What? Thanksgiving already? If the holidays snuck up on you and you need a side gig to pay the bills, consider holiday hustles you can start tomorrow. These are gigs that people just like you (and me) would like someone else to do for them — right now.

“This is the season when money is flowing and people are willing to pay for help,” says Christine Schaub, author of Queen of the Side Hustle. That makes this the perfect time to ply a service-oriented side hustle, she adds.

What can you do?

Holiday hustles you can start tomorrow

If you want to come up with a full list of holiday hustles you could start tomorrow, just think about all the things you need to get done between now and Christmas, Schaub suggests.

Choose, order and address holiday cards? Hang lights? Wrap presents? Buy presents? Find someone to watch the kids for your office holiday party? Find someone to watch the dog for your trip to grandma’s house? Get someone to make the food for your holiday meal? Decorate your house? Clean your house? The list seems endless.

And, yet everyone reading this has some skill that could make doing at least one of those jobs simple, she adds. Why not market yourself as the go-to problem solver for the one item on this list that you don’t mind doing?

Social sites to get the word out

But how do you get the word out that you’re ready, willing and able to solve holiday headaches? That depends on what you want to do. With many holiday hustles, spreading the word is as easy as composing a social media post.

Both Nextdoor and Facebook are great places to announce things like: “I make holiday cookies. $20 per dozen.” Snap a photo. And, Voila, your baking business has launched!

This is also the perfect approach for people who make charcuterie trays and wrap gifts. Both sites allow users to post photos and personal messages without paying a dime for marketing. However, if you want your post to reach a larger audience, both also allow you to boost your message with advertising.

You might also use this approach to launch your light-hanging, house decorating, babysitting or dog-watching service, too. However, you can also use other online platforms to advertise these services.

Taskrabbit

If you want to clean, decorate houses, wrap packages, assemble gifts, provide personal shopping or personal assisting services, you can also advertise your availability on Taskrabbit. Taskrabbit is a highly-reviewed national marketplace for all types of in-person services, from painting and appliance repair to cleaning and running errands.

Those who want to offer a service through this site, simply sign up and create a profile that talks about their experience and the services they offer. Workers set their own rates and availability. And there is no cost to publish a profile or find work here. Taskrabbit adds a fee to your rate to pay the site’s expenses.

When a client wants a particular service, they’ll plug in what they need and their location. The site returns with a listing of freelancers who could provide that service. The profile listings say what each freelancer charges, how many similar projects they’ve accepted, their customer ratings, and, sometimes, photos of their work. (Photos are a great idea for those just getting started on the platform. It gives potential customers some assurance that you do good work, when you haven’t yet built up a lot of reviews to back that up.)

Typical rates for cleaning and decorating services range from $30 to $70 per hour. Personal shoppers and assistants typically charge $20 – $50 per hour.

Rover

Want to provide dog-sitting services? Create a profile on Rover. Like Taskrabbit, Rover encourages freelance pet-sitters, dog-walkers, groomers and house-sitters to sign up and post a profile stipulating what they do and what they charge. You’re invited to post copious photos of you and the pets you’ve cared for, too. There’s no cost to get started, but site charges a commission on your earnings to pay for marketing and collecting payments from your clients.

Notably, overnight pet-sitting rates typically range from $25 to $50 per animal, per night. But Rover also allows pet sitters to publish holiday rates. So, if you want to earn extra money for watching people’s animals on Christmas day or when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, you can set your own premium prices for those high-demand dates.

Bambino and Care

Willing to watch kids while their parents attend holiday parties or go out for New Year’s Eve? You can advertise your willingness to babysit on social media sites like Facebook and Nextdoor. However, parents who want a vetted caregiver are more likely to search on sites where their babysitters are known to their friends and family — or have been background-checked by a site.

Two sites are worth mentioning for potential babysitters — Bambino and Care. Bambino charges nothing to sitters to sign up and create a profile. Sitters are expected to connect their social media accounts to give parents the ability to find sitters used by friends and friends of friends. When a parent books a sitter through this app, they pay the site a $5 sitter fee at the end of each sit.

Care is an all-purpose caregiving site, which enlists babysitters, pet-sitters, and people who work with older and disabled individuals, to sign up and post profiles. Signing up and creating a profile is free. However, if you want to communicate with potential clients, you’ll need to pay for a membership. Memberships for caregivers are relatively inexpensive — $9 a month or $24 for six months. However, clients also pay a membership fee that’s a bit steeper. So, this site isn’t your best choice if you only want occasional babysitting work. The site is best for those who want regular caregiving gigs.

