Dear DTA,
I’m new to trading and stocks. But I’m determined to get rich. Just wondering how long it actually takes to see big results? How long does it take most people to get rich from trading?
-Shane A.
Hi, Shane.
Thanks for writing in. Appreciate your readership.
Welcome to the exciting world of stocks.
There’s so much opportunity in front of you. Congrats for deciding to take advantage of it. You’re making a wise choice.
It was like I had been let in on this amazing secret.
Once I saw the potential of investing in stocks, I knew it was going to totally change my life.
Indeed, that’s exactly what happened.
I started out in the world of stocks at 27 years old, broke, and down on my luck.
Just six years later, I found myself financially independent and retired early.
How did this happen?
I lay it all out in my Early Retirement Blueprint.
Now, you might not have designs on retiring early.
But the Blueprint is still fantastic for developing the financial framework necessary to intelligently investing and building sustainable wealth.
Moreover, I’ve never met a trader or investor who wasn’t interested in becoming financially independent. That’s kind of the point of all of this.
So to give you an idea of what’s possible, I built the bulk of my FIRE Fund in that six-year time frame.
The Fund is my real-money early retirement stock portfolio.
It generates the five-figure passive dividend income I live off of.
I’m not sure what constitutes “rich” to you.
There’s no universal definition to it.
And everyone has different means, strategies, responsibilities, and attributes.
As such, it’s nigh impossible to give you some kind of definitive time frame for becoming “rich”.
But I think it’s easily possible to build significant, life-changing wealth inside of 10 years.
I would say that’s true for most people, assuming one is approaching personal finance and investing in an intelligent manner.
In my opinion and experience, the most intelligent way to approach investing is by using the strategy of dividend growth investing.
Fellow contributor Dave Van Knapp has spelled out almost everything you’d want to know about this strategy in his Dividend Growth Investing Lessons.
This strategy espouses buying and holding shares in world-class enterprises that are paying their shareholders rising cash dividends.
Grab these shares when they’re undervalued. Then hold for the long haul.
Buy cheap and keep.
You can find hundreds of high-quality dividend growth stocks by perusing the Dividend Champions, Contenders, and Challengers list.
Don’t be surprised when you find dozens of household names on that list.
After all, it takes a special kind of business in order to reliably produce the kind of profit that can support cash dividends that are flowing and growing year in and year out.
I know you mentioned trading.
But seeing as how you are new to stocks, I would strongly recommend you think long and hard about whether you want to be a trader or an investor.
Keep in mind, too, that stocks aren’t baseball cards.
A stock represents a tiny sliver of ownership in a real business.
If you approach investing as a businessman, in a business-like manner, I think you stand to do quite well over the long run.
Trading, however, can be a fickle beast.
Success as a trader can be fleeting.
Betting on a high-quality company continuing to make more money and pay you more dividends is a pretty sure thing.
However, betting on which way a particular stock is going on a random Tuesday is a totally different endeavor.
And I think investors can put even more odds in their favor by focusing on high-quality dividend growth stocks when they’re undervalued.
That’s one reason why I helm the Undervalued Dividend Growth Stock of the Week series.
This series provides quality, actionable ideas every week by focusing on high-quality dividend growth stocks that appear undervalued at the time of publication.
The resources I’ve provided to you today are designed with an investor in mind.
But that isn’t to say that you can’t use them as a trader.
Furthermore, you can be both an investor and a trader at the same time. They’re not mutually exclusive.
Which way you go with your money is ultimately up to you, Shane.
Either way, make sure to 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.