Are You Afraid to Invest in the Stock Market?
My 10K CD earned $3.30 in 2022. This was crazy.
I once practiced options trading using a dummy account. The market was so erratic. Not only could you risk losing your investment but face potential bankruptcy within minutes. Not for the faint of heart.
I wanted to invest and still sleep at night.
So started my quest for stocks with dividends.
I read a book on dividend stock buying. My intention was to buy 3 stocks. As I worked my way through the book, it increased to 5, then with more research into safe stock, I settled on 20.
The logical stock was Microsoft, Apple, etc. but I opted for companies that had been around for decades. A few for over 100 years.
After reading their portfolios and expertise, I realized their investment strategy was diversified in the companies I ignored. Investing in popular stocks without the risks was a company I felt comfortable to place my trust.
Each month, I invest and buy a few stocks, then reinvest the dividends.
In 2 years, my earnings have risen $2800.
No fees, no brokers.
Have you ever invested on your own?
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Why Buy Dividend Stocks?
The best reason is they grow. You don’t depend on the ups and downs of the stock market. It will fluctuate daily, but the goal is the dollar growing through the dividends.
Another reason not to fret over the market’s highs and lows. If it’s low and your dividends are reinvested at that time, you just bought more stock for less.
Reinvesting the dividend allows you to buy a fractional share of stock. You earn dividends on that fractional stock. And in today’s accounts, you don’t need to have the full price to buy one stock with the dividend you earn. The end result might only be pennies, but pennies grow.
This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It is a steady climb of buying and reinvesting for the long term.
You buy stock and turn on the reinvest for each company stock you purchase. Then, every time you are paid a dividend, it’s reinvested. A great feature, an easy automatic reinvestment program.
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How Often Are Dividends Paid?
The nice part of owning stocks is when they pay dividends.
If you pick the right stocks, you can have dividends accruing monthly. Some stocks pay dividends monthly, and others pay quarterly.
Those quarterly dividends can happen in March, June, September, and December. While others may happen in February, April, July, and October.
Getting paid dividends each month helps to offset the fluctuations of the market. Should the stock price drop, you’ll receive more shares when reinvesting.
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How to Save Money
There was a time when the money ran out before the next pay period. Sure, there was money in the bank to pay the bills, but not in the pocket.
We would take out money at the time of depositing the check and figured it should last until the next check. But it never did. This was becoming a crisis that needed to be solved.
What happened to the dollars? At a loss as to why, the only thing left to do was start recording every dime spent.
I got a steno pad and wrote what the item was, the amount, and the date. Soon we could account for all the expenses. It is surprising how just a few dollars soon added up to 20 or 30 dollars.
Being conscious of each expense made us more mindful of how the money disappeared. When you become aware it makes you think twice about unnecessary spending.
This accounting started back in 1969 when we bought our first house. Today I still do it. Sometimes we check where the money goes. But mostly now it is for when we bought something, and I also have an envelope for receipts for each month. I will go back and pull out the receipt if I need it for a reason.
It is also great to have an account of when something was done to check for warranties or how long ago a repair was done and is it reasonable to have an item replaced.
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