The post Holiday Hustles You Can Start Tomorrow appeared first on Sidehusl.com.

Welcome to the “Investing for Beginners” podcast, where we explore essential strategies for successful investing. In this episode, we introduce the PIVOT framework, focusing on portfolio management, diversification, and balancing risk and reward to enhance your investment journey.

• 00:00:00 – Introduction to podcast and unique episode format.
• 00:00:51 – Overview of the PIVOT framework for investing.
• 00:01:05 – Focus on portfolio management’s vital role.
• 00:02:00 – Importance of conviction and diversification in investments.
• 00:03:15 – Buffett’s punch card analogy for investment strategy.
• 00:04:00 – Difficulty in finding multiple great monthly investments.
• 00:05:01 – Discussion on position sizes and portfolio balance.
• 00:06:11 – Need for industry diversification in portfolios.

Today’s show is sponsored by:

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Have questions? Send them to [email protected]

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW

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The post Understanding the PIVOT Framework in Investing: Focus on Portfolio Management appeared first on Investing for Beginners 101.

In 2012, I retired from my engineering career and our household earned income decreased by 65%. Ouch! Most households can’t deal with this kind of reduction, but I was prepared. We already lived frugally and I ramped up our passive income. I invested in dividend stocks, rentals, and worked on some side hustles. I was lucky because everything worked out very well over the last 12 years. Our FIRE income grew to surpass our expenses.

It’s been a few years since I shared our taxable account. Today, I’d like to give an update on our dividend portfolio.

Dividend income is my favorite form of income because it is very passive. I don’t have to do much and the dividends will keep rolling in AND grow. I used to like rental properties, but they are too much work. These days, I don’t have time to be a DIY landlord anymore. That’s why I invest in Real Estate Crowdfunding. I can benefit from the real estate investment, but I don’t have to fix the toilet. The only problem with real estate crowdfunding is tax filing. Some sponsors are chronically late with the K1 forms and I have to file a tax extension every year. It is annoying, but not a deal breaker. Also, the pandemic and high interest rates caused problems for many sponsors. Some projects didn’t perform as well as expected. Anyway, let’s get back to the dividend portfolio.

Evolution of the dividend portfolio

Before I retired, our taxable account was invested in index funds and growth stocks. When I retired, I wanted to increase our passive income so I focused more on dividend growth stocks. These companies increase their dividends consistently. At that point, I assumed Mrs. RB40 wanted to retire in a few years.

We set her tentative retirement target date to 2020. However, it didn’t work out as I imagined. Mrs. RB40 is one of those people who want to be productive and contribute to society. She could retire if she wanted to, but she prefers to work. After I understood her point of view, I stopped investing in dividend stocks. Dividend income is nice, but you have to pay tax every year. That’s why I have went back to growth stocks over the last few years. Luckily, they have done extremely well lately.   

Dividend income

Here is the chart of our dividend income since 2012.

It grew steadily from 2012 and topped out in 2019. If I kept my focus on dividends, it’d probably be much higher today. I get envious every time I read Bob’s dividend report. Their dividend portfolio generates over $4,500 every month! That’s amazing. But we did okay too.

Growth of portfolio

Here is the value of our dividend portfolio.

I got lucky over the last few years and our portfolio grew quite a bit. Since 2019, I haven’t added much money to this portfolio because I wanted to increase our passive income with real estate crowdfunding. That worked out pretty well too. You can see the RE crowdfunding performance here.

Individual stocks

Here is the spreadsheet.

For 2024, the overall yield is 1.81%. That’s pretty low for a dividend portfolio.

The performance looks better than it really is. I got rid of some losers over the years for tax deductions. Anyway, let’s look at some highlights.

Best percentage gain – Eli Lilly

I purchased LLY in 2011. It was my first dividend stock. Since then, LLY gained 2,044%! They had some setbacks this year, but LLY is still our best dividend investment. Recently, the total dividends received ($3,683) surpassed the price we paid for the stock ($3,481). It’s all gravy from here. The dividend yield is quite low at 0.7%, but that’s because the stock price increased so much over the years.

