Our main goal is to get enough passive income to cover all our expenses by 2027, or 10 years from now.
We started to build our dividend portfolio in 2015. Until that time, we had mostly saved money and tried to find our way to financial independence. Somehow, we internally understood that there is a need to save money, although we did not understand how to invest it correctly. Saving money is a necessary part of financial journey, and we tried to do this part for 10+ years since we started our full-time jobs. Around 2015, we started to understand there is a way to reach our goal. We started investing in dividend-paying companies and thinking about investment in real estate. We see dividend-paying stocks and real estate as long-term investments with a buy-and-hold-forever strategy. Currently, our plan is to use both income streams from dividend-paying stocks and real estate to establish our passive income, and we will look for other passive income streams.
In 2014, without any experience in setting financial goals, we wrote:
2015 Goals:
- Total annual savings: 7,200 CAD (600 CAD x 12 months)
- Receive annual dividends: 4,000 CAD (from dividend-paying stocks)
- Receive annual capital gains: 10,000 CAD
The last item on the list means speculatively buying and selling stocks. It was the last year we thought it might work. Perhaps it is possible to recognize a pattern on a stock graph and buy shares with the hope to sell it for a profit. The problem with this approach is the need to monitor share price. Additionally, it converts possible passive income into non-passive income, and it is not a predictable source of income. For us, dividends are more stable source of income. Yes, some companies that pay dividends may have difficulties in hard times, but we looking for companies that preserve their dividend payments.
Having goals is definitely better than not having them. We started to think about finding solutions to achieve our goals. I read somewhere that our brain has the ability to analyze things we previously thought about even if we are currently doing something else. This is why it is good to think about an issue and return to it later. It may help you find a solution faster.
We bought our first new condominium in a development in September 2014.
