XAUUSD trading plan template (free PDF and Word)
A fill-in trading plan for gold traders: goals, sessions, two setups with rules, risk limits, news rules, a journal routine and a review page. Print the PDF or edit the Word file.
Download the trading plan template
A fill-in trading plan for gold traders: goals, sessions, two setups with rules, risk limits, news rules, a journal routine and a review page. Print the PDF or edit the Word file.
No email or account needed. Education only, not financial advice.
This free XAUUSD trading plan template gives you every section a gold trading plan needs, ready to fill in. Download the printable PDF to write on, or the editable Word file to type into; neither needs a sign-up. It has eight sections: goals and constraints, market and sessions, two setups written as rules, risk rules with daily and weekly stops, news rules for CPI, NFP and FOMC days, your journal routine, and a review page with a plan change log. Fill it in once, keep it next to the screen, and change it only at a scheduled review.
What's inside
- Goals and constraints. Why you trade, process goals for three months, the money you could lose in full, your hours and your stage (demo, small live, live).
- Market and sessions. Your contract size, time zone, the sessions and window you trade, timeframes for bias, setup and entry, and times you never trade.
- Two setups with rules. Context, location, trigger, order type, stop, target and management, and the 'no trade if' conditions for each setup.
- Risk rules. Risk per trade, maximum trades per day, daily and weekly stops, maximum open risk, minimum reward-to-risk and drawdown rules, with the sizing formula and a worked example.
- News rules. The high-impact events you plan around, the no-entry window before and after, what you do with open trades, and your weekend rule.
- Journal routine and review. What you do before the session, after every trade and at the end of the day; the numbers you review weekly and monthly; rules about you; and a change log.
How to use it
- Read our guide to building a XAUUSD trading plan, then fill in the template section by section. Leave nothing blank.
- Write each setup so a stranger could trade it from your words alone. If you can't, the setup isn't defined yet.
- Set the risk numbers before you place another trade, and put the daily stop where you will actually respect it.
- Trade the plan on a demo account for at least a month, logging every trade in the journal spreadsheet.
- Review on the date you wrote on page 1. Change one thing at a time, and record why in the change log.
Related lessons, tools and courses
The trading plan template summarises free material on this site. These pages go deeper:
- How to build a XAUUSD trading plan
- 30-day demo account practice plan
- XAUUSD risk management lesson
- Position size calculator
- Free gold risk management course
- XAUUSD pre-trade checklist (PDF)
More free files: candlestick patterns cheat sheet, chart patterns cheat sheet, trading journal spreadsheet, pre-trade checklist, and the gold trading starter kit. See them all on the free downloads page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the trading plan template free?
Yes. Both the PDF and the Word file are free downloads with no sign-up, email or payment.
Can I edit the trading plan template?
Yes. The .docx file opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs (upload it to Drive and open with Docs), LibreOffice and Pages, so you can type straight into the tables. The PDF is designed to print and fill in by hand.
What should a XAUUSD trading plan include?
At minimum: the sessions you trade, each setup written as rules (context, location, trigger, stop, target), your risk per trade with daily and weekly limits, what you do around high-impact news, and how and when you review your results. The template has a section for each.
How much should I risk per trade in my plan?
Many traders cap it at 0.5% to 1% of the account per trade so that a normal losing streak stays survivable. The right figure depends on your strategy’s drawdowns, which you only learn from a journal. The template asks you to write the number down and the drawdown at which you cut it.
How often should I change my trading plan?
Only at scheduled reviews, for example monthly, and only with evidence from your journal. Changing rules in the middle of a losing streak usually means changing them for emotional reasons.
Is the template only for gold?
It is written for XAUUSD, with gold’s contract size, sessions and news events, but the structure works for any market if you change those fields.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss.