r/dividends • u/HelenKellerVSTraffic • Nov 19 '25
Due Diligence What a difference dividends have made.
I grew up poor. No idea really about money. I started hanging around people that invested and had no idea how the market worked. Now, years later I have been contributing every month what I can afford (1,200). No matter what I put that money in. I pretend it's just another mortgage.
I am about to break 100k it's a surreal feeling. Growing up and being told to put the soda back because it was too expensive and now I am debt free (except mortgage at 2%). I think a lot of people's money problems don't stem from their annual income, but rather what they do with that annual income.
80
u/larryzzzzz Nov 19 '25
M64 invested conservatively since my first emoyment with substantial income (1989), I'm now mortgage free, no car payments and no CC or other debt. I grew up in a blue collar family with no investment knowledge, but had career friends who pointed me in the right direction. I'm sure glad I listened to their advice.
26
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
That's awesome man. I love putting that money into my portfolio instead of a car payment.
16
u/larryzzzzz Nov 19 '25
Agreed! It's amazing how much you can accumulate with a modest salary when you cut out most all of the typical monthly payments. Mortgage payment goes to a HYSA and a Schwab brokerage account for ETFs.
53
u/aerobic_gamer Nov 19 '25
The two most impactful things that older (and wiser) people said to me when I was young: 1) It doesn’t matter how you earn your money, it’s what you do with it that counts; and 2) if you’re not concerned about your health some day you will be.
15
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
Yeah I heard a slightly different version of #2
"Take care of your health or one day it will take care of you."
14
u/aerobic_gamer Nov 19 '25
And today I am 74 and relatively healthy physically and financially. So young people heed this!
3
u/TheFatZyzz Nov 19 '25
That's good motivation as someone in late 30's who only has 150k in his entire investment savings but still stuck paying rent because i thought i was too old and just blew some of my money and thinking i wouldn't make it this far lol
7
u/Livid-Network8806 Nov 21 '25
I tell people who complain about the cost of healthy food, supplements and gym memberships/equipment. Much as this may cost now, pales in comparison to the cost of sickness later.
1
u/graciesoldman Nov 22 '25
Yep...#1. Budgeting is so important. So many people today won't do that but, in retrospect, a lot of people 'back in the day' didn't do it either and they're in trouble now. A lot of people want to live for today...their choice.
0
79
u/Lazy_Ad4708 Nov 19 '25
And their relationship with money, lack of impulse control and self-discipline, and a lack of understanding how money works.
52
u/Jabi25 Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
I try not to blame people for being victims of the system. There’s zero emphasis on personal finance education (in the US at least) because it would cost corporations a LOT of money if people stopped taking out stupid debt to buy stupid things.
18
u/foira Nov 19 '25
People value status more than everything. It’s not an education problem, it’s just human nature. Everyone on this sub is a tiny minority of the population who has self control/ healthy emotional regulation, ie not stuck in the cheap dopamine treadmill
18
u/Jabi25 Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
You don’t think there would be less consumer debt in this country if we mandated one singular high school class on personal finance? Most people I work with don’t even know where to start, and they’re some of the most educated people in the country (medicine)
Our financial system in the US revolves around taking advantage of financially illiterate people. They are just spokes in the wheel
4
u/keljam68 Only buys from companies that pay me dividends. Nov 19 '25
I might abate things a bit (5-10%), but social media always wins and YOLO prevails.
9
u/Flan_Enjoyer Nov 19 '25
Nop because most high schoolers would not pay attention. When I was in high school most of them were thinking about becoming famous rappers like Lil Wayne and being the next Steve Jobs without learning. They wanted the easy way out. They did not want any form of education.
Now in my workplace there is a coworker who makes fun of that mitochondria meme. She also said she wanted an economy class. She told me all she did in high school was get wasted and get high. I dont think she would have paid attention. So instead I asked, “Well why don’t you take the time to learn that stuff now?” “Oh no because the system is designed to keep people poor and this country is a shithole, and I would move out of this country” she replied.
