How to Retire on Dividends: Earn a Safe 8%, Leave Your Principal Intact
How to Retire on Dividends: Earn a Safe 8%, Leave Your Principal Intact book cover

How to Retire on Dividends: Earn a Safe 8%, Leave Your Principal Intact

Hardcover – January 1, 2019

by
Price
$9.95
Publisher
The Marfa Group, Inc.
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1733428408
Weight
3.53 ounces

Description

"A must-read for any investor looking to find safe ways to get meaningful yields with principal protection. If you're looking for a way to construct an income portfolio that consistently churts out 6%-8%, this book is for you." - Jeff Remsburg, Editor, InvestorPlace "As a podcast host with over 300 interviews I can recognize when someone is knowledgeable and prepared, which describes Brett and Tom's work." - Charley Wright, Strategic Investor Radio "If you're retired or nearing retirement, this book is for you. Due to Fed interest rate policy, you'll be lucky to get 0.5% or $5,000 per year on a million bucks. You need to find a better way. Brett and Tom will point you to corners of the markets where you can earn a safe 6%, 7% or 8% return. That means you can withdraw safely $60,000 to $80,000 in interest and dividend income without dipping into your $1 million principal." - Richard Fields, Retirement Expert and Investor Welcome, fellow income and dividend investors! We wrote this book for you. Yes, you can do better than the 1% yields we have right now from bonds and the 2% from stocks.In our book we will highlight secure yields of 6%, 7% and even 8% or more. These meaningful dividends mean you can live on your payouts alone, without having to worry about ever selling any shares of stock. From the Inside Flap If you were going to retire during "normal" times, you'd be able to buy bonds and collect safe fixed income. Unfortunately, the current Fed is not our friend. Its "low rates forever" policy means we must look elsewhere for yield.How about dividend-paying stocks? Well, the blue chips don't pay much more than 2% or 3%. On a $1 million portfolio, that's less than $30,000 in annual income! Not enough.xa0There's a better way. Income investing experts Brett Owens and Tom Jacobs will show you how to safely double, triple and even quadruple these yields. Turn the 2% that stocks pay into 6%, 7% and even 8% (for $80,000 on that million bucks) without doing anything risky. In this book, Brett and Tom will take you beyond Wall Street's "blue chip BS" and create a portfolio that can actually generate meaningful income. It's a "no withdrawal portfolio" that relies entirely on dividend income and leaves your principal 100% intact.As you build this perfect retirement portfolio, you'll trade in your overrated exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for higher paying and undervalued closed-end funds (CEFs). They are a better vehicle for buying stocks and bonds and for securing higher yields. You'll also buy under-the-radar stocks that pay big dividends, such as recession-proof REITs (real estate investment trusts).xa0All-in-all Brett and Tom discuss six "perfect retirement plays" that'll pay you up to 8% dividends, such as: Recession-proof real estate via REITs Recession-proof real estate via REITs Commercial landlord stocks with timeless tenants Commercial landlord stocks with timeless tenants Safe, high-paying bonds Safe, high-paying bonds Secure "boring" bonds with tax breaks Secure "boring" bonds with tax breaks Infrastructure-powered dividends, and Infrastructure-powered dividends, and Rate-proof bond funds Rate-proof bond funds Bank 8% income without worrying about interest rates, the Fed, or the economy at large. Learn how to retire on dividends alone and keep your capital 100% intact. Brett Owens is the Chief Investment Strategist for Contrarian Outlook, a publishing service dedicated to safe, meaningful dividends. Brett's flagship newsletter, the Contrarian Income Report , has generated 10.6% annualized gains since inception. His subscribers have enjoyed most of these gains as cash dividends.Tom Jacobs employs the strategy in this book as a partner with Huckleberry Capital Management, a boutique investment advisory serving clients in 25 states and three foreign countries. He is the author and editor of numerous investment books. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • "Read and learn from this book or become a Walmart greeter. Your choice."--Richard Fields, Retirement Expert. Wall Street warns you to withdraw only 4% a year when retired. But Main Street retirees have an advantage. You can obtain 6%, 7% and even 8% annual dividend yields--triple or even quadruple the S&P 500's yield--without reducing principal or taking on unnecessary risk. Skip Wall Street's low-yielding, blue-chip, "dividend aristocrat" BS and learn how from Brett and Tom!

