Dear DTA,
I’m 23. Just stared a new job, fresh out of college. I want to start building serious wealth right now. Where do I start?
-James A.
Hi, James.
Thanks for writing in. Appreciate your readership very much!
I must say, I love the enthusiasm. It’s refreshing. And you’re getting such an early start on this. Kudos.
Your young age is a huge advantage over others.
Now, I don’t know anything about your entire financial situation.
The amount of money you save will have a lot to say about how much capital you can commit toward building wealth.
Also, any student loan debt you may have could hold you back.
The good news is, student loans generally feature very low interest rates, generous repayment schemes, and certain tax benefits that might make it beneficial for you to consider making the minimum possible payments and stretching out that debt for as long as possible.
In addition, there are a number of presidential candidates that are aiming to reduce or eliminate existing student loan debt for Americans.
So that could be a huge “ace in the hole” for you, if you have this kind of debt.
Now, in regard to building wealth, I’m going to share a number of resources that I believe can put you on the right track for producing gobs of wealth and passive income at a very young age – even with a modest income.
I’d know.
I used all of these resources myself to go from below broke at age 27 to financially independent and retired at 33 years old.
That’s zero to hero in just six years. My day job paid me only ~$50,000 per year.
Seems crazy?
It’s really not.
I lay out how I did it in my Early Retirement Blueprint.
James, you’re even younger than I was when I started.
And you might be in even better financial condition than I was.
Plus, you could be earning more money than I did; I certainly wasn’t lighting the world on fire with my job income.
A major aspect of the Blueprint is, of course, the investment strategy.
There are a lot of investment strategies out there. Many roads lead to Rome.
But I believe the most efficient strategy for building substantial wealth and passive income as fast as possible is dividend growth investing.
This investment strategy advocates buying shares in high-quality businesses that are paying out reliable and rising cash dividend payments to shareholders.
Buy these shares when they’re undervalued. Then sit on them for the long haul. Collect and reinvest your rising dividend income. Get wealthy.
It takes a little patience, sure. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme.
But if you can give it a few years, there’s a lot of potential wealth and passive income waiting for you.
In only six years, I built the bulk of my FIRE Fund.
That’s my real-life and real-money early retirement dividend growth stock portfolio.
And it generates the five-figure passive dividend income I live off of.
I don’t think six years is a particularly lengthy period of time.
Yet putting aside that time to patiently and diligently build wealth has changed the rest of my life.
You could be a very wealthy man by the time you’re 30, if you start now.
Getting started has never been easier than it is today.
The amount of free information you have at your fingertips is unreal.
For example, there are more than 800 US-listed examples of these dividend growth stocks on the Dividend Champions, Contenders, and Challengers list.
Perusing that list will reveal many household names. A lot of blue-chip stocks here, James.
That shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, it takes a wonderful business to produce the ever-growing profit necessary to sustain ever-growing dividends.
Fellow contributor Dave Van Knapp put together an amazing series of articles on everything you’d possibly want to know about dividend growth investing.
Make sure to check out his Dividend Growth Investing Lessons to learn more about what this strategy is, why it’s so robust, and how to effectively execute it.
If you find yourself believing in this strategy, as I believe in it, you’ll never be short on strong investment ideas.
I actually put out a compelling long-term dividend growth stock investment idea every single Sunday.
These ideas are heavily filtered. I look at fundamentals, competitive advantages, risks, and valuation.
What’s left is the “best of the best”.
I then provide these ideas for free via the Undervalued Dividend Growth Stock of the Week series.
You’re young. You’re obviously hungry. Major brokerages are now offering free trades. And the amount of free, quality information you have at your disposal is incredible.
Take advantage of all of this.
Get started 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.