On our recent trip to Legoland, we stumbled upon this banyan tree. I’ve always been a fan of banyan trees, they are so beautiful and seem so full of wisdom, and Siddhartha Gautama reached enlightenment after sitting under a banyan tree.
I came upon this sign under the banyan tree that said this particular banyan tree was placed into the ground less than 100 years ago. When it was planted it was in a small pot.
This is just one tree even though it looks like a forest.
It of made me think about your projected annual dividend income or even your investment portfolio. Compounding and time really makes your portfolio grow to something you never thought would that large over time.
Banyan trees are one of my favourite trees because they have “aerial roots” or external roots that prop up the tree so that it can expand and it almost looks like another trunk.
Here are some great reads for you to check out:
PF Blog Round Up
Joe from Retire by Forty shares a heart breaking story about his mom, this was the first Mother’s Day without his mom as she recently passed away. He shares her amazing story (she obtained an MBA when most women were not obtaining MBA’s in those days and gave up her career for her children’s future) and unfortunately her sad deterioration with dementia. Life is short. Hug your parents.
Mark and Joe from Cashflow and Portfolios have a great post on whether “living off dividends” is a mistake. On Twitter there are lots of dividend gurus who talk about living off dividends and not touching your capital (myself included haha) but the experts at Cashflow confirm that generally this is not a wise choice unless you want a sustained tax bill or a large estate after you are gone. Basically, they are saying go enjoy your money and trim that money tree, you retiree, you worked hard for it.
Bob from Tawcan has a look at whether it makes sense to invest in US stocks in the TFSA. He runs the calculations using different scenarios so you can decide whether to make the decision to invest in US stocks in your TFSA (as you may know, in the RRSP the 15% withholding tax is not present). Bob says that if you are wondering about this, it’s a good problem to have since it means you are doing quite well in your RRSP.
Frugal Trader shares his first 2023 Financial Freedom Update on Million Dollar Journey and low and behold, his annual dividend income has amassed to $73,800 annually.
Jessica Moorhouse (from the More Money Podcast) has some big news, she’s writing a book. You can be part of her book by sharing your money story!
Have a great weekend!
Do you have a favourite tree?
GYM is a 30 something millennial interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for blog updates, a free dividend yield spreadsheet, and the free Young Money Bootcamp eCourse.