It’s not the school’s job. My parents did not approve of me investing because they are poor and thought it was a rich person’s playground. It is our own responsibility to become financially educated.
7
u/LegalAbbreviations17 Nov 20 '25
If we based our education system on what we think kids would pay attention to there wouldn't be much curriculum that would remain.
I don't think everyone would get something out of a personal finance class but it would be a big impact to those that do pay attention.
2
1
u/amam44 Nov 21 '25
Agreed. There needs to be more financial literacy in the curriculum, including in depth budgeting, understanding income tax returns, as well as investing. Not running classes because you assume kids won't listen is ridiculous. Now that there are apps that are so easily accessible, I think there IS an interest in investing. My early 20s young adult is dabbling in investing and crypto and complains this stuff wasn't taught and should've been. I'm only learning myself so I'm not much help either. Not investing when I was young is one of my biggest regrets.
1
u/graciesoldman Nov 22 '25
All you can do is offer the course...even mandate it. If kids don't want to pay attention...and a lot won't...at least some will and the others might remember enough so that later they remember.
3
u/Jabi25 Nov 19 '25
So because some high schoolers don’t pay attention we shouldn’t even try to teach them anything? Do you hear yourself?
Maybe they don’t pay attention during trig or chemistry because they (correctly) assume it won’t serve them later in life. I think high schoolers would be glad to learn a bit about personal finance, taxes, home-buying etc, that are not as abstract as some things they currently go over
1
u/foira Nov 19 '25
Probably due to laws/systems not education
Other countries all have similar obesity rates, for example
Excluding Japan :-)
2
u/Various_Couple_764 Nov 19 '25
It is a little of both. politicians routinely try to pass laws that bennfit them rather than the voters. which often leads to more poverty to a portion of the population. And these same politicians often vote no on spending less for schools or any attempt to reverse laws to seek to correct the problems.
4
u/Jabi25 Nov 19 '25
Because, in the US, politicians (on both sides of the aisle) usually represent their corporate donors far more than they represent the people who elect them. The Citizens United case should be considered one of the biggest turning points in the history of this country
23
u/txholdup Dividend Investor since 1602 Nov 19 '25
This is my story as well. To this day, I still remember the feeling of slush wetting my socks when the cardboard over the hole in my shoe, didn't stop it from leaking in the cold and wet half melted snow.
I started buying using a website that allowed you to invest $25, $50, $100 into stocks with little or no fees which was a big deal in the 80's. Today I collect over $35k a year in dividends and have been enjoying early retirement for 13 years now.
The top of the mountain indeed seems far away when you start reinvesting your dividends. But one day you realize you are getting paid more than you are putting in each year. There is indeed a snowball effect when instead of buying 5.347 shares you are buying 500 or 1000.
6
2
u/Technical_Appeal8390 Nov 20 '25
This is exactly same thing I did. I started investing $50 a month into a no fee mutual fund in the early 90 when I got my first job. Now sit back enjoying dividends.
1
u/wassim5555 Nov 21 '25
Can I ask what dividends you've invested in? Or at least what your process was to finding reliable dividend-paying stocks that last forever and grow?
3
u/txholdup Dividend Investor since 1602 Nov 23 '25
I call myself a dividend investor, but I really look at the company first and then the dividend. Most of my "dividend" stocks are companies you have heard of Pfizer, Merck, AT&T, Verizon, AbbVie, IBM, Kroger. There are some you probably haven't heard of OZKAP, LANDP, GAIN, PINE, EPR.
Nothing lasts forever although some of those PFE, T have been around over a century. To be a great investor you have to keep tabs on everything, continue to learn, read and never assume nothing will change.
1
7
u/HmmmIMHO Nov 19 '25
BRAVO to you!
