If you ever wanted to exchange your local money for a foreign currency (before the credit cards age, when you went on vacation abroad, you needed to exchange money), then you still remember how you looked at different exchange houses and banks, in your wish to get the most out of your money.
Now expand this thinking at international scale: the exchange rates of various currencies are not identical all over the world. For example the exchange rate of USD to EURO is not the same in USA as in European countries. If only you could exploit this difference by buying low and selling high, your earnings could skyrocket, providing that you have some capital to invest in this trade. But how can anyone be in two different locations at the same time?
Forex Can Help You Be In Many Places At Once
This was not possible 20 years ago, but now, with the Internet which brings the world closer together, you can do it. FOREX is the system which allows you to trade currencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (366 in 2008). It is just like going to a brick and mortar exchange office in any country you wish, and change your money into other currency. The only difference is that offices are virtual, allowing you to make transactions even when everybody else is sleeping.
Futures contracts are also possible. Futures are agreements to buy or sell a specific amount of a commodity or financial instrument at a set price on a specific future date. Let’s take this example: you pair USD with EURO, and you make a contract for trading 100 USD for 70 EURO six months from now. If after 6 months 100 USD will be valued at 50 EURO, you gained 20 EURO over the market price for your 100 bucks. If the US dollar goes higher than your contracted exchange rate, then you lose. There are no guarantees for success, but if you can smell a market trend you can grow your 100 bucks into thousands just overnight.