A: The difference between short-term trading on stocks and gambling is not a very big one.
Traders who try to speculate on the short-term ups and downs of stocks are essentially placing their bets on the spin of the wheel. Since the short-term moves of stocks are based on news events, and news events are random, trying to time the market minute to minute is pure gambling.
If you sense that your husband is betting big money on very short-term twitches in markets, that's your first tip off that he's gambling, not investing.
It's one thing if your husband is speculating on stocks for fun with money he would normally take to Las Vegas. Where things get more concerning, though, is if he's using your long-term savings, such as retirement accounts, to place bets on stocks.
That's your second warning sign, that money that's been set aside for long-term goals is being used to make short-term trades.
You should also worry if your husband starts trying to hide losses from you, or takes money from savings to cover losses. This might be the final, and most alarming, sign of a problem.
These are classic signs of speculators who are out of control.
Be sure you have access to your joint brokerage accounts. Sign into them and see how often he's trading, and look at account balances over time. If you see lots of rapid-fire trading and a decline in balances, there are reasons to think he might have a problem.
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