After
getting out of debt, building an emergency fund and taking advantage of tax-incentive
investing (IRA/403b), I started looking at other investment options. Fidelity
and Vanguard both make investing easy, with numerous low-fee accounts. After picking
some high dividend paying index funds, I also decided to experiment with the
stock market. After considerable research, I began investing in individual
stocks which meet the following criteria:
· Low debt ratios: After personally observing the
positive impact that eliminating debt has had on me being able to start creating real
wealth, I will only invest in companies that follow this same principle.
· Good cash flow: This principle isn’t really
possible without the previous one, as they go hand in hand, but I won’t invest
in broke companies, even if they have no debt…
· Low price to earnings ratio (P/E): I’m
looking for companies trading at no more than 15 times their earnings to ensure
the opportunity for growth, even though I’m really investing for…
· High dividends: Let’s face it…another
recession is coming, and likely sooner than later. However, dividend paying
stocks pay out whether the company goes up in value or not, so if I can get 4+%
in dividends from a stable company, I will.
· Trading at a discount: I’m only buying
companies trading at at least a 20% discount from its 52-week high. If all the
other principles are met, this final requirement all but ensures a long-term
profit.
A big
reason for this test is that I plan on shifting the bulk of my retirement portfolio
to dividend paying investments when I leave the workforce in a few years and
what a better way to test the waters ahead of time….
I decided
on the investment platform Robinhood for this test, as they do not charge any
fees and are incredibly easy to work with to date, so….
This month,
I invested in 3 different companies that met all of the principles listed
above and have increased my portfolio by 11.75%. And to be honest, while the gains
are nice to see, these investments are more about the dividends. More to follow
in the months ahead as my test continues….
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