Best $ gain – Nvidia

By 2020, I stopped buying new dividend stocks because I realized Mrs. RB40 wanted to keep working. I refocused on growth stock and got very lucky. At the time, Facebook changed its name to Meta to pivot onto the Metaverse. I was onboard and purchased Nvidia, Meta, and Unity. Unfortunately, the Metaverse hasn’t pan out as Mark Zuckerberg envisioned. All the Metaverse related stocks dropped, but I hung on. However, AI exploded onto the scene and gave Nvidia a huge boost. I sold off 60% of my NVDA holding to take profit. That wasn’t very smart because the stock rocketed up even more. Fortunately, I knew enough to hold on to some shares. Anyway, the 1,000 Nvidia shares in my dividend portfolio have $126,480 unrealized gains. Jackpot! The 60% I sold off was in my Roth IRA. META also did very well recently. It is in my Roth IRA as well.  

Only 2 losers left – U and INMD

I got rid of many losers over the years and only have 2 left – Unity and InMode. I probably should get rid of these stocks too.

30 yrs bonds

I have $2,000 of 30-years U.S. Treasure bond at 4.125%. I figured I’d sell these off once the rates drop. We also had a bunch of 1-year bonds that matured earlier this year. I moved the money into the Total Stock Market Index Fund, VTSAX.

2024 clean up – INTC, LEG, NLY, WU, EMN, and DIS

Finally, I sold off all my INTC stocks. I should have sold them off when they were $60/share. I guess I held onto them for sentimental reasons. I also got rid of LEG, NLY, WU, and EMN. All these companies had some problems.

As for Disney, I purchased them in 2019 when they paid good dividends. Unfortunately, Disney cut dividends during the pandemic and performed badly over the last few years. They got a pop last week so I sold off some shares.

I Bonds

We have about $70,000 in Series I Savings Bonds at the US Treasury. This will be our cash cushion when Mrs. RB40 finally retires. I plan to build this position to about $200,000. If the market crashes, we can dip into I bonds as needed. In 2024, we’ll receive about $2,150 in interest from I bonds. The I bonds aren’t included in the dividend portfolio above. Next week, I’ll transfer all the money market shares to I bonds, about $30,000.

Going forward

Going forward, I plan to avoid individual stocks. According to Vanguard, my rate of return is 12.3% annually. That’s pretty good, but it was all luck. If we remove NVDA, I’d be underperforming the index fund. My dividend portfolio had quite a few stinkers. Namely, I held on to INTC stocks 24 years too long. I should have sold them off a long time ago.

The problem is I don’t follow the stock market anymore. Some dividend stocks degraded over the years and aren’t good companies anymore. I usually miss the problem until much later. One such company is Leggett & Platt, LEG. They paid good dividends when I purchased the stock years ago. However, the business struggled recently. If I kept track, I would have known to sell the stock earlier.

From now on, I’ll channel everything into index funds and I bonds. At this point, I need to simplify our finances. Mrs. RB40 will need to take over at some point and I don’t want to confuse her with individual stocks. Anyway, I’m pretty happy with our dividend portfolio so far. Everyone looks like a genius when the stock market is going up, right?  

Do you invest in dividend stocks? What’s your strategy?

The post Dividend Growth Portfolio 2024 appeared first on Retire by 40.

This ETF screener is based on tracking errors and tracking differences (ETF return minus index return). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. The tracking error is the ETF’s standard deviation minus index monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error, the more efficient the ETF is…

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Do you ever just look at people who have successfully climbed the corporate ladder and think, “Wow, they have it all!” Maybe the idea tempted you to find careers that pay well, but you ended up seeing your usual 9-to-5 jobs. If you’re anything like me, you know how draining office jobs can be. They…

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The post A Review of The Sure Dividend Newsletter appeared first on Dividend Power.

In this article, I provide a review of the Sure Dividend Newsletter, which is one of the best dividend stock newsletters. Before we proceed, I want to disclose that I am an Affiliate of Sure Dividend. This post provides affiliate links to the Dividend Pro Plan, which includes the Sure Dividend Newsletter. This means I earn a commission for any purchases you make at the Affiliate’s website through these links. This will not incur additional costs for you. Please read my disclosure for more information. In addition, I provide investment research analyses on several stocks for Sure Dividend’s Sure Analysis Research Database.

Sure Dividend Newsletter Review – What is Sure Dividend?

In this review, I want first to answer the question, “What is Sure Dividend?” Sure Dividend is an investment site and research service run by my fellow dividend growth investor, Ben Reynolds. The website was started in 2014 and built a large following by providing free content and lists of dividend stocks.

