That activity is of course placing investments!
I would attribute this affinity toward investing to three reasons that we'll discuss below:
Reason #1: Investing Will Eventually Buy My Time Back
As someone with numerous interests that I mentioned above, I often find that weekends disappear before they even seem to begin.
As such, I feel as though I never have enough time to do what I'd like.
One of the primary benefits to dividend growth investing, is that with each stock purchase, I'm that much closer to the end goal of buying back my time.
Take for instance the fact that I recently added $40.95 in dividend income through dividend stock purchases with the deployment of fresh capital, reinvestment, and dividend increases.
I know that my semi-FI number of $12-15k could increase within 5-10 years if I decide to have kids, get married, etc., but there's no doubt that last month brought me a step closer to at least semi-FI.
Once I've bought back my time, I'll obviously have the freedom to do what I'd like, when I would like, and with whom I like.
This includes going to bed and getting out of bed whenever I please.
For someone that's naturally geared toward staying up late and that seems to be most productive past midnight, this alone is a huge selling point for me to pursue financial independence, and DGI is my mechanism to do so.
Reason #2: Investing Is A Game To Me
As someone that also enjoys the occasional game of Monopoly, investing in high quality dividend stocks (and especially REITs) is like a real life game of Monopoly.
Every time I buy shares in a great company like Realty Income (O), PepsiCo (PEP), or Lowe's (LOW), I'm buying ownership in world class businesses.
There's something neat about the thought that an average guy like myself is able to buy ownership in dozens of businesses with no commissions considering trading commissions were somewhat cost prohibitive a couple decades ago!
And as someone that is looking to achieve financial independence, it's quite clear that simply keeping my money in a savings account isn't going to create any meaningful wealth for me.
After all, the Paul Allen quote about the lack of savings account millionaires rings true.
Whether one decides to go into business as an owner/operator or as a shareholder, it's an undeniable truth that the only viable way to build wealth is through ownership of some sort.
The great thing about dividend growth stocks, is that I reap the rewards of a company's success regardless of what I do as long as I hold my shares.
The passive nature of DGI is one of the primary reasons that I chose the strategy, and its simplicity is why I enjoy it.
As an investor, I'm simply looking to build a portfolio of companies that I believe will be able to consistently grow their earnings and dividends, and I then monitor those investments a couple times a year.
Reason #3: Investing Is A Virtuous Process Of Improvement
As with anything else in life, we learn as we go regardless of our past experience or lack thereof.
Even though Warren Buffett is arguably the greatest investor of all time, he still spends countless hours learning about investing.
Investing allows us to research investment opportunities, form investment theses, and then evaluate over time whether we were correct.
When we're inevitably wrong and our theses doesn't pan out, we then get a chance to go back and learn where we went wrong.
It's this process that allows us to continuously improve, so that we become better investors.
As further proof of how much of a continuous process investing is, I should note it's time for another post on what I've learned in my second year of investing.
While what I learned in my first full year of investing still applies, I've made at least a few small mistakes in the past year that have contributed to my growth as an investor that I'm excited to share with others.
Concluding Thoughts:
While there are several aspects of life that I enjoy, investing is right up at the top of the list.
Investing will ultimately allow me to buy back my time and live life on my terms.
Investing is also enjoyable to me in the sense that it allows me to buy ownership in wonderful businesses.
The great thing about this ownership is the only condition for me to continue reaping the rewards is that I need to hold onto my shares.
Investing also forces me to continue honing my craft through research, forming investment theses, and evaluating how those theses play out.
Discussion:
Did I miss any other factors that make investing fun? What do you enjoy most about investing?
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