I didn't bother to read all the posts, so I apologize if I'm repeating others. I would say that you are making a potentially huge mistake to ditch a possible career for trading on your own. In this case your wife probably is right. She's not trying to spoil your dream. She is doing what any good trader does, quantifing the downside. You don't seem to have done that. I think you may be underestimating the pressure of needing a profitable trade to pay for your kid's medical expenses, etc. It's one thing to do it parttime. Quite another to be worrying if a loss will mean you can't make the mortgage, or if the wife is constantly on your case. No doubt there are people on here who have done exactly what you want to do, but the vast majority are people who took up trading after a successful first career or who made a bundle working on the floor in chicago, etc and who now trade a little for entertainment. Another consideration is that if you take out two or three years trading, you have a huge hole in your resume that will make you effectively unemployable should trading not work out. Plus, you will probably be broke and divorced. I hate to be a wet blanket, but the number of people who make big money trading are pretty small. Few of them have the pressure of providing for a family and an unsupportive wife.
Just do what you have been doing for another 10 years, build that 250k nest egg, and then do what the F you want.. Having a supportive spouse is huge - she might never see the light...Women need to support their man, because really that's all we need.... I think you are on the right track, but you should just do what you are doing for another 7 years, making 25k a year on the side, if possible, and build up a side stash. Then you can quit your job with no ill effects and give it a good go with a decent stash..
Don't know if any one's mentioned this before, but when trading becomes your only source of income, you will be playing in a different psychological league... I think that a trader succeeds best when he doesn't really need the money from trading.
+1 That is so true-the 25k you were pulling your emotions were different cause you probably didnt really need it--if you made it fine if you didnt you still had food on the table. When you start the day thinking you HAVE to make $300 you ll be a different puppy-take taht into consideration
I don't see why you don't do both. Trade in the am and look for work in the pm. You really don't need to look for work full time because there are only so many jobs out there. In any particular field, there are probably just a small handful. Use your am's to trade everyday, use your pm's to interview, etc (obviously you can interview in the am if it's the only option). You can send out resumes and letters at night. If after 6 months you haven't found a job that forces you to make a choice and you're still making money, you can slowly transition to less job searching and more trading.
Back to the topic of convincing the spouse... On of the most important parts is to manage expectations right. One thing you don't want is to be under preasure from your close ones to produce returns every day. So, explain you have a dream and you want to take a gap year in expectation to implement it. Remind of support you may have given to her in the past. Maybe she was receiving a professional qualification and you took the financial burden or she stayed out of work after childbirth longer than she really had to. So, you want to take a year to implement your dream and you need all support your family can give. Don't promise any high gains... as other mentioned more time may not mean higher returns. Just mention the downside. If things totally don't work you'll get another job in a year... maybe with a tiny pay cut... and the savings buffer will be more shallow. But at no time the financial security of the family will be in danger.
Never tell some one what to do, or not to do, or who to listen to b/c the likelihood is, everyone's been wired to the opposite of what they have been told