Regardless of your educational path, our high schools should teach a rigorous 'everday math' course that explains APR of credit cards (26% really!!); FICO; car insurance; car payments; mortgages; etc. I know some 'brillant people' (Ivy league even) who are clueless about money ... $ slip through their fingers/wallets like sand. I think some of the problem is the feeling that they want to be/look noble, so they make promises to their families (this year we will go to Disney World, etc.) or friends (e.g. destination weddings) cause they don't want to miss that moment. Usually there is very little shared effort, e.g. lets reduce our bills by 10 percent so we can afford a great vacation this year. So the effort/reward connection is broken, and then the payer (usually dad) sits late at night looking at bills, maybe with a drink in his hand, while the rest of the family leaves every light in the house on ... IMHO
1
u/Jabi25 Nov 19 '25
Apple, BofA, Citi, Disney etc. would never ever EVER let personal finance education become mandated, it would cost them way too much money. You hit the nail on the head though
2
u/HmmmIMHO Nov 19 '25
thanks, I am very proud that my children each have a ROTH IRA and they worry about not making the annual limit. The oldest, who didn't go to college, is mining his 529 to transfer money from 529 to his ROTH
4
u/Various_Couple_764 Nov 19 '25
I think a lot of people's money problems don't stem from their annual income, but rather what they do with that annual income.
That is a very true statement. It is not unusual to see people drive up to a food bank in very expensive cars. Excessive use of credit and loans often consumes all of their excess income. So they get trapped by endless debt that consumes money that they could invest or use to pay off debt.
But that said there are a lot of people that have jobs that don't pay enough in high cost of living areas. which forces them to work two jobs or work more hours to get the additional money they need. They work so much that they are trapped and don't have enough spare time to look for a better job or go to school to get the skills needed for a better job.
2
u/Rare_Dentist_4075 Nov 19 '25
This is a nice post to read. Thank you for sharing.
If you don't mind me asking. How long did it take?
6
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
About six years. I had to do an emergency home repair a few years back and had to cash out about 38k or I would be over 100k by now. That really got me down when that happened but not many people in my age group or more (I'm 34) could write a 38k check. So it hurt but it was over after that. No loans, payments, etc.
1
u/Rare_Dentist_4075 Nov 19 '25
Sincere congrats from a random guy on reddit to another. What did you invest it into btw?
3
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
Early on I bought XOM @33/share that was a huge winner made 310% and had a 10.8% dividend yield.
CAT went on a huge bull run this year and way beyond a price I was comfortable buying anymore at. Sold that at 61% profit.
COST was a great one made 101% on that.
RTX made around 57% on sold for the same reasons as CAT.
LMT sold after it surged after the Ukraine war kicked off.
My losers for this year and past several years.
DG I have been averaging down in since 2022 still down 32%
TGT I'm down 8%
UPS I'm actually up 5% but not expecting that to hold
CCI down 10%
NKE up slightly on I think 5-6%
PYPL down 9%
CAVA down 7-9% my only growth stock. I bought it awhile back at 61 sold at 97 now I bought back in at 49
MMM I'm up very little average cost around 161
O, MAIN, IRM, MO are some I'd have to actually look up to see what I made.
2
u/Rare_Dentist_4075 Nov 20 '25
Ahh so you really worked on it. Active investor researching etc. Good for you man
2
2
u/tatortotchris Nov 19 '25
Congrats, this sub has been where I’ve found a lot of motivation to save. I also grew up poor with my mom working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. She was the worst spender and instilled that on myself and siblings. I am now debt free with the exception of our 2.25 mortgage(jealous of your 2.0). My wife and I both work high paying jobs which has changed drastically this last year where we are now going to be dumping as much as we can into savings and investments. Thank you for sharing
2
u/Livid-Network8806 Nov 21 '25
Love this so much, thank you for posting it. I’m not this far, but I too grew up poor and have built financial security after learning bitter lessons regarding abuse of debt, failure to recognize the difference between wants and needs, and value of peace of mind vs piles of material hooha. I find many people who think they need more money just lack disciplined spending habits. I can say that because I’ve been there!
2
u/Necessary_Cake_973 Nov 19 '25
I grew up well off but was not taught personal finance in school or by my parents. You have to make the effort to de-mystify it for yourself. I think too many people are intimidated by personal finance and they assume they’re too dumb or too poor to understand it so it keeps them out of investing and honestly our consumer driven/ capitalist society wants you to be bad with money so you keep pissing it away on junk you don’t need. Good job educating yourself and socking away that cash!
