I am going to be honest right at the beginning of this article. I want to try and put you off financial spread betting. This is right, I want you to really think about it. I bet you haven’t heard that before.

Why am I wasting my time writing trying to persuade you not to take up financial spread betting? Well all I read is how good it is. I want you to get a really balanced picture, not just ‘investments can go down as well as up’ line you read at the end of other articles. If you still want to do it at the end of this then great.

I think that the easiest way to get your attention is by talking about money and letting you know that you are likely to lose it. How good are you at coping when you lose? Can you take it on the chin and move onto the next trade? The best traders can. Do you have the discipline to bet small so you can make it through the first year in tact ready for another one?

Not many traders survive the first year so if you have then a very well done. It is an achievement that you should be proud about. Now the real work begins, now you want to make some money. This is where it gets really hard. The big profits in financial spread betting usually only come to a small number of traders.

Do you have a personal life? If you decide to do financial spread betting then you are like to lose it. The best traders (the ones that make the money) are watching the market throughout the day and night. They do it for the love of it. Do you have the passion to put the hours in?

If you are still reading this then you are obviously serious about it. That is good because you need to be committed to your next task. There are so many financial spread betting companies out there, now you have to select one!