The Sure Dividend motto is “High-Quality Dividend Stocks, Long-Term Plan,” as their website states. The dividend investing newsletter aims to “help individual investors build high-quality dividend growth portfolios for the long run.” Their goal is “…financial freedom through an investment portfolio that pays rising dividend income over time.” Since I am a dividend growth investor, this fits my dividend investing strategy and long-term plan.

From the perspective of a do-it-yourself or ‘DIY’ investor, Sure Dividend is four services. Sure Dividend features

• Free content in a blog,
• Three premium newsletters,
• Two premium top 10 lists, and a
• Premium database of investment research on individual stocks.

In addition, there is an extensive archive of free articles on the Sure Dividend website. The posts cover a wide array of topics I will discuss below.

Premium Investing Newsletter

The premium investing newsletters are paid services. There are three monthly investing newsletters: The Sure Dividend Newsletter, The Sure Retirement Newsletter, and The Sure Passive Income Newsletter. All three newsletter comes out monthly.

• The Sure Dividend Newsletter covers dividend growth stocks. 
• The Sure Retirement Newsletter covers the best 4%+ yielding stocks.
• The Sure Passive Income Newsletter covers buying and holding stocks with rising income. 

All 3 of these premium newsletters are powered by analysis from the Sure Analysis Research Database. That’s where the Sure Dividend team covers more than 850 income securities quarterly to find the best for their members.

The flagship service is the Side Dividend Newsletter. Click here to start your risk-free 7-day trial now, and save $41/year with coupon code DP41 (which should apply automatically).

I will now discuss the free content and review the Sure Dividend Newsletter.

Sure Dividend Review – The Free Content

Before I review The Sure Dividend Newsletter, let me first discuss the free content. The free content includes many valuable lists of dividend stocks as well as some free analyses.

Free Articles on Dividend Stocks and More

For example, the list of articles for November 2024 is seen in the screenshot below. You can see that the free content includes dividend stock lists, free MS Excel spreadsheets, an analysis of a few stocks that do not pay a dividend and the potential for them to do so, and other content.

This free content got me interested in and following Sure Dividend and the investing newsletter in the first place. Few investment sites and services offer as much quality free content for the DIY or self-directed small investor. Sure Dividend also provides quite a bit of free analyses on other investment sites. For example, Sure Dividend wrote an article for my blog about Procter & Gamble and now publishes monthly articles on Dividend Power.

The most popular articles are

• The Dividend Aristocats List
• The Higher Dividend Stocks List
• The Monthly Dividend Stocks List
• The Dividend Kings List
• The Blue Chip Stocks List

Free Excel Spreadsheets

The free spreadsheets are the other beneficial and popular free content on the Sure Dividend website. This list includes spreadsheets of the

• Dividend Kings
• Blue Chip Stocks
• Dividend Aristocrats
• Dividend Achievers
• Dividend Champions
• Dividend Contenders
• Dividend Challengers
• High Dividend Stocks
• Cheap Dividend Stocks
• Monthly Dividend Stocks
• Dividend Stocks by Payment Date
• Index Lists, Industry & Sector Lists
• Guru and Hedge Fund Lists, and more.

You can see in the screenshot below the free content from the Dividend Kings spreadsheet. It covers much of the valuable data investors need to evaluate and perform investment research on a stock. The other part is that you can use the data in the spreadsheet in your spreadsheets.

The Sure Dividend Newsletter – Review

Now let’s review The Sure Dividend Newsletter, the flagship investing newsletter Sure Dividend provides. As a DIY or self-directed dividend growth investor, I am primarily attracted to The Sure Dividend Newsletter. 

This newsletter covers “high-quality dividend growth stocks” that are investment ideas for you. Ideally, that is what I want to invest in, high-quality stocks that raise their dividend annually with a low probability of a dividend cut or suspension. The detailed newsletter comprises stock analyses, tables, charts, and commentary. The newsletter comes out monthly.

Why Dividend Growth Stocks?

One may ask, why focus on dividend growth stocks? Well, as my readers know, dividend growth stocks tend to outperform other categories, including stocks that pay a constant dividend, stocks that do not change the dividend, stocks without a dividend, stocks that cut or eliminate the dividend, and an equally weighted S&P 500 index.

Further, dividend growth stocks tend to have lower volatility as a group compared to the other categories. Take a look at the table below. The table supports my statements. Dividend growth stocks have higher annual total returns and lower volatility as measured by beta and standard deviation over the long haul—the differences between stocks that pay a dividend and those that don’t are stark.

