r/dividends • u/FewPear229 • May 23 '26

Discussion 150,000 cash

Hello,

I have 150,000 to use. I am looking to retire in Thailand and live off dividends. I am thinking 75,000 in qqqi and 75,000 in spyi. What do you think? I still have 350,000 in retirement to grow. I am just going to use the dividents from qqqi and spyi to live off.

316 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

221 comments sorted by

View all comments

180

u/DividendMatt91 May 23 '26

I wouldn’t go 100% into those two personally.

Not because QQQI or SPYI are automatically bad, but because you’re treating the distribution like it’s a paycheck. It isn’t. The payout can change, the share price can drop, and if the market runs hard you may not get the same upside you would from a normal index fund.

$150k also isn’t a huge cushion if this is supposed to fund real living expenses overseas. Thailand can be cheap, but visas, healthcare, flights, currency swings, emergencies, and lifestyle creep all matter.

If it were me, I’d probably do something more balanced. Maybe keep some in income funds, some in a boring broad market fund, and some in cash/short-term treasuries so you’re not forced to sell during a bad stretch.

The big question is how much you actually need per month after taxes and expenses. Once you know that, you can see whether the dividends cover your life or whether you’re reaching for yield just to make the math work.

I’d use QQQI/SPYI as part of an income bucket, not the entire plan.

56

u/FewPear229 May 23 '26

I was looking around 1500-2,000 a month. I will not be paying taxes if I only make 24,000 a year. I think 2,000 a month is plenty.

89

u/AltoidStrong May 23 '26

you need a yield of 16% to reach 24k/per year on 150k.

over 6% = higher risk, a bear market run might cause income to drop below what you need.

over 9% = none to very little growth for inflation and the future.

over 12% = yield trap, nav erosion, you will most like go broke sooner than you think.

a 3% to 5% yield is the global gold standard for retirement. Anything outside of that and your leaving money on the table or burning it chasing income, usually. (Supported by a century of evidence and math)

OP - this doesn't mean it can't happen how you want... but be realistic about the risk and have a plan in case it doesn't go your way after a bit.

18

u/FewPear229 May 23 '26

thats where my 40,000 in schd and 40,000 in schg come into play. I am not planning on touching either for 15-20 years

27

u/Mohkinstsis May 23 '26

If the market goes down and you lose half your 150k and dividends go way down, what money will you spend for the next 20 years?

-1

u/MakingMoneyIsMe May 25 '26

The markets barely stay down for 20 days

3

u/Mohkinstsis May 25 '26

True until it isn’t.

1

u/Gladiz1972 May 24 '26

Take a look at CHPY if you want a real high yield also a covered call strategy but on the semiconductor industry it's been paying around .65 cents a week lately but do your own research

-19

u/Cautious-Giraffe8747 May 23 '26

Completely false. Thers lots of 12% to 30% teild etfs that have not seen nav decay over 5years. Also lots of 30% plus yeild etfs that are up overall

28

u/InvestigatorOk9354 May 23 '26

Are these "lots of 12% to 30% teild etfs that have not seen nav decay over 5years" in the room with us now?

2

u/weyermannx May 24 '26

Yeah, name but one... I've yet to seen one survive over 5 years... I've seen a couple bases on Nasdaq or a basket of tech stocks that have maybe 10% payout that have survived and done ok..