Tag: Stocks
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…
Options Trading in Your 40s: Taking on More Risk
Our 40s can be a fantastic time. We could be married, our kids could be older and more self-sufficient, we may have climbed the corporate ladder, or we may be in a two-income household. Most importantly, we may have some time to ourselves. We can use this time to build a decent-seized options trading portfolio.…
The Four Principles of Dividend Growth Investing
The best way to become a great investor is to have principles you stand by. Conversely, it is good to understand the principles of strategies you follow. Most people follow the 401 (k) investment philosophy. This philosophy states that you invest in low-cost mutual and index funds until retirement. Upon retirement, you sell shares to…
Retiring on Dividends 102: Dividend Growth Investing (High Growth)
There are many ways to retire on dividends, but you’ll have to pick the best path according to how you want your future life to look. Some people love to see their portfolio’s total value grow and compound, while others prefer to see their portfolio’s income grow and compound. Welcome back to the Retiring on…
Retiring on Dividends 101: Preparing for Passive Income
They taught us to work for money. Working is so ingrained in our nervous system that we get anxious when not working. When we aren’t working, we feel the world will collapse upon us. But the rich don’t work for money; they work for assets. Once they have enough assets, the assets work for them.…
