LOL, it's a lot of work, long hours and you need a lot of skill. The make 100k a year because they deserve it.
I would definitely not use your hard-earned money to learn about trading. Put it in a CD and try to get another job while trying out trading on the side with small amount of $$$. This is even more relevant since you're not in a good psychological state.
What's going well for you: 1) You have enough capital to withstand what life throws at you 2) You have no mortgage and little to no debt (other than 1 kid's college tuition) 3) You sold your house, why do you think this is a bad move? With the massive layoffs on wallstreet, the impact to the ny/nj housing market hasnt even started yet. What's not going well for you: 1) Your emotion If i were you what would i do: 1) Take a few weeks off, spend some time with the family, etc.. 2) Then review your trading plan, take 40k from your account and start trading with them in SMALL positions to rebuild confidence and improve your methods. You probably want to post another message focusing on your trading plans, to get some feedback. edit: just saw your reply, replace the word trading with investing then
According to MorningStar, the top performing mutual fund returned about 24% annualized over the last 10 years, while the average one returned less than 5%: http://screen.morningstar.com/FundSearch/FundRank.html?fundCategory=all&screen=tr10yr If you think you can beat all of them, go for it.
It's too much pressure for a person in your situation to make a living off trading. Go find a job, maybe in a government agency. The IT departments aren't as cut thorat as the corporate world. You should lengthen your trading horizon. If you think the market will fall for the next year, get into an inverse ETF, maybe even a 2x ETF and you might just get that 25% return you were looking for.