You can hold a rollover contract (non physical commodity) as long as you are not out of trust with margin. I am a day trader and have never held through a contract expiry but I am not aware of additional fees involved. The idea of holding until profitability doesn't sound like something part of a defined risk/reward trade plan, without which one stands no chance of succeeding.
Welcome to ET Rooi! ET is the diamond capital of trading forums. The gems are here, just requires digging and sifting and researching. Unfortunately there is no quick trip to trading's destination, be prepared for many hours of work, but that work can be made fun, the brain can cope with anything you set your mind to. Wishing you success.
%% Good points Rooi; + an exception to the rule follows. Jack Schwager top trading books can be gotten free @ public library , but pays to buy them-they're that good. But best to learn to trade without leverage, most do not do it that way .....LOL
You can get a lot out of "Chat with Traders". Listen to a bunch of the interviews, take some notes - key on the points most of them emphasize. This should help you get a foundation of what really matters. It is free. You should not have to pay much at all for your training other than maybe buying a few used books - be critical of people trying to sell you training - most, but not all, are the traders that wiped out and have turned their sights on newbies. Just ask them for their tax returns to see their rate of return - they will run for cover. Good traders are independent thinkers and highly self reliant - they do go into live trading rooms or pay for newsletters, etc. Also GOOGLE 'success rate of day traders' - now a days competing in day trading means your competing with HFTs, quants, algos - a real shark pool. Read up on the published studies to figure out what type of trader you want to be (day/swing/trend/positional). If you did the step above you will be smart enough to not day trade. Also forget using futures the first few years because you are sure to have consistence loses during the learning curve. It will take at least 3-5 years to get some what competent with trading. Trade small as a newbie so you will be around to reap in the rewards later on. https://soundcloud.com/chat-with-traders
Quick word of advice: Don't trust anyone. There's many people here with good intentions who sincerely think they're helping people, but since they're not yet successful themselves, they really have no business giving others advice in serious matters like these. My best advice to you would be to maximize your income through a high paid job and invest your surplus in real estate and index funds. Re-invest your profits. In 10 years, you should be reasonably well off. If you try to gamble away your money as a trader, you might find yourself broke in 10 years with only countless hours of frustration on your CV. If you do however decide to proceed with trying to become a trader, please don't make any real live trading in 1-2 years. Do the study and preparations first. Don't be in a hurry to start losing your money.
In case it wasn't clear, you need to consider the opportunity cost of the hours you put in trying to become a trader. 10.000 hours has been quoted as the figure needed to become an expert in any field. Trading is no different. The difference in trading is there is no one holding your hand. You will never get a curriculum or a degree. So, you might find yourself having invested 5.000 hours with nothing but debt, hairloss and stress to show for. Putting in those 5.000 hours in a degree or a job certainly leaves you with a guaranteed something.
Lots of good advice here for an education in trading. Futures Institute from @CME is great. https://institute.cmegroup.com/. The Chat With Traders podcast referenced above is wonderful. I also suggest Futures Radio which is hosted by Anthony Crudele. He releases two podcasts per week with fresh trading insight from a long list of traders. http://www.futuresradioshow.com/.