Tag: Stocks
How Dividends Changed My Life: My First Six Years as a Dividend Investor
I used to be afraid of the world. I worried about receiving a phone call containing unexpected bad news that required an emergency outlay of money. I was scared because I didn’t know how money worked. The only way I learned how to make money was by working my job. Luckily, one day in summer…
Living Life on Passive Income: The Art of Living Below Your Means
What if I told you that you could retire in five years? Would you believe me? What if I told you that you can change your financial life dramatically in five years? Does that sound more feasible? Most people can drastically change their lives by adding just one or two passive income streams. The problem…
The Best Way to Retire Early: Dividends vs. Rents
Retirement WILL NOT come for us all; unfortunately, that’s how the cookie crumbles. The good part is that we can decide our retirement fate by choosing how we live. If we spend beyond our means on clothes, renovations, vacations, jewelry, and cars, it will be challenging (and probably impossible) to retire. On the flip side,…
Which Asset Class is Right for You? Real Estate, Stocks, Business
It’s decision time. It’s time to get off the sidelines and jump into the world of investing. Luckily, there has never been a better time to wade in the water. Why is investing so vital to your financial lifestyle? The average person cannot outpace inflation unless they invest their money. Therefore, becoming an investor must…
I Still Believe in the American Dream: You Can Go From Poor to Rich in One Lifetime
I have noticed a significant amount of negativity toward the American Dream recently. Mostly stemming from the cost of homeownership. However, I believe in the American dream now more than ever. In fact, I am a product of the American dream and currently living my version of “my best” lifestyle. Why did the view of…
From Debt to Dividends #2: Erasing Debt
Every month, I receive a substantial dividend from AGNC on my Cash App brokerage account. This month (June 2025), the dividend will be over $200. I remember a time when I would receive a credit card bill for $200 (or more). How did I go from paying interest to receiving it? Welcome back to the…
Income Investing: Invest Using the Rule of 72
I heart income investing. I love having the ability to convert fresh cash flow into permanent passive income. However, income investing is not for everyone. From the outside looking in, income investing may seem like a risky endeavor. Typically, yields are much higher than those of index funds and dividend growth investing. When people see…
From Debt to Dividends #1: Determining Spending Habits
If you have a lot of debt, chances are you do not earn a lot of dividends. Debt represents the worst part of the power of compounding, while dividends reflect the best part. But, how do you go from being in debt to earning passive income? What shift in mindset must you undertake to achieve…
Earning $36,000 a Year In Dividends: Going from Active to Passive Income
I joined the workforce in 1996 and worked until 2023. According to my Social Security earnings record, I didn’t start earning $36,000 a year until 2010—that’s 15 years. Those were some tough but fun years in the United States Marine Corps. Back then, I would not have ever imagined I could earn $36,000/year without lifting…
Become a Capitalist in One Hour: Convert Free Time into Free Cash Flow
Have you ever wondered why some people always seem to have money? Sure, they could be in credit card debt; however, a rare few actually know what they are doing. If you intend to have a successful financial life, you’ll need to become a capitalist. However, capitalists are made—not born. This brings me to the…
The Magic of Cash Flow 2: How to Create Wealth
We all love having money flow through our hands, right? Then why is it so difficult for us to understand the concept of cash flow? The primary reason is that our parents and teachers taught us to look for a job. Looking for a job shifts the responsibility of our cash flow from us to…
Setting Yourself Up for a Healthy, Wealthy Retirement: Only You Can Save Your Future
Retirement planning is serious business; YOUR retirement is even more crucial than everyone else’s. You won’t survive long if you don’t prioritize your retirement over everything else. This may sound selfish; however, it is the truth. No one is coming to save you. To have a healthy, wealthy retirement, you’ll need to start planning today.…
Start Your Debt Payoff Journey 2: Is Budgeting That Bad?
Getting out of debt is the best feeling in the world. I remember how I felt when my wife and I paid off $77,000 in debt; it was a fantastic time to be alive. Please read “Start Your Debt Payoff Journey: Defeat Toxic Consumerism.” Somehow, the American dream became synonymous with debt. I don’t know…
Index Funds vs. Income Investing: The Best Way to Retire Early
Do you want to retire in your early 50s? That is an excellent time to call it quits and focus on family and friends. But how can you retire this early without a solid financial plan and a massive bank account? One way is to follow the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Retire Early). The FIRE…
Get Off The Fence. Get Into Dividends!
What are you waiting for? How many years must you spend in the workforce before you realize it’s all a game? Even worse, it’s a game you cannot win. Even if you work 40 years to accumulate $1 million, can you live on $40,000 annually from investments? Most people will get nowhere close to $1…
I Achieved Work-Life Balance: I Stopped Working
Why do we work? Every human should want to be productive and add value to society, but can we achieve this by working a corporate job? In essence, we work to pay bills. Along the way, high-paying jobs lead to high-flying lifestyles. Someone convinced us to work until we were 65 years old. The Industrial…
Creating Passive Income in Yout 70s: Learn to Earn in Your Sleep
Earning passive income in your 70s should be the easiest thing on Earth. You should already have a plethora of money and assets; all you must do is convert them into income. Your 70s should be a time of joy and relaxation, not stress and frustration. One of the best ways to solve any problem…
Paying Your Cell Phone Bill with Dividend Stocks: It’s Time to Pay Your Bills with Dividends
I love having the latest Samsung flagship phones but hate paying for them. Luckily, I can use high-yield dividend stocks to cover this expense. The best part of dividend investing is using it to pay your expenses. Eventually, you can use dividends to pay all your bills, making you financially free. But let’s not get…
Creating Passive Income in Your 60s: Learn to Earn in Your Sleep
There is nothing cute or funny about being broke in your 60s. It’s not amusing to still have to work a full-time job when you have grandkids. As a retired 44-year-old, I do not say this to offend people but rather to rally them toward a mission of financial freedom. Worst of all, if you…
Paying Your Auto Insurance with Business Development Companies: It’s Time to Pay Your Bills with Dividends
During my 24-year military career, I never struggled to pay bills, and I never had to use credit cards to survive or pay utilities. However, that doesn’t mean everything was golden. We used our credit cards for emergencies, which ended up biting us in the rear end later. Although we always had food on the…