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(190)
★★★★
25%
(158)
★★★
15%
(95)
★★
7%
(44)
★
23%
(146)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Increase your financial education today with this book, we can all learn something here.

I have been a fan of Brett Owens for some time now and after reading hundreds of articles written by him for his Contrarian Outlook and I decided to join his Contrarian Income Report newsletter. I started investing in several of the Closed- end Funds he recommends and for the past year I have been pleased with the dividends and how the stocks are doing in general. He has recommended that we sell a few of the stocks for various reasons and I have followed what he has recommended. In one case the stock price was headed down and we got out before that happened. In another recommendation he said sell and take the profit. I did and made $800.00. When I ran across this book he and Tom Jacobs have written I wanted it. It explains a great deal about the market and how stocks react to good news and bad. It explains how to retire on dividends and leave your principal intact and I am all about that. I retired in 2006 and I have multiple investments. I started with laddered CD's and as they matured the interest rates had dropped to levels I could not accept so I bought a mutual fund which has paid me every month since 2013 but the value of the mutual fund has gone down almost as much as I have been paid. To sell it today I would still be money ahead but I would not get all my principal back so I am holding it and collecting the monthly dividend. I also bought several Annuities one has matured and I bought another one with a different company. I also have a bond fund that provides monthly income. I was invested in the stock market also and just doing fair. I was making money but it was taking for ever using drip plans for several of the better known companies. As interest rates were going down I needed a way to make more income by making my money work harder for me and I found Brett Owens. He has pointed the way to Closed-end Funds and following his advice I am making more money following his Contrarian Income Report advice than I was on my own. I highly recommend you get this book and if you like his advice join his Contrarian Income Report and he recommends certain stocks and tells you what price to pay and if he sees something going wrong he will recommend you sell NOW. On the recommendation he made to sell now I did loose 2% of my investment but for the others I have been averaging a little better that 8%. If you are not like me and have to have the hard copy you can get this book online cheaper and read it then decide if you to want to join his Contrarian Income Report newsletter. He will give you monthly updates and if he sees bad news you will be the first to know it and get out while you still have 98% of your capital intact. I give his book 5 stars. Of the 19 stocks he is currently recommending I own 10 of them. All of them are making me money.
23 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Authors portfolio failed his own book

The 8% no withdrawal portfolio as described in this book along with Brett’s personal recommendations on Contrarian Outlook turned out to be a dud. Covid-19 hit the market and the whole no withdrawal portfolio sold off every position costing me thousands of dollars. Chasing fundamentally poor stocks or CEFs for higher unsustainable dividends is not a sustainable strategy. While they knock institutions like Vanguard, my Vanguard account is currently up during this volatile period in the market. When the author can’t produce the results portrayed in his own book within his own portfolio (Contrarian Income Report)...well, “Houston we have a problem”. If you want some basic knowledge on learning to understand CEFs, Discounts on NAV, etc then I recommend this book as a casual read. However, if you are planning on using this book to fund your retirement with income, then this book belongs on the shelf of a thrift store - because, that is where you'll end up shopping.
19 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

I learned some actionable concepts in this book.

This book held my attention more than possibly any financial book I've read on the topic of retirement income investing. I liked the book enough to recommend it to some of my friends before I even finished reading the book. I agree with some reviewers who felt this book is a long advertisement for Brett's monthly newsletter, "Contrarian Income Report." However, a risk-free trial subscription to the newsletter is available, so I subscribed after reading the book, because I felt it would take a lot more knowledge and time than I have to find the investments that are currently available at discount prices. The price of a one-year subscription with the initial 1st year special offer did not cost much more than a hard copy of the book. After finishing the book, and subscribing the next day, several buying opportunities were shown in various types of investments as described in the book. Some reviewers complain about the 8% withdrawal rate, but that's not what this book is about. The subtitle indicates 8% returns may be safely EARNED and taken as income WITHOUT WITHDRAWAL of ANY principal. This message is repeated throughout the entire book. The website and the newsletter confirm another money making method described in the book that results from this strategy. When following the strategy of achieving approximately 8% dividend yields, by purchasing CEFs and other investments at a discount, some investments will provide capital gains that may surpass the dividends earned if they are sold when the market takes the price to a premium. The profits from the sale of a security are then reinvested into another one selling at a discount. Although the book could possibly be thorough with 1/2 the pages and still cover everything that was covered, I suppose the repetition helps drive the message home.

