Our CPA is saying we will be classified as a dealer/trader and subject self employment tax on the first 150k then regular short term capital gains tax.

It places a huge target on your back for Ex's and lawsuits.

If your not interested in real estate and don't want to trade this market (it's a traders market now; not ideal for long term investment) i'd get your own fiscal house in order and hoard cash and wait for yields to rise - and rise they will.

career" was trash anyway, the prospects of starting over and paying all my money to daycare just didn't make any sense, so I started some side things from home and stayed home while my wife (who used to work in retail, but is now a bank manager) continued working.She lost her job, and I had to stop my forex day trading to fund our bills for about six months until she got back on her feet.

I would look at the Canadian dollar for FOREX trading but not real estate.

Groucho had a reputation of being wealthy and was asked about it afterwards by one of the floor traders.The SETUP: Trader: "Groucho, where do you invest your money?"

Look at people who trade forex, options, and futures.

As a stock trader it would have been unheard of and impossible to have traded without a broker.

Hedge Funds do not like to get their hands dirty, they are not business operators they are skimmers and traders.

When you say trader, what comes to your mind, a stock trader or a fur trader, lol?