Category: Investments
Series “I” Bonds 4 Life: It’s Always a Good Time to Buy Savings Bonds
As inflation slowly recedes, so does the hype for one of my favorite investment tools—Series “I” Bonds. The hype turned into mania when they paid 9.62% interest last year. The goal of an “I” bond is to protect your cash from inflation while giving you a modest return. When they hit 9.62%, it was probably…
Achieve F.I.R.E. via Income Investing
We all want to escape the workforce. I have been working since 1997, when I started at McDonald’s, and I’ve never seen an employment market like this. Everyone is overworked, underpaid, and struggling to survive. Leadership is even more chaotic and unorganized than the employees. If you do not have your finances in order, you…
Dividend ETFs vs. Index Funds
A few improvements to investing have changed the game for the average middle-class investor. These are fractional shares, zero commission fees, and automated investing. Today, we can invest $5/week into our favorite index funds and dividend ETFs to slowly grow our portfolio. Plus, we can still go all in with $5,000 when we get our…
My High-Yield Savings Account: Year in Review 2022
Today we celebrate. 2022 was an incredible financial year; therefore, we can ring in 2023 with a bang. My high-yield savings account is one of my favorite investment vehicles of 2022, so I want to explore it more in-depth. Discover did me a solid by sending me an email summary of my HYSA. This also…
Pay Your Bills with Dividends
Dividend investing will undoubtedly change your life, but it won’t happen overnight. In fact, it will probably take a substantial amount of time before you see tangible results. So how do you stay motivated as you work your way up from a “dividend drip” to a “dividend stream?” You simply work on increasing your dividends,…
Compound Interest: You Can Pay It or You Can Earn It
If you ever seek motivation in life, look no further than the power of compounding—everything we do in life compounds, either positively or negatively. “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy explores how we can exploit compounding to improve anything we want in our lives. The more things we put into motion, the more chances we…
30-Year Bonds vs. Blue-Chip Dividend Stocks
Today is a great moment in time to be an investor. It’s been over 13 years since stocks and bonds had to compete for your investment dollars. If you are searching for a 4% yield, you can now choose between a 30-Year Bond or a blue-chip dividend-paying stock. However, the answer doesn’t lay in numbers;…
Social Security vs. Income Investing
We should not depend on the government. That’s not to say that the government is terrible or plans to ruin our lives. However, the government is not our best source of reliable income; we are. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to create our own happy cash flow retirement system. I wrote an article titled…
Bonds for Mom: A Low-Risk Retirement Plan for Mom
As our mothers increase in age, chances are they will receive some kind of windfall. This can be from an inheritance, a life insurance policy, downsizing a home, or cashing in a 401K. As the son or daughter, you will want to ensure this money lasts until the end. Most people will turn over the…
Feel Special with Special Dividends
Every day as an income investor, makes my life more enjoyable. It’s incredible to receive money from thin air. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money and worked hard to provide for my family. I have worked for the US Government (as a Marine) for over 23 years. I fully appreciate the hard…
Preferred Shares vs. Common Stocks
There are tons of securities you can buy on a given day. So knowing what you are buying and why you are buying it is vital to long-term success. Most investors will purchase common stocks inside their various portfolios. However, many other options exist, including treasury bonds, Series “I” Bonds, closed-end funds, and mortgage REITs.…
Are You a Dividend Growth Investor or an Income Investor?
How do you like to see your money? This is at the heart of the question, “Are you a Dividend Growth Investor or an Income Investor?” If you like to see your investments always (most of the time) in the green, then you’ll probably lean towards Dividend Growth Investing (DGI). If you want to see…
Income to the Moon: Income Investing Your Way To Retirement
Saving for retirement is boring. Somehow, at age 25, you are supposed to prioritize your retirement planning over buying a flashy car. This rarely works in reality because it’s a tough pill to swallow. However, there is a different way, but it will take a complete shift in mindset. What if I told you that…
Santa’s Bringing Dividend Growth Stocks
As we wrap up the Year of 2022, it’s time to reflect on our lives. We thank the heavens for having a loving family and friends that support us in our endeavors. We can also thank the “powers that be” for giving us the gift of income. Our dividends have grown tremendously throughout the year…
5 Takeaways from “The Dividend Mantra Way”
“The Dividend Mantra Way” by Jason Fieber targets the FIRE movement crowd. FIRE stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. However, dividend investing is a much different investment style than most FIRE movement people choose. Most FIRE people use passive investing via index funds to save for retirement. Once they hit a target amount, they attempt…
The Magic of 3: High Yield Savings Accounts Hit 3% Interest Rates
It’s been nearly 15 years since your savings account earned a decent interest—what a time to be a saver. Yes, inflation is over 8%, but we can find ways to beat that. The important thing is that high-yield savings accounts hit 3% interest rates. If you are risk averse—now is the perfect time to put…
Mortgage-Backed Securities vs. Treasury Bonds: An Introduction to Mortgage REITs
As an income investor, some of the highest-yielding products you can buy are mortgage real estate investment trusts (mREITs). As a trader, some of the most dangerous products you can buy are mREITS. Indeed, you must be extremely careful when purchasing mREITs because their price (not value) can fluctuate wildly on the stock market. To…
Retirement Planning with Index Funds
Index funds are a fantastic tool to leverage the stock market’s growth. They are as close to a “set it and forget it” investment plan as possible. However, there is one thing I want you to take away from this article; index fund investing is not enough for a worry-free retirement. To have a great…
Bond Investing in Your 50s
Hopefully, we will figure out our financial path during our 20s, 30s, and 40s to focus on our family in our 50s. That’s right; time to build passive income for our children through bond investing. Can you imagine if you had $20,000, $30,000, or even $50,000 of Series “I” bonds waiting for you by age…
High-Yield Bond Reinvestment in Action
I recently discussed high-yield bond reinvestment as a safe way to assume more risk in your portfolio. It’s a great way to dabble in the waters of income investing. My 30-year bonds just paid me their semi-annual payments, so it’s time to reinvest. Today, I will walk through how to convert a reasonably low-yield coupon…
