Do you know what the easiest way to become an excellent investor is?
I bet you do since you’re reading this…
Well, it’s to become a long term investor!
You see, when you stop worrying about what happens in the short term, the balance shifts...
You're no longer at the mercy of those pesky negative emotions that arise when you read the news.
You know what I mean...
" Everyone is panicking about the next recession... maybe I should get out of the market?"
Or perhaps:
"My stocks just dropped in price! Better sell before I lose more!"
I bet these thoughts have crossed your mind before. To help you overcome these, this article will show you 2 things:
- Why long term dividend stocks are possibly the best investments you can make
- Some examples of long term dividend stocks
I'll also reveal the 3 best long term dividend stocks that are primed to grow your wealth and will some more income streams for you to enjoy.
Short-Term Vs. Long-Term Investing
Trading can be a good way to make money quickly, but it is also risky...
If you're willing to put up with the stress and work of trading, you can make great returns.
But...
That's not the best strategy for most people. Most people want to, invest, forget about it and sleep well at night.
This is where long term investing in, for example, Motley Fool stock picks.
An academic study conducted by Brad Barber and Terrance Odean showed that 80% of active traders lost money.
On the flip side, long term investing is almost always very profitable - and this increases the longer you stay invested.
Take a look at this graph for a cherry-picked example 😉
It's the S&P 500 in 2018 and 2019.
Imagine it's August 2019 (top red circle) and you're feeling great because the American market has experienced a long bull run.
So you decide to buy shares in an S&P 500 index fund. Great!
TIP: Consider an app like M1 Finance to make portfolio management a breeze.
Now, if you were expecting to sell quickly, you would have had a bad time in December 2018, as the market dropped considerably!
You would've lost money, especially if you sold because you were fearful that this was the start of the next recession...
Now, if you were a long term investor, this is what would've happened:
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!
Having a long time horizon allows you to endure the drops in the market and wait until they recover and keep growing.
Ok...
Now that we've established why long-term investing is great, - and something that pretty much everyone should be doing - let's talk about the magic of long term income...
Long Term Dividend Stocks
Now we're getting into the good stuff...
You see, there is one thing which makes it all easier.
It helps tremendously to stay patient enough to let long-term investing do its thing.
Can you guess what it is?
...
It's dividends.
When you get paid just because you own a stock, everything becomes easier.
Even if the stock price drops.
Even if the market panics.
Even if all your friends and family think you're crazy to hold stocks that are going down in price.
Earning dividends helps you to sleep well at night, which is why I want to share 3 dividend stocks that have a long history of paying dividends.
3 Dividend Stocks For the Long Term
Be honest - did you scroll down to this point without reading the rest? 😉
It's ok. I do that all the time with articles...
This is what you came here for; 3 of the best long term dividend stocks that will help you to stay calm while you let them grow your wealth.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
One of the best American companies and one with an incredible dividend growth streak.
This stock has been increasing its dividend without fail ever since 1962.
This can only be done by a company that's solid and extremely well-run. There aren't many of those around!
Using their own investment calculator, we can see that if you'd invested $1,000 30 years ago, you'd now have over $20,000 and an annual dividend income of $509.
Realty Income (O)
What if earning a dividend every 3 months isn't enough?
What if you want a dividend every single month?
I've got you covered.
This stock is a dividend stock classic. It's been dubbed as "The Monthly Dividend Company".
This is ideal for people looking for consistent and rising income. It's been increasing its dividend for the last 27 years (since 1993), and something tells me it will keep this up for years to come.
Being a REIT, It's also a good choice if you want to invest in real estate but you don't have the money for a down-payment - or you simply don't want to tie too much money into one property!
Hormel Foods (HRL)
This is one of my favorite dividend growth stocks.
It's a boring company that makes food products. You'd never imagine this was a high-quality dividend growth stock with a dividend streak that began in 1967!
A simple $1,000 invested in 1990 would now be worth a stunning $38,000!
It would also be paying you a yearly dividend of $741.
Even if it doesn't replicate this incredible growth, it's likely going to keep providing a very healthy growth of both the stock price and the dividend for years and years to come.
Next Steps
I hope you've found this article useful.
When you focus on long term investing in dividend stocks - especially those that grow their dividends - it's difficult to not be very profitable!
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Thanks!
