Dear DTA,
I want to leave something of value for my kids and grandchildren.
-Dan R.
Thanks for taking the time to write in to us, Dan. Also appreciate you subscribing to Daily Trade Alert. It’s our hope that you find inspiration, value, and actionable ideas here.
In fact, our desire to add value led to this article today, which is a direct response to your goal of wanting to leave a legacy behind that your grandchildren can enjoy.
[ad#Google Adsense 336×280-IA]I can tell you that you and I share a goal: we both want to build a legacy that can positively impact the world long after we’re gone from it.
As such, I believe I’m in a great position to provide some perspective.
Just for some background, I actually started off with a negative net worth just a few years ago.
Back in early 2010, at 27 years old, I was below broke – my liabilities outstripped my assets, leaving me with less than zero dollars.
But I was determined to turn it all around.
And I started aggressively saving and investing, eventually leading to financial freedom at just 33 years old.
Going from below broke to essentially retired in six years is no easy feat, yet I also did nothing that can’t be replicated.
Indeed, I’ve shared my “blueprint” to early retirement with the world.
All of my saving and investing has resulted in the real-life, real-money portfolio that I now control.
This portfolio, by the way, generates five-figure passive income on my behalf.
That means I’m in the five figures every year before I even wake up and think about working.
Better yet, this passive income is growing – faster than inflation, no less.
How so?
I invest my excess capital into high-quality dividend growth stocks like those you’ll find on David Fish’s Dividend Champions, Contenders, and Challengers list.
These are stocks that quite literally “pay you to own them”.
Realty Income Corp. (O) is a good example.
This is a real estate investment trust that invests in real estate, then turns around and favorably leases property to tenants that include pharmacies, gyms, and grocery stores.
So they’re essentially a landlord.
But if you buy the stock, you basically become a landlord without all of the associated hard work.
No fixing toilets. Just collecting checks.
When you buy the stock, you own a little slice of the company.
That means you own a little slice of all their properties (they own almost 5,000 properties).
Guess what else you own?
A little slice of that cash flow.
And that slice of cash flow comes your way via the growing dividend that Realty Income pays out.
That dividend isn’t just growing, however. It’s also a big dividend.
The stock currently yields 4.63%. That certainly beats anything your bank will give you.
Meanwhile, as the leases renew and as rent goes up, your dividend increases.
This is similar to how it works with hundreds of dividend growth stocks out there.
You invest in great businesses that go to work for you. They then pay you a slice of their increasing profit.
It’s a fantastic relationship.
Where does this fit in with your desire to leave behind something?
Easy.
If you can build a large portfolio that’s chock-full of high-quality dividend growth stocks, you could live off of just the dividend income these stocks are generating for you. Or you could just continue to reinvest that dividend income until you’re ready to pass it on.
Either way, you wouldn’t have to sell any of the underlying assets/stocks/investments.
Moreover, your grandchildren could do the same.
They could just use the passive (and growing) dividend income these stocks are paying them, allowing the stocks to increase in value over time as their prices advance on the back of the companies that become worth more over time as they sell more products and/or services and make more money as a result.
This legacy could turn into a gift for your grandchildren’s grandchildren.
All you have to do is refrain from killing the “golden geese”, instead living off of just the “golden eggs”.
If everyone continues to do that, it could be an everlasting gift.
If you’re not sure where to start, an excellent reference is fellow contributor Dave Van Knapp’s series of lessons on dividend growth investing, which is a great series of articles that teach the strategy from start to finish.
In addition, I write an article every Sunday that highlights an undervalued dividend growth stock of the week.
At the end of each week, I reveal a high-quality dividend growth stock that appears to be selling for a price below intrinsic value.
This is important, because it could boost income and long-term potential total return, which further boosts the value of your long-term legacy.
These articles provide real-time, actionable information.
I mentioned earlier that we both want to leave a legacy. Well, I plan to give away at least half of my money on or before my death.
But I can only really build something large enough to make an impact if I live off of the growing dividend income, allowing the underlying assets to continue growing.
You have an opportunity in front of you, Dan, to start building something that your family will surely benefit from for years to come.
However, no matter how you go about it, the important thing is to start as soon as possible.
All long-term investments (and legacies) require time in order to really work.
And those golden geese need time to lay those golden eggs.
So it’s imperative that you start today.
I wish you luck and success.
Jason Fieber
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Disclaimer: Jason Fieber is not a licensed financial advisor, tax professional, or stock broker. Please consult with a licensed investment professional before investing any of your money. If your money is not FDIC insured, it may decline in value. To protect the privacy of our readers, any names published in this article are under aliases. In addition, text may be edited, omitted or paraphrased for grammar or length.