It used to be a millionaire would have no trouble retiring. Just a few years ago, a 10-year Treasury bond paid 5%. This meant you could put a million bucks into Treasuries and earn $50,000 a year, risk-free.

Today, that same million dollars earns much less — just $15,000 with the same investment. And it’s a similar story with other traditional places where millionaire’s put their money for safekeeping…

#-ad_banner-#The average certificate of deposit yields 1.0%, savings accounting earn next to nothing and even the S&P 500 pays a paltry 2% dividend yield.

Fortunately, there’s a different way to invest that can earn you significantly more income. In fact, I’m using this strategy to earn the same income stream as a millionaire for just pennies on the dollar.

In the past several weeks, I’ve talked extensively about my Daily Paycheck strategy. Simply put, my goal is to build a portfolio of dividend payers so that I can collect one dividend for every day of the year.

In the past year, I’ve collected more than $16,000 in dividends… and that’s with a portfolio worth roughly $250,000.

With 10-year Treasuries yielding 1.5%, I’m earning more from my portfolio than I would if I had $1,000,000 invested in Treasuries.

Of course, there’s a difference between investing in Treasuries and using my Daily Paycheck strategy. Treasuries are 100% risk-free investments (although inflation certainly can eat into your returns). My portfolio is loaded with master limited partnerships (MLPs), closed-end funds, blue-chips, exchange-traded bonds and a number of other asset classes. 

And yes, it is possible for these investments to fall in value.

But what might surprise you is how well a basket of these investments can hold up, even in a tough market.

For example, during the sell-off last August, the S&P 500 lost 5.7% in a single month. That’s a major move for one of the world’s most recognized indexes.

But despite all the turmoil, my portfolio only lost just 1.0% — one-sixth the amount of the broader market. To top it off, I also collected more than $1,300 in dividends during the month, which helped cushion my returns even more.

I’m not telling you this to brag about my success. I’m merely showing you that in this low interest rate environment, investors looking for steady income don’t have to settle for the below-average returns we’re seeing from traditional income investments.

All it takes is the patience to build a portfolio around consistent, dividend-paying stocks. Once you’ve established your portfolio, then you’ll be able to collect hundreds, even thousands of dollars in income each month… income you’d never get from Treasuries.

And the best part is you don’t need $250,000 to get started either. My results are completely scalable. No matter how much you have to invest, you can use this strategy to your benefit.

Right now, the average dividend yield for my portfolio is 7.2%. Depending on the amount you’re willing to invest, the chart on the right shows you how much money you could earn using my strategy.

Risks to Consider: Don’t get me wrong, this strategy isn’t without risk. If the market suffers another sharp sell-off like the one we experienced last year, then no portfolio is completely safe.

Action to Take –> But the fact of the matter is it’s simply not as easy to find a dependable income stream as it was 10 years ago. The Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates to stimulate the economy, but it’s been at the expense of the average U.S. saver.

It could be years before traditional income investments return to their former glory. But as I just showed you, that doesn’t mean all is lost for income investors.

The key is finding stocks that will pay you consistent dividends… and having the patience to let them grow your wealth over the long-term.

[Note: To be honest, there’s plenty more to share about my Daily Paycheck strategy… and I don’t have the space to include it all here. Instead, I’ve put together a special presentation that outlines how I’m earning a $1,357 per month income stream (and the brokerage statement to prove it). To view this free presentation — including a few high-yield picks to start your own Daily Paycheck portfolio — you can visit this link.]