I don't mean to pry. You can ignore this if you wish or tell me to MMOB. But I'm curious about how you guys operate and how well it works out for you.

To begin with, I notice you never mention the dread T word - TAX. You are obviously trading to make money and incurring tax liability. Does this mean you have to report all trades to the IRD to back up your tax return? Do you ever deliberately sell at a loss to reduce tax liability? With online trading I guess brokerage is not a significant factor - right? What's an average frequency of trades - one a day, one a week, or what? Are you paying 39% i t and are you factoring this into the results of your year's trading? Do you ever compare that outcome with that of an investor who might make, say, 6 to 10 sales a year, enjoying a tax-free capital gain, while also getting income from dividends, often fully imputed.

What deductions can the average trader claim - for computer equipment, use of home/office premises, magazine & newspaper subscriptions etc? Are you registered for GST and able to claim back a percentage of phone/car etc expenses?

I enjoy reading many of your posts on ST but I guess there are other non-traders, as well as me, who would like to know a bit more about how you operate.