Regardless of being a personal finance enthusiast or not, I think we can all agree everyone’s common goal is to achieve a financially free lifestyle and limit the everyday stresses of the workweek grind. Imagine a world where you do whatever you desire. You’re able to enjoy the best travel experiences of the world. There would be no limits, right? We only have one life to live. One strategy that I’ve been completed focused on is dividend growth investing. Can you really achieve financially freedom from dividend growth investing?
How much is enough?
How much do you truly need in your dividend portfolio to become financially free? Let’s take a quick example. If you’d like to live comfortably off of $100,000 of dividend income, you’d need approximately a $4 million dividend growth portfolio assuming about a 2.5% yield. Of course, if you had a higher yield your portfolio cost would be less. For talking points sake, let’s assume a range of $3 million to $4 million.
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That is nothing to scoff at. The battle will be tough and long. There will be many market cycles, but one thing is common. You continue to invest and reinvest your dividend income into additional dividend paying stocks. Building a successful dividend growth portfolio does not happen overnight.
How can you get there?
You’d need to save $50,000 per year for 60 years or conversely $100,000 per year for 30 years assuming no income growth and no capital appreciation (for simplicity and conservative purposes). It’s pretty clear that you need to increase your income over time and continue contributing to your portfolio.
There’s several ways to increase your income (absent of increasing dividend income):
- Use freelancing income to start earning side hustle income. The rise of freelancer nomads is here! You have skills at your current job and I’m sure that someone would love to have you help them on their own project.
- Participate in credit card churning and/or manufactured spending. Our introduction to manufactured spending shows that you can earn additional income from this or you save money by not incurring additional travel expenses.
- If you have debts, extinguish them quickly. These are only impediments on your liabilities side of the equation. If you want to live financially free you can do so on lower income if you have lower expenses.
- Build a hobby or create a side business. The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) method applies here. You don’t need to create the next Uber or Facebook. Build a side business that is easy to understand and run. You’d be surprised at how much you can increase your income from something so simple.
- Don’t forget about your career. In order to increase your income, focus on what you are doing now. Work your way up in your career and stay focused. Before you know it you will be 3 or 4 promotions in. Living off an income you never thought you’d receive.
The goal in achieving financial freedom is sticking with a plan that you know the best. Small wins are always important because they continue to drive you forward. The road to financial freedom is a long one, but it is not difficult per se.
What are your favorite ways to achieve financial freedom? Do you believe you need to increase your income to live solely off of dividends? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
Whatever you are doing… Escalate Your Life.
Author Bio: Millionaire Mob is where people come together to find the best travel deals and financial advice. We specialize in dividend growth investing, passive income and travel hacking. Our advice has helped others travel the world and achieve financial freedom.
