10-21-2013, 10:01 AM
Great topic, Alex. I agree completely that dividend growth investing is a little like watching paint dry. My faith in it as a long-term approach is very strong, but it doesn't provide much excitement. I do still find the dividend payouts and annual increases to be a fun source of pleasure (see the "101 Happy Moments" thread). But even with a portfolio of 20 to 30 stocks, it can be weeks between anything exciting happening.
I suppose the exception to this might be if you have a lot of cash on the sidelines to deploy. Then you might be making frequent purchases to keep you engaged. For me, that "hyper-inflationary" period of building my portfolio is past, and now I am just adding a bit of new money every month and making new purchases every once in a while.
To satisfy my need for a little action, I speculate with options. I only play with a tiny amount of money (usually only a few hundred dollars at a time, occasionally a little more), and I understand that it is nothing more than gambling. But it is fun to play my hunches and it gives me something to watch throughout the day.
Then I just leave my boring old dividend growth portfolio alone to do its thing.
I suppose the exception to this might be if you have a lot of cash on the sidelines to deploy. Then you might be making frequent purchases to keep you engaged. For me, that "hyper-inflationary" period of building my portfolio is past, and now I am just adding a bit of new money every month and making new purchases every once in a while.
To satisfy my need for a little action, I speculate with options. I only play with a tiny amount of money (usually only a few hundred dollars at a time, occasionally a little more), and I understand that it is nothing more than gambling. But it is fun to play my hunches and it gives me something to watch throughout the day.
Then I just leave my boring old dividend growth portfolio alone to do its thing.