“And to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.”
— Thomas Jefferson
A happy Fourth of July to each and every one of you…
I trust that if you are reading this, it is to simply take a short break from a day of grilling, swilling, and chilling.
But between the fireworks and barbecues, I think it’s always important to remember that it’s called Independence Day.
In 1776, we declared that we were no longer subjects to the British monarchy. Today it is important to remember that we are independent and are subjects to nobody but ourselves. We are all able to live free and make decisions to enrich ourselves and our loved ones.
That couldn’t be more true when it comes to financial independence.
As Americans, we were promised life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What the founders left out was that all three of these goals require one thing: money.
You cannot have a life without food, clothing, and shelter, and they all take up a massive chunk of our income each and every year for the rest of our lives.
In 2014, the average American spent:
- $1,786 on clothing
- $6,759 on food
- $17,798 on housing
Considering that the average household income in the U.S. is $59,039, you might be spending almost half of what you earn on basic necessities — and that’s before taxes.
Once you factor in transportation, education, medication, and recreation, you aren’t left with a hell of a lot to work with. In essence, you are completely dependent. And we haven’t even gotten to saving money for retirement.
But even if you have the means and are diligent enough to stow away any extra money for later, the fees you are charged are causing your retirement lifeboat to leak faster than the USS Congress.
Most people have a financial planner to keep track of all of their finances. While it can certainly give you some peace of mind, it is also taking a huge piece of your wealth.
Let’s start with 401(k) fees.
Did you know that over a lifetime, these fund fees cost an average American household $154,794?!
If you are a higher-income earner, you could be bleeding up to $277,969. That’s almost one-third of your hard-earned savings.
All told, 401(k) fees eat up $25 billion of Americans’ savings each and every year.
I was recently talking about this very topic with a well-off friend of mine. He was referred to a financial planner and when he went for his appointment, let’s just say he was less than impressed. The “planner” greeted him in an expensive suit and a massive, shiny watch. After a few minutes, the guy had an entire plan — one that would cost my friend 2% of his assets.
Now that’s pretty standard for an active portfolio manager. However, that wasn’t what my friend was getting. As soon as the meeting ended, the financial “expert” dropped my friend’s file on the desk of what looked like a college intern.
“You know what to do,” he said.
What the young fellow did was simply drop my friend’s life savings into a couple of very obvious index funds. These funds are full of companies that anyone with 15 minutes of research could buy for themselves without paying a king’s ransom.
That’s how that business works: you go in expecting the leadership of George Washington but you end up with the loyalty of Benedict Arnold.
That’s why I urge you to claim your own financial independence this year.
Here’s one easy way to do it…
The best way to capture financial independence is dividends. You can collect thousand-dollar checks each and every month that can allow you to live free without being beholden to either financial advisors or government checks.
If you own solid dividend stocks you get paid regardless of what happens in the market. If we’re riding high like we’ve been for the better part of the last decade, the dividends flow like water. If we see a crash like we did in 2008, guess what? The companies still have to send you the checks…
Over the past 25 years, dividends are responsible for almost 50% of the S&P returns. If you did the smart thing and reinvested those dividends back into buying more shares of stock during that time, you would have about doubled your gains.
The best part is it’s easy, and you can do it all by yourself. But I’ll make it even easier…
After months of exhaustive research, I’ve unearthed 27 sources of guaranteed dividend income. Each of these income sources could send you monthly or quarterly paychecks that could fully fund your retirement. Some of these stocks pay you every 30 days. Others pay you every three months. It’s like clockwork. Your payments keep coming whether the market goes up or down.
That’s why I’m offering you a free copy of The Big Black Book of Income.
In just a few minutes, you can have your choice of stocks that will send you income while you enjoy your freedom.
Grab your copy right here, and start celebrating your own financial Independence Day.
