Tag: Dividends
Middle-Class Investing 108: Why Dividend Growth Investing?
Today, we will dive deeper into the world of wealth-building. Sadly, most middle-class folks will never buy individual stocks. The purpose of dividend growth investing is to build a nest egg that also pays you. In addition to a steady paycheck, your dividend payments grow over time to combat inflation. Does this method sound too…
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…
Two People, One Budget: Create a Budget and Start Income Investing
They say finances cause most marriages to fail, but what specifically is the disconnect between couples? More importantly, how can we prevent these issues from causing a division between the lovebirds? My wife, Kristina, and I have been married for 17 years, and we are on the same page financially. When we didn’t have “the…
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;…
Middle-Class Investing 101: Investing is Essential for Freedom
There is nothing wrong with being firmly in the middle class. I am happy sitting in the middle because I can fly under the radar. As middle-class people, we get ourselves into trouble by trying to act like we are rich. Keeping up with the Joneses is a losing proposition on all fronts. However, we…
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…
What is Your Net Worth? How Long Can You Survive Without a Job?
Net worth has become a status symbol; apparently, if you are a net-worth millionaire, that is supposed to mean something. However, having a high net worth doesn’t necessarily mean you are wealthy. There is a massive difference between static and functional wealth. Today, let’s determine your net worth (and mine’s) and see how this money…
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…
The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever 3!
What is the point of working hard to build passive income? Couldn’t we achieve the same results by getting a high-paying job? Yes and no. Money is money, no matter how it arrives in your account—this is true. But the magic of passive income is you can do whatever you want as it grows inside…
LBYM: Live Below Your Means and Increase Your Savings Rate
“Living below your means” gets a bad reputation. People hear these words and assume you need to eat grits, make honey sandwiches, and recycle toilet paper. But that’s not the case at all. Living below your means simply means creating cash flow through your household. It also means that you do not subscribe to the…
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…
New Year’s Passive Income Resolution 2023
What a fantastic year we had in 2022. Yes, the stock market crashed, but things still lined up in our favor. That is the magic of passive income—it helps protect you from downturns. I started the year bullish on cryptocurrencies and still feel the same. They will be a significant part of our transition to…
Will Being Cheap Make You Rich?
Most of us grow up with a sense of happiness about our surroundings. We don’t understand how rich or poor our family is, nor do we care. We enjoy playing with our friends, eating with our family, and not having many responsibilities—we call this childhood. We can live like this for 10-12 years until we…
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…
To Become Rich, You’ll Need Leverage
Getting rich in one lifetime is nearly impossible—yet this is the path our parents taught us as children. Here is the plan in a nutshell: Please tell me if I am missing something. The problem with this typical scenario is that at no point did you exert any leverage. 40-Year Interest-Only Mortgage In fact, when…
Why Are You NOT in the Work Force?
Everywhere I look, it seems people are quitting their jobs. Whether it is quitting in place, also known as quiet quitting, or walking away completely (the Great Resignation), the world is turning upside down. However, this is a social media ploy to slow down the average American. Many reasons contribute to this mass exodus from…