Making Cents Sense

Look, I’m not saying I worship dividends, but if there were a shrine dedicated to the gods of monthly income, I’d be there every Sunday lighting a scented candle and whispering sweet nothings to my brokerage account. You can keep your meme stocks, NFTs, and speculative nonsense that trades like a caffeinated squirrel on Adderall. Me? I want cash. Regular, beautiful, compounding cash. And in a market where people are losing their minds over AI this and rate cuts that, there’s a quieter, more reliable path to riches: dividend income. Not just any dividends, though — we’re talking about climbing the Dividend Pyramid , a concept I made up 15 minutes ago but that sounds wise, ancient, and vaguely Warren Buffett-ish. Let’s talk about two rock-solid dividend giants sitting pretty at the top of this metaphorical pyramid. One yields a juicy 6%. The other? A lip-smacking, knees-buckling 9%. And no, this isn’t a trap. They’re real companies with real cash flow. And I’d buy both hand over fist —...

Imagine this: over $7 trillion dollars just sitting on the sidelines, waiting for a reason to pounce. That’s the current state of U.S. money market funds. Parked in cash equivalents, these trillions are earning modest yields and biding their time. But nothing sleeps forever—especially not that kind of money. At some point, whether due to lower interest rates, fear of missing out, or a stampede toward yield, that capital is going to move. And when it does, it’s going to chase opportunity. The smart money knows that before a wave hits, you don’t wait on the beach—you paddle out early and ride it in. So before the herd moves, it might be time to look at a few dividend-paying stocks that are quietly positioned to shine. And by shine, we mean provide stable income, possible price appreciation, and a lot less heartburn than the next meme stock. Here are three dividend-paying titans worth your attention: Lockheed Martin (LMT), AbbVie (ABBV), and VICI Properties (VICI). These aren't your R...

Let’s skip the financial salad. If you're here, you're not looking for some dainty 1.5% yield that “might” grow into a 2% yield in five years if the economic stars align and Jerome Powell does yoga on a mountain. No. You’re here for fat dividends. Thick. Juicy. The kind of yields that make your portfolio wear sweatpants to Thanksgiving dinner. This is for the investors who want their income now. Not “maybe someday.” Not “if we hit guidance.” Not “after the next recession.” We're talking about dividends that show up every quarter like clockwork and hand you a check you can actually feel in your hands—or at least in your brokerage account. So let’s cut the kale and bring on the bacon. Here are two fat dividend stocks that are so good , they should come with a surgeon general’s warning about how addictive financial security can be. These are buy-and-hold-forever plays, meaning you plant them once and enjoy the harvest quarter after quarter, year after year, through every ...

Let me guess. You want a stock that pays you while it grows, but you’re tired of the same three tickers every boomer on YouTube keeps pumping. You’ve been pitched Johnson & Johnson so many times, you’re starting to wonder if Tylenol is a gateway drug. Or maybe you bought into Coca-Cola because Buffett said so — and now your dividend checks don’t even cover your Netflix subscription. Welcome to the Dividend Doldrums™. But I’ve got something different. A stock that doesn’t just hand you a dividend like it’s a pity coupon — but actually grows it like it’s flexing. A stock with the kind of conviction you feel in your gut, the kind that makes you check your brokerage app just to smile at the chart. So buckle up, because I’m about to show you the high-growth dividend stock I’m betting the farm on — and no, it’s not a utility. The Unicorn in the Room: Broadcom Inc. (Ticker: AVGO) Before you roll your eyes and mutter “semiconductors again?” — hear me out. Broadcom is not your typical ch...

There’s something seductive about the tick of a Rolex. It whispers luxury, success, and precision. But here’s the truth—I don’t want a Rolex. I want cash flow. Cold, hard dividends that hit my brokerage account like clockwork. While others are flashing wrist candy, I’m building a fortress of forever income. This isn’t just frugality. It’s strategy. I’m not just saying no to the Rolex—I’m saying yes to freedom. Because a Rolex tells time. But dividends? They buy it back. Part 1: Why I’ll Pass on the Rolex (For Now) Let’s start with the obvious: Rolexes are expensive. A brand-new Rolex Submariner starts around $10,000. That’s conservative. Many models climb into the $30,000+ range. But what do you really get? A well-crafted watch, sure. Some social status? Maybe. An appreciating asset? Possibly—if you don’t scratch it, lose it, or get mugged for it. But here’s what you don’t get: cash flow. That Rolex won’t pay your bills. It won’t help you retire early. It doesn’t car...

You’ve worked hard. You’ve saved diligently. You’ve weathered the stock market’s tantrums, the housing bubble’s hissy fits, and whatever the Fed was doing in 2008 (no one really knows). Now, retirement is knocking. And you’ve got one burning question: “Can I live off dividends without selling stocks or losing sleep?” Yes, you can. But not if you're chasing yield like a golden retriever on Red Bull. No, the secret is a low-stress, sustainable dividend portfolio —one that pays you to do nothing . So grab your drink of choice (bourbon, chamomile tea, prune juice—no judgment), and let’s build your 7%-yielding, low-stress dividend portfolio designed to fund your retirement without feeding your anxiety. Why Dividends Work For Retirement Dividend investing isn't sexy. It doesn’t promise 10x moonshots or NFT-fueled Lambos. What it does offer is the warm, fuzzy comfort of getting paid for holding quality assets . Unlike growth investing, which requires you to sell shares (and ho...

Ah yes, the 'Big Beautiful Bill.' That glorious, thousand-page Frankenstein monster of economic meddling that promises prosperity on the surface, but quietly ransacks your wallet and sets the Dow to jitterbug. Whether it's tariffs, stimulus splurges, or regulatory rug-pulls, these bills always come dressed in patriotism and exit in inflation. So what’s an investor to do when Washington decides to play Monopoly with real money? You buy income. Specifically, durable, dividend-spitting machines that laugh in the face of macro chaos. Here are four dividend stocks I'm loading up on while the Big Beautiful Bill rips through the economy like a toddler through wrapping paper. 1. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD): The Toll Booth on Energy You know what doesn’t care about Congress’s hot mess of a spending spree? Natural gas pipelines. Enterprise Products Partners is the sort of company that gets paid no matter what. They don’t drill. They don’t frack. They don’t care if oil is $...