09-25-2013, 05:56 PM
As a committed dividend growth investor still deep in the accumulation phase, my short answer is also "income." But there is more to it than that.
All I really want is enough wealth to live on comfortably for the rest of my life and with luck leave a nice chunk behind for others to enjoy. I think that may be true for many people. But I really don't care if that wealth comes as a growing stream of dividends from a portfolio of DG stocks lovingly collected over the decades or if it comes from a pile of stocks that pay no dividends at all but have appreciated in value a lot or if it comes from pure luck like an inheritance or a lottery ticket, or if it comes from a mix of all three.
I just happen to believe that my best shot at the kind of wealth / lifestyle I want comes from living below my means and steadily building my DG portfolio and its stream of income. I've got no inheritance coming and am not willing to rely on the lottery, and I don't know how to predict which non-dividend stocks are going to grow significantly. I do understand and believe in the dividend growth approach, and so that is what I am doing.
But the DG portfolio, and its increasing stream of income are not my *goals.* They are only a means to meeting my real goal -- financial security. I am not emotionally attached to the approach. I just happen to believe that it is the best alternative before me. And I will stick with it as long as I believe that to be the case. Maybe that takes me happily right through retirement. Maybe not. If my crystal ball ever gets back from the shop and I can see reliably which will be the great growth stocks in the coming decades, I'd switch to capital growth in a second.
But the crystal ball shop seems to be having trouble getting the parts they need. So I will continue to nurture and grow my income stream from DG stocks.
All I really want is enough wealth to live on comfortably for the rest of my life and with luck leave a nice chunk behind for others to enjoy. I think that may be true for many people. But I really don't care if that wealth comes as a growing stream of dividends from a portfolio of DG stocks lovingly collected over the decades or if it comes from a pile of stocks that pay no dividends at all but have appreciated in value a lot or if it comes from pure luck like an inheritance or a lottery ticket, or if it comes from a mix of all three.
I just happen to believe that my best shot at the kind of wealth / lifestyle I want comes from living below my means and steadily building my DG portfolio and its stream of income. I've got no inheritance coming and am not willing to rely on the lottery, and I don't know how to predict which non-dividend stocks are going to grow significantly. I do understand and believe in the dividend growth approach, and so that is what I am doing.
But the DG portfolio, and its increasing stream of income are not my *goals.* They are only a means to meeting my real goal -- financial security. I am not emotionally attached to the approach. I just happen to believe that it is the best alternative before me. And I will stick with it as long as I believe that to be the case. Maybe that takes me happily right through retirement. Maybe not. If my crystal ball ever gets back from the shop and I can see reliably which will be the great growth stocks in the coming decades, I'd switch to capital growth in a second.
But the crystal ball shop seems to be having trouble getting the parts they need. So I will continue to nurture and grow my income stream from DG stocks.