This Sure Dividend Newsletter draws upon the 850+ securities in the Sure Analysis Research Database to evaluate and rank dividend growth stocks.

The newsletter ranks stocks based on their dividend risk ratings, expected total returns, and dividend yields. The dividend risk scores should be ‘A’ or ‘B.’ The expected total returns should be greater than the broader market – and the higher, the better. Finally, the dividend yield should be greater than 2%. As a point of reference, the S&P 500’s dividend yield is currently about 1.25%.

Each month the Sure Dividend team provides a list of 10 stocks along with detailed analyses. In general, these are undervalued stocks with a margin of safety. They also include over 850 securities with risk rankings. The detail mentioned above is why the Sure Dividend Newsletter is one of the best dividend stock newsletters.

Opening Thoughts from Sure Dividend

The Sure Dividend Newsletter includes opening commentary from the authors that are often thought-provoking. For instance, in a past newsletter, the topic was “Do Recession-Resistant Stocks Stay Recession Resistant?” Other past issues include:

• End-of-Year Tax-Loss Harvesting
• Why Invest in Dividend Stocks?
• The Taxation of Dividends
• The Similarities Between Dividend Growth Investing and Warren Buffett’s Investing Style
• On Branded Consumer Goods Companies

The opening thoughts are about one page long, so it is easy to read and provides relevant information for small investors.

Sell Recommendations

The following section includes sell recommendations. These are equities that Sure Dividend has previously recommended as buys but now recommend as sells. The main reason is they are overvalued with low expected total returns. However, these stocks have appreciated in many cases and may be trading above their fair value estimates.

Sure Dividend Newsletter Review – The Sure Dividend Top 10 List

Next, a list of stocks called “The Sure Dividend Top 10” comprises the top 10 stocks in Sure Dividend’s investing research database for the month’s newsletter. This list is one of the most important and popular sections. It is here that many readers likely get investment ideas for further research. It is an excellent starting point. I include a screenshot from an older newsletter in January 2020 as an example.

The chart above includes both actual current data and metrics based on analysis. The top 10 list covers the company name, ticker, Sure Dividend’s Risk Score (a proprietary score), current stock prices, estimated fair value, expected value return, dividend yield, dividend payout ratio, the expected growth of the dividend, and expected total annualized return or ‘ETR.’

At the bottom of the same page, a comparison of an equal-weighted portfolio of the Top 10 list with the S&P 500 is shown.

Sure Dividend Review – Analysis of the Top 10 Stocks

The central part of the Sure Dividend Newsletter is a deep-dive analysis of the stocks in The Sure Dividend Top 10 recommendations every month. This section includes about one page of analysis commentary, one page of data tables, charts of dividend yield history and stock price, charts on fundamentals, and a bar graph on valuation analysis.

Analysis Commentary

The analysis commentary section in the Sure Dividend Newsletter includes an overview & of current events, competitive advantage & recession performance, growth prospects, valuation & catalyst. The analysis commentary ends with key statistics, ratios & metrics. Below is an example of International Business Machines (IBM) from January 2020.

Three financial data tables cover 10 years of trailing data from the income statement, balance sheets, and profitability & per share metrics. This data is helpful for investors who have held a stock for many years and want to see trends. The data can also be used for your calculations and analysis.

Charts

The charts in the Sure Dividend Newsletter are helpful for historical comparisons. I show an example of IBM again from the January 2020 newsletter. In addition, the chart on dividend yield and price is helpful. As you are well aware, dividend yield and price are inversely related. But you can check if the dividend yield is above or below trailing periods as a measure of over or undervaluation.

Closing Thoughts

Next, Ben and his team at Sure Dividend provide closing thoughts for the analysis section in the newsletter. This is similar to opening thoughts. This page ends with the disclaimer.

Real Money Portfolio

The section tracks actual investments based on the Top 10 list each month. Sure Dividend invests $1,000 in the highest-ranked security they do not own or own the least in the portfolio. Money will not be added to specific stock if it pushes the sector weighting to over 30% to maintain diversification and reduce risk. 

The target number of stocks in the Sure Dividend portfolio is a maximum of 30. Once 30 stocks are reached, Sure Dividend will buy the highest-ranked stock in both the portfolio and the top 10 that they own the least of, up to 10% of the total portfolio. Sell decisions are based on the same criteria used in the Sure Dividend Newsletter.

