Instead of letting the money sit in your trading account - what are you doing with that capital preparing for your long term goals? Re-investing it in other markets like mutual funds, stocks, bonds, gold?
I smoke more than a pack a day, so I don't have to worry about old age. If that approach doesn't work for you, taking the time to research hedge funds could be worthwhile for you. I've had some very bad hedge fund investments, along with some very good ones over the years. Tip: Just because a HF manager was featured in one of the first two classic Market Wizards books, doesn't mean investing with him is a good idea. I learned that one the hard way.
real estate purchases and swing trading mutual funds (diversified across asset classes), but still keep 20-25% in cash... for opportunities on anything that shows up...
short-term hope crushes long-term reality.... most govt employees have 1 mil for retirement most traders.....zero. and long-term care?? LOL gov't created trading to control the dumb..... but recently told everyone to buy to get rich... so all gov't employees are long 401k.... and all traders short.... LOL
Who are you? Why are you trading? I can understand some pessimism about success in the stock market, but I haven't read a helpful comment yet from you, Blue. Is there something you need to vent? You can PM me and get it off your chest if you like. I'm pretty good at listening and being empathetic. But these generalizations are just ignorant.
All depends on one's priorities. If they are to live moderately comfortable and relatively secure life as long as possible, then you're right, security of social guarantees is better. Must tell you that I witnessed huge social paradigm (USSR) completely crashing and security being thrown in a trash can for everyone. 99% of those people never believed it's possible just a month or so before it happened. So you better remember, there is no such thing as a "guarantee" in the real world. So, back to priorities, if you're a live by sword die by sword kind of person, then you're ready to risk security in exchange for opportunity. And it's worth the risk of ruin and risk of heart attack for such persons. Most traders are more likely this kind of people. Don't judge us by "normal" standards, we despise being "normal".
The income generated from the forex trading has been used for buying physical gold, and investing on real estate to build up the assets.