My Financial Independence Journey » Entries tagged with "investing"
Evolution of My Thoughts on Personal Finance: Part 1
Although I’ve only been blogging for about nine months, I’ve been interested in the world of personal finance for the last five years at least. During that time, my overall opinions on personal finance and investing have evolved. Over the next few posts, I’d like to walk you through the evolution of my thoughts and share how my motivations, opinions, tactics, and overall financial life have developed. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Reflections
A Brief Primer on Business Development Companies (BDC) Part 1: What are BDCs and why should you invest in them?
Business development companies (BDCs) are companies that specialize in investing in private companies – similar to how private equity or venture capital investors operate. BDCs make loans and often take ownership stakes in their client companies and supply managerial assistance. When the client company makes money, the BDC makes money. Investing in BDCs can be a great way to dip into the exciting venture capital world without having to become an accredited investor and pony … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A Brief Primer on Master Limited Partnerships (MLP) Part 1: What are MLPs, how do they work, and why should you consider investing in them.
Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are unique investments that offer high yields and diversification into commodities. Simply put, MLPs are publicly traded partnerships. Just like stocks, they are completely liquid investments that are bought and sold on the major exchanges. Many MLPs also have a solid history of consistently raising dividends, making them great additions to a dividend growth portfolio. Unfortunately, MLPs come with some interesting tax filing regulations, that you need to be aware of – but never intimidated by. Read on, and we’ll begin to explore the world of MLPs together. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A subjective comparison of investment strategies
I’ve been involved in investing in some form or fashion for well over a decade. Over that time I’ve tried a number of different strategies including index funds, dividend growth (current favorite), and speculating. Each different type of investment requires a different level of knowledge to achieve entry level proficiency and carried with it a different level of risk. Hopefully, the list below will help you better understand which style of investing you may be … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
Direct Real Estate Investment vs REITs
As I’ve stated many times on this blog, I am a huge fan of dividend growth stocks (SQUEE!!). However, I am also interested in diversifying my capital into other income producing assets. Of particular interest to me is real estate investing. There are two primary ways to get serious about real estate. First, through holding shares of real estate investment trusts, otherwise known as REITs. Or second, through direct investment in real estate, that is to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A Brief Primer on REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Part 2: The basics of evaluating a REIT
In part 1 of the REIT series, we discussed what REITs are, why we should be interested in investing in them, and compared them to being a more traditional landlord. Here, we’re going to review some of the basics of evaluating REITs. While REITs can be great dividend producing investments, they can’t be evaluated in exactly the same way as traditional stocks. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A Brief Primer on REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Part 1: What are REITs, why should you invest in them, and how do they compare to being a landlord.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are companies that specialize in investing in real estate by owning and renting commercial properties or by collecting mortgage interest. Investing in REITs is a great way to get your feet wet in real estate without becoming a landlord. You simply buy and sell shares of a REIT on a stock exchange like you would any other stock. Because REITs usually pay out almost all (>90%) of their taxable earnings you can earn substantially higher dividend yields through REITs than you could with traditional stocks. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A Brief Primer on Options: Part 3 (Two ways to enhance your dividend growth portfolio with cash-secured puts)
In part one, we discussed what options are and why you might want to use them. In part two, we discussed how to read an options table as well as how to open and close option positions. Now that we’ve made it to part 3, we’re going to look at two ways that you can use cash-secured puts to enhance your dividend growth portfolio. Cash-secured puts are my flavor of options, and after reading this, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A Brief Primer on Options: Part 2 (Reading an options table, opening and closing options)
Previously, in part 1 of our options primer we discussed what options are and why you might want to use them. Now it’s time that we move onto part 2, where we’ll focus on how to read an options listing and how to go about selling cash-secured puts and covered calls. We’ll also cover how to escape from an option that you no longer want and remind you once again of the risks of dabbling … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
A Brief Primer on Options: Part 1 (What are options?)
I love options. I particularly love selling cash-secured put options. But the best place to start is the beginning. So for the purposes of this post, I’m going to walk us through the basics of options. What they are, how do they work, and why you might be interested in them. A word of caution before we begin. Options trading can become super complicated. The more complicated the trades, the more sophisticated you need to be … Read entire article »
Filed under: Investing