Buying & Ranking Criteria

This section discusses how Sure Dividend comes up with the Sure Dividend Top 10 list each month. The screenshot below is taken from the January 2021 Sure Dividend Newsletter.

This section also covers information on the expected total return.

Portfolio Buying Guide

The following section provides a strategy on how to buy stocks. Sure Dividend states, “Each month invest in the top-ranked security in which you own the smallest dollar amount out of the Top 10.” Of course, this is one allocation strategy, but you can use your own along with the Top 10 list. 

The strategy is simple since you buy the highest-ranked stock if you do not own it. However, if you already own all ten on the list, you purchase the one you own the least. The screenshot below is an example from the January 2021 Sure Dividend Newsletter. Over time you will build a portfolio of about 30 stocks.

Past Recommendations & Sells

This section includes every past buy recommendation that has yet to be sold. It clearly shows the stock, the years since first recommended, the dividend risk score, total return, CAGR, and comparison to the S&P 500 Index’s total return. Past recommendations at or below the sell thresholds are bolded in red. The last two parts of this section include pending sales and sold positions.

The Sure Dividend Newsletter has two sell rules. The first sell rule is dividend-based. The second sell rule is valuation-based.

Sell Rule #1, Dividend-Based Sell Rules: Any past recommendation that reduces or eliminates its dividend is automatically a pending sell. First, we review and analyze these securities to determine when to initiate the final sale. Secondly, any past recommendation with an “F” Dividend Risk Score is examined as a potential sell.

Sell Rule #2, Valuation-Based Sell Rules: Sell past recommendations with expected total returns lower than 3%. Other factors may be considered before selling lower expected total return securities. 

Sure Dividend Review – List of Stocks by Dividend Risk Score & Sector

The following section is a List of Stocks by Dividend Risk Score. This section groups stocks into categories A through F and is sorted by expected total returns from highest to lowest. The last section groups stocks by sector, sorted by dividend risk scores and expected total returns. These rankings don’t always align with the Top 10 list due to additional safety considerations. But it is a place to look for investment ideas.

The eleven sectors for stocks are:

• Basic Materials
• Communication Services
• Consumer Cyclical
• Consumer Defensive
• Energy
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Industrials
• Real Estate
• Technology
• Utilities

What I Like About The Sure Dividend Newsletter?

Sure Dividend Newsletter Review – Who Is Sure Dividend For?

The Sure Dividend Newsletter is for serious ‘DIY’ or self-directed dividend growth investors. The Sure Dividend Newsletter helps build a portfolio of dividend stocks and generate a rising passive income stream regardless of age. In addition, the newsletter provides a wealth of information that one can review and read. 

There is quite a bit of commentary, analysis, and data in the newsletter consolidated into one place for dividend growth investors. This information is beneficial for investors. It is clear from the newsletter that Ben and his team put a significant amount of time and effort into producing it each month.

Structured and Quantitative Method with Qualitative Analysis

I also like that there is a structured, quantitative ranking method mixed with qualitative analysis. Most small investors need a systematic dividend investing method to filter an extensive list of stocks into a smaller usable and unwieldy list. Ben and his team have done that for you by creating the monthly Top 10 list in the Sure Dividend Newsletter. They have also analyzed the stocks for qualitative factors, which are crucial in selecting stocks. 

The Top 10 is a great place to start for most investors looking for investment ideas. One can read the analysis of each stock, look at the tables, check the valuation, and then make some decisions on whether to invest. But, ultimately, the decision is up to you.

Suitable for Investors with a Wide Range of Experience

Beginners can use the Sure Dividend Newsletter, as well as intermediate to more advanced investors. The investing newsletter simplifies the stock selection process and guides how to build a portfolio. Building a portfolio can be challenging. Many DIY investors end up with a hodge-podge of too many stocks. Their portfolio may be too concentrated in specific sectors. Alternatively, their portfolio may not provide adequate diversification. This section is an excellent place to get some information on portfolio building.

Dividend investing and investing, in general, are about information, structure, and decision making. The Sure Dividend Newsletter provides information, data, analyses, and structure. It permits a DIY investor to make decisions knowledgeably. The path of a DIY or self-directed investor is not for everyone. It takes time and effort. However, if this path works for you, then the Sure Dividend Newsletter may help you.

As a final note, there are three newsletters from Sure Dividend.

The Sure Dividend Newsletter covers dividend growth stocks and draws upon the over 700+ stock analyses in the Sure Analysis Research Database.

