Routes through the courseSix lessons on the three costs of a trade and how account type and holding period change them.

Stop losing money to spreads and swaps

Lessons on this route

6 lessons

1. 1 · Lesson 1.5

   The three costs: spread, commission, swap

   You pay the spread on entry, commission on some account types, and swap for every night a position stays open. All three are known before you trade.

2. 2 · Lesson 1.6

   Overnight swap and swap-free accounts

   Swap is the daily cost of holding a leveraged position. A swap-free account removes it and usually replaces it with another charge.

3. 3 · Lesson 1.13

   Account types: standard, raw spread, cent

   The same trade costs different amounts on different account types. Raw spread accounts move the cost into commission rather than removing it.

4. 4 · Lesson 2.11

   Scalping: why costs decide the outcome

   At a few pips per trade, the spread and commission are most of the result. The lesson is the arithmetic, before the technique.

5. 5 · Lesson 2.13

   Swing and position trading

   Holding for days or weeks moves the cost from spread to swap and the risk from one session to overnight gaps.

6. 6 · Lesson 2.14

   Sessions, news and the calendar

   Which hours a pair actually moves in, and which scheduled releases widen spreads enough to matter to a stop.