Looking Back, Retirement and My Dividend Income Update for July 2022
Hello and happy August! I can’t believe it’s August already…where did the month of July go?
Can you believe it’s been a full year since I officially retired? I’m thankful for my small pension but I’ve always known that I needed to make money elsewhere for retirement. Half of my career was working for companies on contract, and I never paid into a pension. It wasn't until I began teaching that I was part of a pension plan. Despite having 10-12% of my salary go into the plan, twelve years of service doesn't provide a lot of contribution room or growth.
Thankfully, I began investing in my 30s which helped make early retirement more feasible.
Looking Back
I didn’t know anything about investing when I began and went to my parents to ask for suggestions. They were avid dividend investors by then and steered me in that direction. The first companies I owned were BNS, TRP, BCE, and ENB. I saved up enough to purchase 100 shares of one company, then another, and so on. This was in the days of $30 trading fees, so to make the commission worth it, saving up was the only option.
When I think back to what my portfolio looked like in my younger days, it’s hard to even remember some of the companies I owned. Many were names that new investors wouldn’t even recognize today. Despite many mistakes, my portfolio slowly grew thanks to my solid dividend-paying companies.
I’m glad my parents encouraged dividend investing (they followed Tom Connolly religiously who would mail out his monthly newsletter called The Connolly Report). In the process, I had the pleasure of watching their investments grow over time. My parents’ journey proved to me that I should follow in their footsteps, and I hope I'm as fortunate as them in the decisions that I make.
You Don't Call The Shots, Life Does
My parents never expected to retire early, instead, they thought they would work until the age of 65. Sometimes life has another plan in store. At the age of 59, my father had a massive heart attack and never worked again. At the time, my mother, 3 years his junior, ran a little shop in the village where I grew up and was forced to sell her business to take care of my father.
Strangely enough, my dad’s heart attack was the best thing that could have happened. They left work and spent time with the family, enjoying life. Neither of them planned on leaving work that early, but it took being thrust into it to realize that many people overestimate how much they need for retirement. My parents certainly didn’t feel like they had enough but they survived and made it work. Thankfully, investing in dividend stocks proved to be a good idea.
After many heart valve surgeries over several decades, my dad lived to be 90. No one, not even his doctors, could have ever predicted that outcome. What’s even better, my parents never ran out of money, and my mother, now well into her 90s, is still living off dividends as her main source of income.
Dividends work, I’ve seen it first hand. It takes patience and time, but if you are willing to give this investment strategy a try, I honestly believe the rewards will be worth it.
Portfolio Update
I’m not sure about you, but I didn’t expect the rally we saw in the markets at the end of July. I am thankful, but I don’t believe it will last long.