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Preparing for a Recession #4: Making More Money
A recession is not the time to start adding income to your bottom line; you should start that process well before the balloon goes up. We must all prepare for the reality that we will lose our jobs during a recession. Similarly, we should learn how to generate income outside a W-2 job to control…
The Dividend Snowball Effect: How to Harness Compound Interest
Dividends, Dividends, Dividends. Why all the talk about dividends? Some people live and die by dividend investing, while others pay them no mind. Why such a stark contrast? The simple answer is that some people want to become rich, and others want to be wealthy. Rich people have a plethora of assets that are worth…
The Options Wheel vs. Certificates of Deposit: Create Your Own Yield
Why would I compare a safe account at a credit union to a “risky” account on the options market? Because we all need to earn yield while our money sits still. Although certificates of deposit and the options wheel offer two different spectrums on the risk scale, they both serve the same goal: to earn…
Preparing for a Recession #3: The Five High-Yielding Saving Products
Nothing is more important than having money during a recession; however, the days of stuffing cash under the mattress disappeared a while ago. We need to become much more sophisticated with our money, resources, and assets. Cash is an asset, and we must value it as such. Welcome back to the Preparing for a Recession…
It’s Raining Money: How Dividends Can Change Your Life 2
Most people enjoy rainy days as long as they don’t need to leave home. There is something soothing about listening to the raindrops outside their windows. Something I find even more soothing is the sound of dividends hitting my brokerage and checking accounts. There is nothing quite like getting a text, email, or notification saying…
Preparing for a Recession #2: Adjusting Your Lifestyle
The recession will affect us all differently, but make no mistake, it will affect us all. Some will discover great wealth during these challenging times, and others will lose everything. Those who take preparations seriously have a shot at becoming wealthier than before. Those who attempt to carry out the same lifestyle will fall behind.…
Recipe for Wealth: Trading Long Strangles and Living Below Your Means
There are only two ways to become wealthy: reducing expenses and increasing income. Most people fail to get rich because they don’t succeed at both. If you can lower the stakes on one side of your life, you can increase the risk on the other. For example, you can fund your options portfolio if you…
Preparing for a Recession #1: Improving Your Skillsets
Let me set the stage. In 2024, interest rates are high because inflation has ravaged the American economy. Businesses have cut jobs at record numbers because the price to finance and maintain debt has skyrocketed. The average person is dealing with a home insurance crisis, inflated property taxes, elevated rents, and high gas prices. To…
The Four Principles of Index Fund Investing
Index funds are vital to our wealth-building journey because they provide a safe approach to investing in the stock market. Index funds are as reliable as you can ask for something that trades on the stock market. However, we must remain vigilant as passive index fund investors. The goal of index fund investing is to…
Boost Your High-Yield Savings: Decreasing Rates Call For Increasing Innovation
Robert Kiyosaki famously said that savers are losers; I agree with him wholeheartedly. Most people believe that he wants people to be reckless with their money. However, he means quite the opposite. He is saying that depending on the bank to generate your rate of return will always be a failing proposition. For the last…
Nobody Owes You Anything 2: Build Your Own Financial Success
We have become a “society of entitlement.” We want things for free or that we can receive with little effort. But the true path to financial freedom is treacherous and difficult. To free ourselves, we must not expect anything from anyone. That’s not to say we become independent warriors; we simply take matters into our…
Build Wealth Slowly 2: Make Sound Financial Decisions Over a Long Time
What’s the rush? Why does everyone want to become rich overnight? Americans seem to have a love affair with the dream of becoming a millionaire in their 20s. But the truth is we can do so much better if we build wealth slowly. By creating a wealthy lifestyle from the ground up, we ensure our…
Retiring on Dividends 106: Income Investing (Dividend ETFs)
The world is full of choices, especially regarding dividend-paying stocks. How can the average investor choose from so many great companies? One way to collect a bucket full of companies is to purchase index funds. The S&P 500 Index Fund (SPY) collects 500 of the US’s top companies. However, the yield on SPY is relatively…
Retiring on Dividends 105: Income Investing (Preferred Shares vs. BDCs)
The income products you purchase go a long way toward your happiness during retirement. We feel much better when we make solid purchases at great prices. Today, we will discuss two distinct types of income products that can generate strong cash flow. Using these securities together can help us target safe income streams while giving…
Tobacco Stocks vs. Mortgage REITs: Who is the High-Yield King?
I love my tobacco stocks! Some people don’t invest in “sin” stocks like tobacco, casinos, and cannabis companies. I can separate my personal values from my investing references. To each their own. I also love investing in Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (mREITs). These companies pay high yields but are extremely sensitive to interest rates.…
Trading Long Strangles vs. Money Market Funds
Where we put our emergency fund money says much about who we are. Some people use high-yield savings, and others use treasury bills. Investors are usually more comfortable using money market funds to house their emergency funds. These funds allow us to trade into the action when the stock market gets spicy. The only thing…
Retiring on Dividends 104: Income Investing (Closed-End Funds)
Retirement planning is just like the years you spend at work—you require income to fund your lifestyle. There isn’t a magic formula that will allow you to retire. The simple truth is that you need more income than your expenses. Once you can achieve this without working, you’ll be financially free. Therefore, during retirement, you…
Bonding with Bonds: Why Do We Need Bonds in Our Portfolio?
Human nature makes us do funny things, especially when it comes to money. Every human exhibits a different behavior regarding money. Some people love to place spectacular bets at a casino, lottery, or sporting event. Others keep all of their money in a savings account, earning 0.1%. The key to winning with money is understanding…
The Four Principles of Income Investing
I’m a huge fan of the magic of dividend growth investing. DGI uses the power of compounding to create massive income and capital gains in the future. However, as much as I love DGI, I prefer the magic of income investing. Income investors seek current income that produces cash today—not tomorrow. When you purchase one…
BCRE: Become Capitalist Retire Early
Do you really want to work until you are 65? At some point in my working life, I thought I would have a 30-year military career followed by 20 years in the civilian workforce. And then I changed my mind. In 2021, I wrote “No Freaking Way I Am Working Another 25 Years.” That was…
