As many of my long-time readers know, I generally like to have my portfolio holdings equally split among three types of dividend stocks: High-Yield Opportunities, Fast Dividend Growers and Steady Income Generators. (I talked in more detail about each of these in a recent issue of StreetAuthority Daily.) #-ad_banner-#The critical discovery I’ve made over the past five years is that by using the right combination of dividend stocks, you can you create a retirement portfolio that maximizes income, maximizes growth and minimizes risk. This is exactly what my Daily Paycheck Retirement Strategy is all… Read More

As many of my long-time readers know, I generally like to have my portfolio holdings equally split among three types of dividend stocks: High-Yield Opportunities, Fast Dividend Growers and Steady Income Generators. (I talked in more detail about each of these in a recent issue of StreetAuthority Daily.) #-ad_banner-#The critical discovery I’ve made over the past five years is that by using the right combination of dividend stocks, you can you create a retirement portfolio that maximizes income, maximizes growth and minimizes risk. This is exactly what my Daily Paycheck Retirement Strategy is all about. It’s how I’ve been able to collect more than $1,500 per month in dividends over the past year, and how my real-money portfolio has grown from $200,000 to over $315,000 in just a little more than five years. As I said, the strategy uses three types of dividend stocks. But to maximize income, my Daily Paycheck Strategy dedicates nearly a third of its portfolio to high-yield dividend stocks. I doubt I need to tell you the primary benefit of this elite category. But high-yielding securities are defined by their generous income payouts, making… Read More

Working for StreetAuthority, I do a lot of different things. #-ad_banner-#In the course of a day, I may be writing an article… discussing potential picks with our staff… researching the next investing hotspot… even going over Stock of the Month ideas with my colleagues. And with so much going on, I actually find myself a little frazzled as the day goes on. To combat this, I try to get to work about an hour earlier than the rest of the staff. Sometimes I simply work from home before I get into… Read More

Working for StreetAuthority, I do a lot of different things. #-ad_banner-#In the course of a day, I may be writing an article… discussing potential picks with our staff… researching the next investing hotspot… even going over Stock of the Month ideas with my colleagues. And with so much going on, I actually find myself a little frazzled as the day goes on. To combat this, I try to get to work about an hour earlier than the rest of the staff. Sometimes I simply work from home before I get into the office. I don’t do this to show off. I’ve simply found I can do more in that one hour (when I can simply focus on one task without distraction) than I can in two hours when the rest of the staff has the office buzzing. Turning off the background noise allows me to simplify things — and get better results. What does this have to do with investing? A ton. Why Diversification Is Like Drinking From a Fire Hose Sometimes the investing waters are as clear as mud to… Read More

I recently paid $2.89 per gallon for gasoline. I didn’t fill up the tank. But I did buy more gas at that price than I did the week earlier when gas was at $2.99 per gallon. Many years ago, my father taught my brother and me about the benefits of buying less gas when prices were relatively high and more gas when prices were relatively low. #-ad_banner-#One of my father’s passions was classic cars. At one point, my family owned two four-door 1966 Lincoln Continental convertibles. Their gas tanks held 25 gallons, which was a good thing. They needed those… Read More

I recently paid $2.89 per gallon for gasoline. I didn’t fill up the tank. But I did buy more gas at that price than I did the week earlier when gas was at $2.99 per gallon. Many years ago, my father taught my brother and me about the benefits of buying less gas when prices were relatively high and more gas when prices were relatively low. #-ad_banner-#One of my father’s passions was classic cars. At one point, my family owned two four-door 1966 Lincoln Continental convertibles. Their gas tanks held 25 gallons, which was a good thing. They needed those big tanks since they only got about nine miles to the gallon. And maybe that’s why dividend reinvestment resonates with me today. From October 8 through October 16, the S&P 500 dropped 5.4%. When the market drops that dramatically over such a short period, it gives even the most disciplined investors pause. But where other investors panicked, I was able to buy more shares of stocks I own — at cheaper prices and higher yields. But I have to give credit where credit is due. It wasn’t my disciplined nerves of steel that guided my hand during the market pullback. Read More

I try not to be tempted by “click-baiting” headlines on the Internet. You know what I’m talking about — the salacious, ridiculous, or shocking headlines that you click on, only to discover mundane articles that may or may not have anything to do with the headline. But we all have our weaknesses; mine is information about retirement planning. This explains why I clicked on the U.S. News headline, “The Perils of Retirement at Age 65.” #-ad_banner-#The article didn’t provide me with many new insights. For instance, I already knew that even though you are eligible to start receiving Social Security… Read More

I try not to be tempted by “click-baiting” headlines on the Internet. You know what I’m talking about — the salacious, ridiculous, or shocking headlines that you click on, only to discover mundane articles that may or may not have anything to do with the headline. But we all have our weaknesses; mine is information about retirement planning. This explains why I clicked on the U.S. News headline, “The Perils of Retirement at Age 65.” #-ad_banner-#The article didn’t provide me with many new insights. For instance, I already knew that even though you are eligible to start receiving Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, most people have to be older than 65 to receive “full” benefits. What did surprise me were the comments people posted after reading the article. They fell into two general groups. There was a group that couldn’t bear the thought of working until the age of 65 and over: “Both my husband and I just turned 60 and quite frankly we have just about had it with working.” “I’m 59 now and so tired of working I could #$%$. 65 is too #$%$ old to stop working.” “I’ve been working since I was 18 and… Read More