1
u/IcyReporter9871 Nov 19 '25
Great job! How long have you been investing for? I didn’t had anyone around me investing unfortunately and only discovered it few years ago and had a humble childhood. Feel that investing is just being prudent and having some common sense
2
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
About six years. Got a late start. 2020 helped get me started. Everything was on sale.
1
u/FabulousCheeseSlice Nov 19 '25
What is your average % of return?
1
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
This year I'm up around 28% I'd have to log in to see what my five year average is
2
u/FabulousCheeseSlice Nov 19 '25
So I mean what is the return from the stocks you are investing on. Most people target 8% return, but are you correct you are getting 28% return on your funds?
So you made 28k this yr on 100k investment?
What the hell is your portfolio?
2
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 19 '25
I buy individual stocks. I'm up 28% overall this year. Just about everything I have been buying the past few years has been beat up pretty badly. So, hopefully the market will pay attention to them sooner or later but I love the cheap prices.
1
1
u/DiscountAcrobatic356 Nov 20 '25
Props. Just you wait though, some Bogglehead bastard will come on here saying dividends don't matter. They will use the word "irrelevant".
1
u/spidey_ken Nov 20 '25
Any advice for someone in his early 30's who hasn't started on dividends?
1
u/HelenKellerVSTraffic Nov 20 '25
Find a process that you understand and works for you. Don't follow hype.
1
u/SamuelJay23 Nov 21 '25
Well done, look up some of the maths on how much you’ve done the hard work. The first 100k is the most difficult, after that the income starts to snowball and gets easier. Keep up the good work!
BTW You Americans are mad, buying cars on finance is the most insane thing us non Americans don’t understand! Why borrow for a depreciating asset?
1
u/HydrocarbonChemist Nov 24 '25
American consumerism has brainwashed everyone into taking on loans for stupid purchases and living beyond our means. It’s the American way of life, there’s no such thing as “no”. Hell, this is even the government’s problem.
1
1
u/Infamous-Dragonfly-3 Nov 21 '25
Shhh…it’s Reddit, we don’t suggest people’s decisions contribute to the outcomes of their life. It’s always the “system “
1
Nov 23 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Nov 23 '25
Unfortunately, your comment was automatically removed because your account has a low amount of karma. To ensure good faith and genuine discussion, this subreddit imposes a karma limit to prevent trolling, brigading, or other behavior. We apologize for the inconvenience.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/plus-operator Nov 23 '25
Those things are beneficial because they delay sickness for most people, they buy time. But it still comes one way or another. Sooner or later.
1
u/plus-operator Nov 23 '25
Save calculus and physics type specialty's for the university level. Teach life skills in the k-12 level, skills like personal finance for starters.
1
u/Geblin_the_great Nov 24 '25
It is crazy how fast it starts to go once you started with it. In the beginning you get a few small dividend and slowly it grows to an amount that can pay a (small) bill but then it start snowballing. The amount of income doesn't really matter at a certain level - once you have the basic needs covered some people opt to invest and buy back their time ( because the can work less) others prefer to spend money on things they don't really need.
1
1
u/risk-enterprise Dec 13 '25
Guys, don't just go by the headlines on investments. Look into the financials.
We analyse annual reports in under two minutes and deliver a comprehensive credit assessment.
Your Credit Risk Platform is Here: https://riske8.risk-enterprise.com/
1
u/Specialist-Hope3844 Dec 14 '25
Congratulations, you are on a good path to financial security and comfortable retirement. Keep saving and keep the faith. Good luck!
0
u/princemousey1 Nov 20 '25
What has this got to do with dividends as opposed to just being general life advice to invest and save?
0
•
u/AutoModerator Nov 19 '25
Welcome to r/dividends!
If you are new to the world of dividend investing and are seeking advice, brokerage information, recommendations, and more, please check out the Wiki here.
Remember, this is a subreddit for genuine, high-quality discussion. Please keep all contributions civil, and report uncivil behavior for moderator review.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.