokerChooser’s Scam Broker Shield, TradeEU Global is considered high-risk because it is not regulated by any top-tier financial authority like the FCA (UK) or ASIC (Australia). It was also listed on a financial warning list as recently as August 2024, which raises serious red flags for investors.

Regards,
Chris