There is no perfect formula for building wealth. There are pros and cons to everything, and dividend investing is no exception to that.

Still, I choose to take this path to financial freedom despite any of the potential pitfalls that come with it. In my eyes, the pros far outweigh the cons, and I truly think that this is the most simple way to create passive income. I also believe that anybody can do this — I’m certainly proof of that.

With that in mind, while dividend investing may be simple, it’s definitely not easy.

Building wealth this way is a slow burn. If you’re starting from scratch, it will likely take a number of years for your dividend snowball to really take off. I’m telling you more about that here.

Many people prefer a potentially quicker process, and are looking for the fast track to financial freedom. How can you blame them?

But that’s not really how it works. Nothing that’s truly worth having comes easy, and nothing that lasts comes quickly. Hear it from these 23 lottery winners.

Patience is a hard skill to develop, and that’s what makes dividend investing so difficult. As Tom Petty once sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

But time is a dividend investor’s greatest ally.

While momentum may be slow to start, dividend investing is one of those things that just gets better the longer you do it. You can see that in the chart below covering my income growth over the last few years.

*Source: My Personal Portfolio Tracking Spreadsheet*

I’m just now reaching a point where I finally feel like I’m finding my groove, and I actually just had a record month of dividend income, which you learn more about here.

At the end of the day, building a successful dividend portfolio is not about timing the market. It’s about continuing to show up every single week, and every single month — contributing to your portfolio, and reinvesting your dividends.

And you don't have to overcomplicate it. Stay patient, keep investing, and just continue to do that year after year. I think you’ll be pretty amazed at just how far you can go if you give yourself some time.

With that in mind, I want to hear from you: How long have you been investing for? Write to me here and let me know.

And a big thank you to the 19 readers who responded to last week's newsletter. You all rock, and I loved reading about what you're all thankful for this year following Thanksgiving! 🙌

Dividend Investing Democratized

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PRESENTED BY GETQUIN

I just started using getquin a couple weeks ago, and I have a feeling this platform is going to revolutionize the way I track my portfolio.

getquin gives you more features than any other platform I've seen.

From tracking past and future dividends to in-depth diversification breakdowns based on geography, industry, and asset class (cash, real estate, crypto, etc.), everything you could want is right there — all neatly presented on what I think is the most intuitive and user-friendly interface out there.

You can even benchmark your portfolio’s performance against other indices, stocks, and ETFs (like SCHD and VOO) — all in one dynamic dashboard, and in pretty much any currency.

In my opinion, getquin is the perfect blend of sophistication and simplicity, and it reminds me of Robinhood but with more enhanced capabilities. Both the app and the desktop version of the platform have been awesome and easy to use.

One thing that makes getquin unique is the social aspect of the platform. There’s a (seriously) thriving community of over 200k investors on the platform sharing their portfolios, passing around stock research, and supporting each other on the path to financial freedom.

Overall, if you’re looking for something with more functionality than a spreadsheet, and are looking for another great place to connect with like-minded investors, getquin is definitely worth checking out and is free to join.

You can follow me on getquin (@ryne) to see all of my posts, check out my portfolio in real-time, and see all of my purchases + dividend payments as they come in.

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IN MY PORTFOLIO

***Want to get my Dividend Portfolio Tracking Spreadsheet?*** ***Click here*** ***to get it for free.***

PURCHASES

JNJ - 0.99 shares @ $151.85

DIVIDENDS

No dividends this week 😢

Weekly Total: $0

Monthly Total: $230.92

Annual Total: $2,037.74

ICYMI

3 Deeply DISCOUNTED Dividend Stocks To Buy In December 2023

The end of November marks the end of an incredibly green month on the market. Because of that, dividend stock discounts are becoming harder to come by, but I've uncovered three that still look attractively valued despite what the rest of the market is doing, and I'll be honing in on them in this video.

All three of these stocks are currently priced at a bargain and look like prime pickups for your portfolio right now. I actually have two out of the three in my own portfolio, and will definitely be swooping up some more shares!

WATCH THE VIDEO

CAREFULLY CURATED

📺 The Best FREE Investing Tools - One of the blessings of being an investor in today's day and age is the access we have to an abundance of information and resources to do more and do better. With that in mind, more is not always better, which is why I think you should check out this video from Professor G, who breaks down the best free investing tools that will benefit you and your portfolio.

🎧 Morgan Housel Is Everywhere - Morgan Housel has certainly been making his rounds in the content sphere lately, but I just can’t get enough. This is a great interview with him on the ACQ2 podcast where he touches on some of the topics in his newly released book titled Same As Ever.

📚 How To Live Off Dividends Forever - Whether or not a serious recession will actually occur remains to be seen, but more and more signs of one are popping up slowly but surely. With that in mind, this article lays the foundation for successful investing irrespective of the economic scenario, and outlines three simple steps for achieving financial freedom forever through dividend investing.

SINCE YOU ASKED

"I have a very diversified, small portfolio consisting of 61 holdings (49 individual stocks and 12 ETFs). What are your thoughts?"

- James McGlory | YouTube

Truth be told, without knowing the specific details of your holdings and without knowing more about your individual situation (age, time horizon, investment goals, etc), it's hard for me to give an actual opinion. However, from a general standpoint, having 61 holdings in a small portfolio does sound quite diversified — possibly too diversified, actually.

For a small portfolio, owning 49 individual stocks and 12 ETFs sounds like overkill to me. Consider the time and effort required to stay informed about each holding. That's definitely no small task.

I think a more focused approach with one or two ETFs and a select number of individual stocks (like in the portfolio I'm showing you here) could make it easier to manage while still providing ample diversification.

Have a question? Ask me here to see it featured in an upcoming newsletter.