Tag: Stocks
Selling Covered Calls + Social Security: The Ultimate Retirement Combo?
Going into retirement, the worst thing you can do is put yourself on a fixed budget. Conversely, establishing a budget is the best way to prepare for retirement. What’s the difference? When you live on a fixed income, someone tells you how much you have to spend. When you create a budget, you tell yourself…
Stocks, Bonds, & Options in Your 20s: Mitigate Risk while Building Wealth
People in their 20s have trouble with their finances because they have two objectives: building wealth and funding their future. The financial media always tells the younger generation about compound interest and how vital it is to save and invest early in life. The stark reality is that people in their 20s must contend with…
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…
Trading Long Strangles vs. Rental Properties: The Best Use of Leverage to Build Wealth
Owning a home has become increasingly difficult. Most people view homeownership as the simplest way to build wealth, but those days may be over. Further, owning multiple properties and becoming landlords allowed people to grow their net worth, increase their passive income, and build generational wealth. However, purchasing a primary residence is challenging enough; how…
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…
Selling Cash-Secured Puts vs. Book Royalties: The Best Passive Income Strategy for the Average Person
It takes money to make money; this is usually the case. However, there are some things in life that we can create for free. The goal of financial freedom is to collect as many income-producing assets as possible. Most of these assets require capital to obtain. Some income-producing assets are treasury bonds, dividend-paying stocks, rental…
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…
Selling Covered Calls vs. Renting Rooms: The Best Passive Income Strategy for the Average Person
Many people dream of becoming high-flying options traders who can double their money in a month. Sadly, they are more likely to lose their money than double it. Trading options is not for the faint of heart. It requires nerves of still and the ability to detach your emotions from what’s happening. I love trading…
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…
Options Trading in Your 70s: Avoiding the Stock Market At All Costs
We should all be winding down in our 70s. We want to enjoy our days and love our nights, but we don’t want a lot of stress from the financial markets. If you have all of your finances squared away in your 60s, then your 70s and 80s will just be a continuation of those…
Options Trading in Your 60s: Retirement Planning Made Easy
You’ve prepared your entire life for this moment. You are retiring from the workforce, drawing your pension, and signing up for social security. This is the point at which most people stop their retirement planning. But I love the concept of living a Happy Cash Flow Retirement. My Happy Cash Flow Retirement system consists of…
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.…
Earning $2,100 Per Month in Dividends: It’s All in the Numbers
They say you must become passionate to achieve your goals. Most of us believe that means we should find a career field that matches our dreams. However, that’s a tough call. I was blessed to love being a US Marine for 24 years, but I found something I am even more passionate about than serving…
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…
The Illusion of Freedom: The True Three Paths are Military, College, or Trade School
During my entire 24-year career in the United States Marine Corps, people questioned how I could give up my freedom and liberties. They said it’s better to be able to quit their job whenever they like, travel where they want, or do as many drugs as they deem necessary. For 24 years, I kept my…
Earning Your First Dollar in Dividend Income: The Hardest Buck You’ll Ever Make
What would you do for a dollar? Most of us get up at five am, shower, shave, drive, and work to earn a few dollars. We have done this for years. In fact, that’s how they taught us to earn a dollar. Once we receive our paycheck, we use the money to pay for bills,…
Financial Freedom: The True American Dream
Nobody wants to work—or, better stated, nobody wants to be forced to work. We would all love to be “work-optional.” To become work-optional, you must first become financially free. Becoming financially independent isn’t as tough as people think; however, the media does an excellent job of making it seem out of reach. Ultimately, your version…
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…
Retiring on Dividends 103: Dividend Growth Investing (High-Yield)
You need to earn 10% interest on your investments to beat inflation while paying taxes. However, there are many different ways to generate 10% annual returns. You can take the growth model, investing in index funds and growth stocks like Facebook (META) and Amazon (AMZN). My favorite way to invest is in high-yielding products that…