It's been a year since I wrote the above review, and decided to add a little more. The book reading is just step #1. Subscribing to Brett's monthly newsletter, Contrarian Income Report, has been the real asset grower for me. After reviewing the Jan 2021 issue, I see his current portfolio holds 19 funds. 5 of those were initially recommended about 5 years ago. Brett continually updates us with the maximum recommended price to pay for these funds, with explanations for his reasoning. He usually mentions his top 5 - 7 favorite picks each month. Some of the holdings I purchased have not only paid excellent dividends, some monthly, but have seen the funds prices increase double digits. I'm talking returns of 12%. 35%, 55%, and 83% within a few months. Are they all this good? Of course not. No more than a Super Bowl quarterback completes every pass and never fumbles. But he's still a winner!

This team is a winner at investing in CEFs. These type funds are probably not an advisable way for the average investor to invest, without adequate knowledge or guidance. A reviewer stated that during the pandemic, the entire portfolio was sold at a loss. That is totally untrue. I was holding and adding to my portfolio based on Brett's advice.
Here's a small quote from the newsletter during the early days of the pandemic.
"1. Stay in the market,
2. Buy the dividend bargains, and
3. Cut our underperformers. ...
...when stocks drop precipitously: “Either run fast, or not at all.” The time to run has passed, and we have held our positions. This is a core tenet of our strategy. We do not run, because we do not have to. Our dividends provide us with income so that we never have to sell shares to preserve capital. ... the fun part of the playbook (step #2): buy the bargains."
18 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

#1 Book for Safe High Income Investing

This book - and more importantly the strategy behind it - is excellent. Brett and Tom not only show exactly how the traditional "4% rule" is wrong, they provide a clear path for investing smarter, safer and more profitably than any "professional" advisor will ever tell you.

It is packed with actionable ideas on REITs, closed-end funds and other safe high-yields. This books is a must-read for anyone looking to preserve capital while still living comfortably off savings.

Simply put, if you're nearing retirement or are already retired, this book shows exactly how to make the most of your savings, IRA or 401k, without losing sleep at night.
10 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Useless Book

I bought the book to get information on selecting stocks with reasonable dividends. The book had little stock dividend selection criteria and promoted unrealistic 8% yields on investment. A total waste of money
8 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Important, Logical and Workable Strategies for a Kick-a... Income Portfolio!

I read a few of the rather harshly negative reviews and had to chuckle. Full disclosure: I subscribe to Brett's Contrarian Income Report. It did so well for me, even through the Covid crash, that I bought the book. The logic is unassailable. You will make more money using his research and dividend investing formulas than if you don't.
I was initially skeptical at investing at what appeared to be unsustainable yields. But I educated myself and slowly started investing my retirement accounts using the Contrarian methods outlined in the book (and newsletter). He researches and cherrypicks the best, most well managed funds and companies and the rest of us make money. It's pretty simple. Is he 100% foolproof? No. Shocking. But if you follow the advice and methods in the book and do your own due diligence as well, you will find that the tiny investment in this book can really supercharge your retirement and yes, you can live off of your divvies and protect your principle.
Purchasing this book is a no brainer for the serious retirement investor. And if you are offended by plugs for his Contrarian services on the book, you don't understand good old American salesmanship.
This stuff works. It's important. And It has worked for me and several friends.
6 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

VERY CREDIBLE INVESTMENT STRATEGY

When I read about strategies that promise above average returns, I'm always skeptical. However, speaking as an investor with over 30 years of experience, I found that I learned new and valuable information from this book. I just hope no one else reads it because I don't want their approach to become too popular : ) that said, this is a valuable book for any investor.
4 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Lots of good ideas packed into a very readable book...

Just got this a couple of days ago, but I have already bought several of the stock and CEF's that they discuss. It's easy to understand, and the logic is very strong. I think that the authors have good insights into the retiree's goals and methods to create an excellent cash flow. HIghly recommend; I even subscribed to their newsletter!
4 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A must read

It's a must read book for those looking for dividends. Go and subscribe to Contrarian Income Report.
3 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Great Dividends for Retirement Book ..Keep your Principal!

How to Retire on Dividends supplements my learning from the authors with the Contrarían Income Report. In addition the book discusses the logic behind a variety of dividend and fixed income choices available. I believe it will be helpful in making investments enabling a better retirement.
3 people found this helpful

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