Have you heard advertisements about creating lifetime income for a secure retirement? I’m always skeptical about annuities because they are so confusing, even for those of us who pay attention. It turns out that the term “lifetime income” is a marketing phrase intended to demystify annuities by highlighting their primary benefit. Unfortunately, a PR campaign…
The market is in volatile shape right now, and there’s little we can do about it. New information comes to light every hour, but the fog persists. With so much being unknowable, the market will fluctuate until policies and corporate earnings become clear and the trauma subsides. Companies, consumers, and the market need time to…
This week’s blog post points to my latest YouTube video where I share an update on my two taxable dividend income portfolios. The combined portfolio pays me about $13,633 per year in dividend income or about $1,136 per month. The video shows my Fidelity and M1 Finance portfolios and a combined future dividend income view…
The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Superbowls in the 1970s — a legendary run. My Uncle was a diehard Steelers fan in the 1970s and 1980s. He had season tickets, fabricated an Iron City Beer “kegerator” in his basement, and bet on the outcomes of the games. Sports betting is commonplace today. But back in the…
Curious readers can download the Dividend Kings spreadsheet for free. Dividend Kings are 50+ stocks that have paid and increased their dividends for 50+ consecutive years. Sure Dividend is an investing website and paid newsletter service focusing on dividend stocks and income investing. When the Sure Dividend blog started in 2014, it built a significant audience…
Though opinions vary on individual stocks vs. index funds, my own investments reflect a blend of both, from dividend and growth stocks to index funds, ETFs, and managed mutual funds. My uncle gave me one share of Chevron for my 20th birthday in 1995, and I built an individual stock portfolio from there. A retirement…
The minus your age rule of thumb is a simple math formula used in personal finance to help DIY investors and advisors determine a suitable stock-to-bond ratio for an investment portfolio. I’ve always referred to this as the 130 minus your age rule of thumb on this website, but that only tells part of the…
I’ve been investing on the M1 Finance platform since 2017. I was attracted by the intuitive way investors can design their ideal portfolio first and then fund it over time. This method differs from the traditional way of investing excess cash flow — buying individual holdings every month or so. With M1 Finance, any time…
This week’s post is a video conversation with Ben Reynolds of the Sure Dividend Newsletter. Watch it below or click over to YouTube for this 50-minute chat. Stay tuned until the end when Ben shares his top 3 dividend stock recommendations for May 2024. In tandem with this video, Ben is offering a free spreadsheet…
TD Bank interviewed me on this topic. Check out the interview on YouTube or below. I’m 48. It’s been 28 years since I invested in my first stock. Twenty-eight years from now, I’ll be 76, about the same age as my parents. My parents recently fired their financial advisor and asked me to assist in…
As New Year’s resolutions are fresh on your mind, there’s no better time than now to initiate and strengthen wealth-building strategies. To help inspire you, I’ve created a list of the best investments for long-term growth. This article is about where you can direct your money and time this year so that ten and twenty…
My best-performing investment ever is a managed mutual fund called the Fidelity OTC Portfolio (FOCPX). It’s up more than 1,100% since I’ve owned it. I wish I could say I’m brilliant at evaluating mutual fund managers and picking funds. But I only own this fund because my first employer, back in 1998, offered it as…
Today’s article is a guest post from a young entrepreneur named Preston Yadegar. Preston has built an online platform called the Shareholder Vote Exchange (SVE) to empower individual investors to generate additional income from their existing stock holdings by selling their shareholder voting rights. When you own a stock, each share represents a vote during…
A former coworker once told me how happy he was with his financial advisor. He’s made me A LOT of money! It wasn’t an appropriate time for me to ask the obvious follow-up questions: define a lot? or what are his fees? Financial advisors play a critical role for many, like my former coworker, who…