Every Investor’s Biggest Dilemma
Many people believe that there are two paths in life:
One is the familiar, well-worn, safe path. Easy Street, we call it, which may be less rewarding.
The other is what Robert Frost referred to as "The one less traveled by." It can be challenging, but may be more rewarding.
However, the reality is that life rarely adheres to such neat dichotomies. Every decision you make, whether seemingly easy or difficult, comes with its own blend of benefits and drawbacks.
Put another way, in the words of Poison, "Every rose has its thorn."
In the world of investing, this notion is particularly present. Just as in life, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to building wealth, and your investing journey will be riddled with choices, each presenting its own set of roses and thorns.
You'll be met with questions like whether to invest in stocks or real estate, to opt for individual stocks or ETFs, or to focus on dividend yield or dividend growth. Additionally, decisions about account types, like investing in a taxable brokerage account or a Roth IRA, add another layer of complexity.
As an investor, the crucial question you need to ask yourself in each of these scenarios is: Which thorns would I rather embrace?
Fortunately, though, you're allowed to stray from the dichotomy in each of these situations, and many investors do.
There are plenty of people who invest in both stocks and real estate, and plenty who own both individual stocks and ETFs. Speaking personally, I invest in both my taxable brokerage account and my Roth IRA every single week.
Your investing journey is not a binary choice between easy versus difficult, black versus white, or yes versus no, but instead is an interplay of choices that mold your portfolio and shape your growth as an investor. As you weigh your options, whether in life or in investing, embracing the thorns becomes a necessary part of acquiring the roses that await you along whichever path you take.
Are there any big decisions you're struggling with in your portfolio right now? Write to me here and let me know.
And a big thank you to the 13 readers who responded last week. You rock! 🙌
In case you missed last week's newsletter, you can read it here.
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ICYMI
SCHD is the Holy Grail of dividend ETFs, but it's not perfect. I think the fund would be way better if it added the 5 stocks talked about in this video.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with the one and only Jeremy Lefevbre, who walks us through his stock research process and shows us the inner workings of his six-figure dividend portfolio.
One of the most common questions I get is "how many stocks should I own?" The short answer is "it depends," but in this recent Dividend Happy Hour, we'll dive into this topic a bit more to try and come up with a more concrete answer.
CAREFULLY CURATED
WHAT I’M WATCHING
An interview with Aswath Damodaran (AKA the Dean of Valuation) | Watch here
The BIG problem with index fund investing | Watch here
Are we in a bull market or a stock market bubble? | Watch here
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
An EPIC conversation with Lanny from the Dividend Diplomats | Listen here
This is the backbone of your dividend portfolio | Listen here
WHAT I’M READING
Two important things to know before buying high-yield stocks | Read here
Is a huge REIT rally on the way? | Read here
The behavioral biases that cause you to lose money, and three tactics to resist investing with the crowd | Read here
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