$MO often comes to mind

People in those groups then mock dividend investors, insisting "total returns matter." Lack of knowledge often correlates with a stronger desire to argue online

A posted S&P 500 price chart that excludes dividends leads to assuming that's the total return, ignoring dividend contributions

This comes up often… Many people seem to lack a basic understanding of dividends Two examples: A reader sees a dividend stock with a 3% yield and assumes that's the entire return, overlooking capital gains

Missing the best 20 essentially produced no net gains over those two decades Time in the market > timing the market

Over the past 20 years, staying in the market returned about 10% annually, meaning money roughly doubled every 7 years Missing the best 10 days cuts that return to about 5% per year

It may feel wrong, but the math checks out Staying invested pays off

One effective way to become a better investor is uninstalling the stocks app and spending time outside

Additional income won't fix poor spending habits

If someone isn't happy being single, they won't be happy in a relationship True happiness doesn't come from others. It comes from watching the Federal Reserve cut interest rates with friends online

Investing is key to gaining control over one's life. If your schedule isn't in your hands, neither is your life.

If you’re going to criticize dividend growth investing, at least know the distinction between returns with reinvested dividends versus without.

When discussing dividend growth investing, it's important to understand the difference between returns with reinvested dividends and those without reinvestment.

2009: +3.6% 2008: -9.1% 2007: +3.6% 2006: +2.5% 2005: +0.7% 2004: +0.9% 2003: -1.2% 2002: -11% 2001: -8.2% 2000: -5.4% Over this 25-year period, the average return is -1.5%.

2024: +2% 2023: -4.9% 2022: -9.3% 2021: -4.8% 2020: -3.9% 2019: +1.7% 2018: +0.4% 2017: +1.9% 2016: -0.1% 2015: -2.6% 2014: -1.6% 2013: +3% 2012: +2.4% 2011: -7.2% 2010: +8.8%

Just a reminder that September often sees lower results in the stock market. S&P 500 returns in September:

But when you decide to learn about investing and options, the response is: It's risky Taxes are complicated The stock market is exclusive to the wealthy Why is that?

This comes to mind frequently. SOCIETY IS BROKEN: Nobody comments when you: Develop obesity through eating Consume 8 beers each Sunday Spend 15 hours a week on Netflix

Appreciation to all for the great ideas and input!

Lastly, a suggestion to implement publicly managed portfolio features on the site received positive interest, alongside a compelling strategy for dividend forecasting with a focus on steady payers.