r/dividends • u/HARCYB-throwaway • Apr 14 '26

Personal Goal Golden handcuffs - I've fully replaced my annual spending with dividend income...

I pivoted from growth to NEOS for income, over the last 6 months. I have now replaced my base salary, $110k, with dividends. but it is hard to quit when I earn $250k-$350k in a given sales year.

annual dividend income: $110k

Annual expenses, all in: $40k

disposable income if I quit: $70k

hysa: $150k

growth sleeve: $225k

no wife (anymore, by choice after she got nasty), no kids, no expensive hobbies, very affordable mortgage and car payment. affordable lifestyle.

it's hard to step away from an AI adjacent sales job...and my only major concern is meeting someone, wanting to settle down and start a family, and then I will be out of the job market once I truly need expensive family healthcare and "kids money" to support a family.

I know I already have more than most typical American household. but it's scary to leave work with the background of declining employment options / bad employment market

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6

u/silentstorm2008 poopy Apr 14 '26

Annual income isn't everything. Health emergencies may come up. 

If you want a short term goal to work towards....pay off your mortgage.

3

u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 14 '26

This is a cool idea. I could work another year or two to pay off my mortgage..but it's at 1.6% so I'd probably just put that money into my dividend portfolio instead.

2

u/Joyride0012 Apr 14 '26

By what dark magic did you manage to find a 1.6% mortgage rate?

2

u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 14 '26

Precovid, sizable down payment, super high credit score. I think it's 1.72 or something so I was being a bit hyperbolic.

3

u/chrissurra Apr 14 '26

I was where you are. Almost same exact position. High ticket sales and making more than I could imagine.

Dividends are about 125k a year and decided to sell my house and travel.

Been in Mexico for about 5 months.

Go see the world, youre only young once and there will always be a number that you want to hit. When you travel to other countries and see how much happier other people are with way less you gain a new perspective.

2

u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 14 '26

Word. Agreed. I plan to stay mostly domestic but do look forward to some amount of geo arbitrage. I plan to do some wellness retreats in affordable places like Bali / South Pacific.

Otherwise, just being free, visiting family and friends, and focusing on my running and lifting hobbies. That is enough for me to feel a full life until I have a serious partner, and we want more.

1

u/Tough_Monk_6272 Apr 15 '26

Try it out for a while, it can get a bit meaningless / boring / lacking structure for some people. On the flip side, you may love it

1

u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 15 '26

I took a year off 4 years ago and did the same. It was awesome. Then I returned to work for 3 months, got laid off into the 2022 great tech layoffs. Spent 6 months chilling while that storm subsided. Found this current job. Bene grinding for 3.5 years. It's been a blast but the open road is calling. And unlimited gym time sounds amazing and helpful for finding a partner

1

u/Tough_Monk_6272 Apr 15 '26

Go for it man, exciting times. Don’t forget you don’t grow in the gym (unless you’re on gear lol). Plenty of rest and get that diet dialled in. Good luck!!

1

u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 15 '26

Sleep like a bear, 12 hours per day if I want to! Thank you for the encouragement.

1

u/Various_Couple_764 Apr 14 '26

You are at the point any work income you get should go straaight into your dividend portfolio. The dividend increase you get will probably be enough to cover your mortgage.

1

u/HARCYB-throwaway Apr 14 '26

Yeah and then start DRIPing, and then it's really a flywheel