Giving up is for losers. Its not the instrument you trade but how you trade i.e. emotional trading is a killer, develop methodology with sound risk management and stick to it no matter what and soon enough you will be profitable.
Keep in mind that leverage works both ways. With 200k buying power a couple of losses wipes out your 10k.
True we can never neglect the fact that the leverage acts as a double edged sword and thus the traders should use it for their advantage.
as far as the lending club, uncle eddie at Wallstreetoasis.com managed an open account and cleared about 18% year over year. He posted the guidelines and stuck to them. Might be worth a shot.
Thanks everyone, I now have a plethora of advice! My cousin used to tell me the old adage of "Winners never quit, Quitters never win!" I'm not ready to quit and damn it, with hard work I can succeed in investing. It takes time and work, but it's possible!