Understand The Goal
There are two main subsets of the population have never given serious consideration to their financial future. The first group includes the altruistic dreamers that are trying to build a better world for society, and the second group is their counterpart, those consumed with living for today.If financial success was never your goal, the inability to achieve it is technically not a failure. However, there are certain innate outcomes that are so universal that they don't have to be explicitly listed as goals; and I would put the financial wherewithal to meet your family's needs in retirement as an innate goal.
Define A Plan To Accomplish The Goal
This is actually the most difficult step. One could easily infer that everything a person needs to know to succeed financially, is out there freely available. This is true, but it is also true that there is a lot of miss-information that is freely available.An individual must sort through what is good and what is bad information. If you don't have someone you trust to help you define your plan, it could involve some lessons from the school of hard knocks. The good news is that these lessons are rarely fatal, but create lasting experiences.
Use Time To Your Advantage
Time is your most valuable wealth building asset. Everyone is born with it. Few realize its importance until they lose most of it. The asset is so valuable it can’t be bought. As a value/dividend investor, I have learned that time can cure many mistakes and provide enormous investment leverage.When you are young time is your fiend. It allows to recover from mistakes. It educates you and provides you with valuable experience. However, time is a double-edged sword that can also work against you. When you are young it is easy to say, 'I will start investing tomorrow - I have plenty of time.' Time can also create a false sense of urgency -' I held this stock for over a year and its price has gone nowhere.' Use time to your advantage start young and be patient.
Dividend Growth Stocks For Building Wealth
There are many valid ways to successfully build long-term wealth. Some involve more risk than others. Being relatively conservative, I have chosen Dividend Growth Stocks as a significant part of my financial plan. This is not a new strategy. Many of today's dividend growth stocks have provided investors financial security for decades. Here are a few of them, including their yield, years of consecutive dividend growth and the first year a dividend was paid:3M Co. (MMM) provides enhanced product functionality in electronics, health care, industrial, consumer, office, telecommunications, safety & security and other markets via coatings, sealants, adhesives and other chemical additives.
Yield: 2.6% | Yrs of Growth: 57 | Since: 1916
Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) is a leading wholesale distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and supplies, and office products.
Yield: 2.7% | Yrs of Growth: 59 | Since: 1948
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a leader in the pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer products industries.
Yield: 3.0% | Yrs of Growth: 53 | Since: 1944
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) is an insurance holding company that primarily markets property and casualty coverage. It also conducts life insurance and asset management operations.
Yield: 3.1% | Yrs of Growth: 55 | Since: 1954
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is the world's largest soft drink company, and also has a sizable fruit juice business.
Yield: 3.1% | Yrs of Growth: 53 | Since: 1893
The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) is a leading consumer products company that markets household and personal care products in more than 180 countries.
Yield: 3.5% | Yrs of Growth: 58 | Since: 1891
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) designs and supplies product technology, and delivers engineering services and solutions to a wide range of industrial, commercial and consumer markets around the world.
Yield: 4.0% | Yrs of Growth: 59 | Since: 1947
Obviously, no one can definitively say what any stock’s future will bring. At one time companies such as General Electric (GE) and Bank of America (BAC) had long strings of consecutive dividend increases. In building a long-term portfolio, it is important to follow a sound asset allocation model and continue to monitor your investments.
Full Disclosure: Long MMM, GPC, JNJ, CINF, KO, PG, EMR in my Dividend Growth Portfolio. See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.
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