The Sure Retirement Newsletter covers high-yield securities with a dividend yield of more than 4% for those seeking income.

The Sure Passive Income Newsletter covers buying and holding stocks with rising income.

What is the Price of The Sure Dividend Newsletter?

I hope that you found this review of the Sure Dividend Newsletter useful. Please click here if you are interested in subscribing to The Sure Dividend Newsletter. The link includes the Sure Dividend coupon code, DP41S, which reduces the Dividend Power reader’s price by $41 per year. The regular price for The Sure Dividend Newsletter is $199 a year, and the reduced price through this offer is $158 per year.

Sure Dividend also offers The Sure Retirement Newsletter and The Sure Passive Income Newsletter for the same $158 annually through Dividend Power.

 Please click here to start your 7-day free trial with the DP41S Sure Dividend Coupon code applied which reduces your price from $199/year to $158/year

The post A Review of The Sure Dividend Newsletter appeared first on Dividend Power.

Here is Liga going for an early morning swim at Warrnambool. Yes, this is the same Liga who has been complaining about being cold every day since she got here! She didn’t stay in for long, though she admitted that the water temperature wasn’t too bad. As soon as we set foot outside, I knew […]

The post The Ligas’ Crazy Road Trip – Day 4: The Grampians. appeared first on Burning Desire For FIRE.

Living alone has its benefits, but it also comes with the constant temptation to spend money just to break the quiet. A quick coffee run here, an online purchase there – it adds up quickly. I’ve been working on finding ways to occupy my mind without spending on unnecessary extras. After some trial and error, I’ve settled on three budget-friendly pastimes that are saving my wallet and giving my mind something engaging to do: puzzles, Legos, and Christmas movies.

Puzzles: Mindful Focus Without the Extra Cost

Puzzles are, hands down, one of the best ways I’ve found to keep myself entertained without a single dollar spent after the initial purchase. We’ve done puzzles as a family since the kids were little, little. I’ve even taken puzzles on our roadtrips. We have done them in hotels. Puzzles are a family favorite.  We do them, then we donate them. And I can typically pick them up for $5-8. And always have 1-2 in the board game closet. I pulled this one out when I got back from Texas.

Puzzles give me something to focus on, piece by piece, and keep my mind active and absorbed. Plus, each puzzle stretches out for hours or even days, depending on my pace, which means it’s an investment in entertainment that lasts far longer than a one-time outing. When I’m puzzling, I don’t feel the itch to spend because my mind is too occupied to even think about shopping. Win-win.

Legos: A Creative Outlet That’s Surprisingly Affordable

Rediscovering Legos as an adult has been one of the best surprises in my quest for frugal entertainment. It started when my daughter’s boyfriend gave her a Lego flower bouquet. I thought it was so cute! And now I’ve got my own. I anticipate that after the hours I spend building and then admiring the end result. It’s a way to scratch that creative itch and stay busy without looking for distractions online. The act of building with my hands keeps me from looking for other ways to pass the time that could easily turn into impulse spending. And it’s really been working. (I realized yesterday that I haven’t had to get gas since returning from Texas.)

Christmas Movies: Cozy Entertainment at No Extra Cost

I’ve always loved Christmas movies, but now they’re more than just a tradition; they’re my go-to for affordable relaxation. I pull up the options, settle in with some tea and a blanket, and instantly feel that cozy holiday spirit. It’s an ideal way to pass the time without adding to my expenses. It’s amazing how much this cozy ritual calms the urge to browse online when I’m alone.

Protecting my Wallet…and my Sanity

Each of these activities keeps my mind engaged, my hands busy, and my wallet safe. Finding frugal joy in puzzles, Legos, and Christmas movies has been the perfect way to entertain myself without the usual spending pitfalls. They’re not just pastimes; they’re my defense against unnecessary spending and my go-to mental escapes. So, for now, I’ll happily settle in with my puzzle pieces, a stack of Lego bricks, and a holiday film queued up – because sometimes, simple, budget-friendly pleasures are exactly what we need.

Sidenote: One nice thing about living alone now is that I can leave them out on my kitchen table for days, weeks, even months without bothering anyone or prohibiting anything like a family dinner. How do you entertain yourself on a budget?

The post Finding Frugal Joy: Puzzles, Legos, and Christmas Movies as Budget-Friendly Entertainment appeared first on Blogging Away Debt.

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