Have you been lured by the promise of the easy profits claimed by FOREX signal providing companies? On the surface, using trading signals seems like a foolproof method for making a lot of money, but can it really be that easy - or are you being ripped off?

It is possible to find FOREX signal providers that will give you consistent profits over the long term, but not all companies are created equally.

If you're paying anything from $50 to $500 per month for their service, you want to know that you're getting what you paid for. Your best way of finding that out is to test their service, but first find out how to read the signals for yourself so that you'll know what you're looking at and for.

Forex Patterns & Probabilities:
Trading Strategies for Trending & Range-Bound Markets
(Wiley Trading)

Not only will you then know if the information you're being given is reliable, but you'll also be able to start predicting trends for yourself as you see the entry and exit points.

If you find one of the better FOREX signal providers, you'll be able to sign up for a free demo account. This has at least one major advantage for you - you can play at trading without risking any money.

Doing this will let you get the feel of trading without the pressure of getting it wrong and it will let you see if the information being sent to you is worth the amount they're charging.

No signal will be 100% accurate all of the time, but are the entry and exits points they're sending you right the majority of the time? Will they perform well enough to get back the money paid out to the company plus a sizable profit?

If you know how it all works to start with, you'll be able to see if a trend is going your way and bail out if it's going against you, rather than being taken by surprise in a volatile market and just hoping for the best.

More importantly, you'll be able to stop paying the FOREX trading signal service, instantly helping you boost profits because expenses are being kept down.

So are FOREX signal providers worth the money? Yes - they can be worth the money if you get the right company, but you'll eventually want to know how to control the situation on your own, too.

It's possible to make, and occasionally lose, fortunes on the FOREX market, but it's possible to make sure you're more successful than the majority of traders, too!Be prepared, because chances are, you'll have losses along the way.

Tip #1 - Be prepared to trade at least $1,000. You can open accounts for as little as $200, but if the market becomes volatile, that may not be enough to get you through. Start with at least $1,000 in a micro account and then upgrade it to a mini account as your profits increase.

Tip #2 - Sensible leverage. You will find that small amounts of money will let you control large amounts of currency, but, start small while you're getting used to trading as your capital investment can quickly get wiped out as you're coming to grips with everything that's going on. Also, you need to make sure you can cover the occasional margin call.

Turning Losing FOREX Trades into Winners:
Proven Techniques to Reverse Your Losses
(Wiley Trading)

Tip #3 - Having a winning FOREX system. Don't buy the first system you see! Creating your own system is not as difficult as you may think. Sign up with a company that offers a demo account and 'play' with it until you can see trends for yourself.

You won't be risking any money and you will see how the market reacts to signals rather than relying on information that is sent to you, every so often you may need to react to trends yourself so get to know how to use the market before that happens.

Tip #4 - Risk management. You will be making money by either buying or selling on the FOREX market, but the trick is knowing when to get out of the trade. To protect yourself you need to set your stop losses at a level that's comfortable for you - and never change your system while trading. If done correctly, your stop losses should help to ensure you are profitable in the long run.

Tip #5 - Keep on practicing! Don't get distracted by the money people are making on the FOREX markets. If you rush into the markets, you could lose your money quicker than you can image.

Set up your demo account and then practice, when you've had enough practice some more, you need to be completely at ease with your trading system. When you can see what is happening in the markets and your system can cope with it then you can think about using real money - but you need to keep your discipline and stick with your system.