Contents
Starting to day trade with $500 can be a great way to ease into the world of day trading. Here are some tips on how to get started.
Checkout this video:
Introduction
Opening a brokerage account and day trading with $500 is possible, but you must start slowly, learn how to trade without putting too much risk on the table, and use a very small percentage of your overall capital on each trade. Day trading is high risk and you can easily lose all or most of your $500 account balance in a single day if you don’t know what you’re doing.
That being said, this page will teach you how to day trade with $500 by starting with small position sizes, only risking a small portion of your capital on each trade, and slowly increasing your trading activity as you gain experience and confidence.
What is day trading?
Day trading is the act of buying and selling a financial instrument within the same day or even multiple times over the course of a day. Taking advantage of small price moves can be a lucrative game—if it is played correctly. But it can be a dangerous game for newbies or anyone who doesn’t adhere to a well-thought-out strategy. What’s more, not all brokers are suited for the high volume of trades made by day traders. Some brokers, however, are designed with the day trader in mind. You can check out our list of the best brokers for day trading to see which brokers best accommodate those who would like to day trade.
Why start with $500?
The question of how much money to start day trading with is a contentious one. Some people will tell you that you need at least $5,000 to get started, others will say that $500 is all you need. So which is it?
The answer, as is so often the case in trading, is that it depends. If you want to day trade stocks, you’re going to need more than $500. But if you’re interested in day trading forex or futures, then you might be able to get started with just a few hundred dollars.
Why does the amount of money you start with matter? Because the stock market is a zero-sum game. For every winner, there must be a loser. And the size of your account will determine how much risk you can take on without running the risk of blowing up your account.
If you have $500 in your account and you’re willing to risk 2% per trade, that means you can take on trades worth up to $10 per point. So if you’re trading the E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract, which trades at around $50 per point, your maximum loss would be $500 (2% of $25,000).
Now, if you had $5,000 in your account and were willing to risk the same 2% per trade, your maximum loss would be $100 (2% of $5,000). See how that works? The more money you have in your account, the more leeway you have when it comes to taking on losing trades.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that having less money in your account is always better. If you only have a few thousand dollars to work with, then you might not be able to take on as many trades as someone with a larger account. And if each trade requires a minimum of 100 shares (which is common), then someone with a smaller account might not be able to trade at all.
It’s important to remember that there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to how much money to start day trading with. It all depends on your goals and risk tolerance. So before deciding how much money to put into your trading account, make sure that you have a good understanding of what kind of risks you’re comfortable taking on.
How to day trade with $500
It is possible to day trade with $500, but you will need to make some adjustments. Day trading refers to the act of buying and selling a security within the same day. This means that you will need to have access to capital so that you can buy a security and then sell it when the price goes up.
With $500, you will need to focus on trading penny stocks or micro-cap stocks. These are stocks that trade for less than $5 per share. You will also need to be careful with your position sizes so that you do not overleverage your account and get yourself into trouble.
It is also important to remember that day trading is a risky strategy and there is the potential to lose money. You should only trade with money that you can afford to lose.
What to expect when day trading with $500
When you start day trading with $500, you can expect to see some limitations. For instance, most brokers will not allow you to day trade if you have less than $25,000 in your account. This is because they want to see that you have enough money to cover the losing days.
With $500, you will also be limited in the number of trades that you can make in a day. This is because each trade will require at least $5 in commission fees round trip. That means for 10 trades, you will be paying $50 in commissions, which is 10% of your account balance.
You will also need to factor in the cost of your data feed, which could be another $50 per month. So, with all of these costs taken into consideration, it is important to have a clear idea of what your goals are before starting to day trade with $500.
While it is possible to make a living day trading with $500, it will require some discipline and careful money management. You will need to set clear goals and stick to a strict plan in order to make it work.
